Wells Fargo announced a second Lea County branch permanent closure in Lovington.
On May 19, Wells Fargo will be closing its only Lovington branch. Forcing customers to travel 20 miles away to Hobbs for in-person services.
The bank is conducting “site searches” to place an ATM location in Lovington, according to Franchesca Pancham, Wells Fargo communications advisor for New Mexico.
“This is not an easy decision or one that we take lightly,” Pancham said. “We continue to reevaluate our branch network, and make adjustments based on changing customer needs, market factors and economic trends. This process leads to both expansions and consolidations.
“While the branch continues to be important in serving our customers’ needs, we’re finding that customers increasingly use digital tools for transactions such as check deposits. As a result, more transactions are happening outside the branch.”
Wells Fargo announced in December the Eunice branch will also be closing. Next month Eunice customers will also need to travel 20-25 miles away in Hobbs or Jal for the nearest bank location.
Pancham gave the same statement regarding the closure of Eunice’s branch. Also like the Eunice branch, it is unknown if the Lovington employees will be absorbed into the Hobbs branch.
“At this time we are reviewing staffing needs and will determine what impact this consolidation may have on employees at the Lovington Branch,” Pancham said.
Pancham declined to comment on how many employees work at the Lovington branch due to police and security purposes. She also declined to provide further comment about this being the second branch in Lea County to close.
“I’ll defer to my prior comment, which addresses this and previous questions on our branch consolidation efforts,” Pancham said.
