One of the state’s largest credit unions is building a new main branch on a major Connecticut thoroughfare, having outgrown its existing headquarters office three miles away.
Dutch Point Credit Union will establish the new branch at the Goff Brook Shops on the Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield. The branch, at 1269 Silas Deane Highway, is expected to open in the summer of 2025, the credit union said.
Once the new branch opens, Dutch Point will convert its former main office at 195 Silas Deane into offices for its leadership team and support staff. There will also be an “Express Banking Hub” — a self-service, interactive teller machine — to service its customers.
Credit union officials said the new location is closer to the heart of the Silas Deane’s commercial and entertainment district.
“This will be a future-driven branch that that represents the utmost in modern banking and a key point of financial wellness for our members and our community,” Charlyn Tanner, the credit union’s president and chief executive, said., in a statement announcing the groundbreaking.
“This branch has been thoughtfully designed with member needs in mind, offering a welcoming and secure environment, and located at a site that is already part of their daily routine — close to the places they shop, dine and take care of everyday tasks.”
In addition to Wethersfield, Dutch Point has branches in Bloomfield, Newington, Berlin, Middletown and Niantic.
The new site comes as change occurs in how branches are deployed in a broader trend of declining branch locations overall. Nationally, banks are pulling back on branches to invest in the increasingly sophisticated technology demanded by its customers.
In the last decade, the number of bank branches in Connecticut declined nearly 24%, down to 978, as of June 30, 2023, statistics available from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have shown. That compares with 1,278 in 2013, a difference of more than 300, according to the FDIC, which insures deposits.
A survey by the American Bankers Association revealed that 45% of consumers nationwide used smartphone apps or other mobile devices as the top option for managing their accounts in the previous year. Another 27% used online banking from a computer, while just 14% sought out a branch.
Dutch Point was founded in 1960 by employees of the Hartford Electric Light Co. and is now a community-focused institution with 24,000 members across four counties in Connecticut. The credit union has assets of more than $500 million, placing it among the top 10 largest credit unions in the state.
Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at [email protected]
