Wells Fargo to convert Wachovia branches in Palm Beach this weekend
Robert Jannigian - Daily News Fashion Editor
At the close of business Friday, the island’s three Wachovia Bank locations will become Wells Fargo branches.
All 91 Wachovia bank branches in the Palm Beach/Treasure Coast region are undergoing the conversion during the weekend, said Frank Newman III, regional president, based at Wells Fargo’s regional headquarters in West Palm Beach.
“We are looking forward to a transparent and seamless conversion,” he said, adding that the effect on customers should be minimal. “They will be able to use the same checks, credit and debit cards and work with the same branch personnel.”
Wachovia was acquired by San Francisco-based Wells Fargo in December 2008, with its various divisions making the transition to the use of the Wells Fargo name gradually since mid-2009.
Branches at 254 Sunrise Ave., 255 S. County Road (at the corner of Royal Palm Way) and 411 S. County Road, just north of Worth Avenue, are being remodeled to the reflect the change. Private banking operations, at the 255 S. County Road location, are also undergoing the 
conversion.
New awnings, signage, interior appointments and more advanced ATM machines are on tap, said Christina Kolbjornsen, Well Fargo’s Miami-based corporate communications manager.
While all three branches will be rebranded, the 411 S. County Road location, referred to as its Worth Avenue branch by Newman, will close Aug. 24.
Wells Fargo could not come to terms on a new lease for the space, Kolbjornsen said.
The employees, accounts and safety-deposit 
boxes of the branch will be transferred to the 255 S. County Road location, about three-tenths of a mile away, Newman said.
During the transition and closure of the 411 S. County Road branch, there will be no reduction in the staff, Newman said.
“As a result of our conversion we’ve added new jobs, nearly 300 in Palm Beach and the Treasure coast region,” Kolbjornsen said. “We have more than 100 team members in Palm Beach and have added 20 percent more jobs there in the past year.”
Newman traced the history of the bank on the island, through various mergers and acquisitions, to the 1927 founding of the First National Bank.
July 6, 2011