Santa Barbara Bank & Trust branch to stay open

Plans to consolidate Santa Barbara Bank & Trust and Union Bank locations in Gilroy have been halted, according to a letter sent out to bank customers earlier this month. 

Union Bank acquired Santa Barbara Bank & Trust a year ago, and at the time did not indicate to the Dispatch they had any plans on closing the location at 8000 Santa Teresa Blvd. and operate solely from the Union Bank location at 805 First Street. 

But according to the April 9 letter from Union Bank, the Santa Teresa Boulevard location was slated to go. 

“In combining our two banks, we identified several branch locations within close proximity of each other that would be consolidated. In our original plan, the Santa Barbara Bank & Trust Gilroy Branch was among those slated to move, and last December, we communicated that to our account holders,” the letter said. 

Union Bank said since that announcement, they received “many comments” in protest to the plan and that they “listened carefully” to them, which led them to the decision not to close the branch. 

Union Bank purchased Santa Barbara Bank & Trust for $1.5 billion last March.

Formerly known as South Valley National Bank in Gilroy, Santa Barbara Bank & Trust’s umbrella holding company Pacific National Bancorp consolidated five of its bank franchises in July 2011. This included changing the name to banks in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Hollister and San Luis Obispo. It’s uncertain if the name will change again.

Union Bank has been in Gilroy since 1925.