Harris Bank Will Close Muskego Branch

After completing a review on how to combine the M&I Bank branch network with the Harris Bank branch network, said it will close 24 branches including eight Harris Bank branches in metro Milwaukee in early October, according to an article in the Business Journal.

Muskego has a Harris Bank located at the corner of College Avenue and Janesville, and an M&I Bank at Moorland and Janesville Roads. However, the recent acquisition of M&I by BMO Harris, and the close proximity of these branches, doesn't make the news unexpected.

BMO Financial, which owns Harris Bank, bought Milwaukee-based Marshall & Ilsley Corp. in July 2011. BMO executives have said all along that M&I and Harris did not have extensive geographic overlap of branches and BMO did not expect significant branch closings.

Spokesman Jim Kappel told Muskego Patch that the decision was based in part on the location of the branch and accessibility. Employees there can opt to fill positions at other branches, and he said BMO Harris places about 80 percent of their employees within the company in circumstances where there are closures.

One of the branches is closing due to low customer volume, but the rest are related to Chicago-based BMO Harris executives’ review of geographic overlaps between M&I and Harris, Kappel said Friday. BMO Harris currently has 660 branches.