Riverview Financial to close Camp Hill, Tower City offices in first quarter of 2021

Riverview Financial Corporation, the parent company of Harrisburg-based Riverview Bank, will close two branches by the close of 2021’s first quarter — one in Camp Hill and the other in Tower City — as part of a multi-year efficiency initiative that’s been accelerated by the pandemic.

Riverview Financial plans to consolidate its Camp Hill Riverview Bank office at 3556 Gettysburg Rd. and its office in Tower City at 920 E. Wiconisco Ave., pending regulatory approval, according to an announcement from the bank holding company on Friday.

The company anticipates annual pre-tax savings of $1 million as a direct result of the two office closures and expects to recognize $1 million in pre-tax non-recurring charges in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Riverview’s leadership said the closures are part of an ongoing efficiency initiative that began in earnest in 2019, based on evaluating its retail branch performance and “resource allocation analytics.” For several years, the banking industry has tilted toward a “steady consumer transition towards greater utilization of bank technology to satisfy banking needs,” a trend accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Riverview President and CEO Brett D. Fulk.

Riverview is the latest in a flurry of midstate and Lehigh Valley banks to announce branch consolidation plans, citing shifting customer service preferences that were kicked into hyper drive by the COVID-19 pandemic; Mid Penn Bank, Orrstown Bank, PNC Bank and Univest Bank have all announced in the last two months plans to consolidate and close locations for operational efficiency and redirecting savings to virtual banking platforms.

Fulk said customers have increasingly relied on the bank’s virtual banking technology, even as the branch locations reopened in recent months, evidenced by the foot traffic at the company’s offices staying below pre-pandemic levels.

“Significant increases in the use of telephone banking, online banking, mobile banking, remote deposit capture and electronic bill pay demonstrate that we must continue to evaluate our delivery channels, shifting resources and focus as customer demands change,” Fulk said in a statement released by the bank on Friday. “The decision to close offices is never easy, however, we must continue making changes necessary to create a more efficient organization while continuing to meet customer demand.”

Customer accounts at the Camp Hill location will be transferred to the bank’s Ridgeview office at 500 S. State Road in Marysville, while those of the Tower City office will be transferred to the bank’s location at 34 S. Market Street in Elizabethville.

Riverview Financial Corporation operates three other divisions, CBT Bank, CBT Financial & Trust Management and Citizens National Bank, making for a current total of 27 community banking offices before consolidation. By the end of the year, all bank offices will carry the same name, Riverview Bank, the financial services company announced at the end of October.