RBC closing bank branch in Metcalfe
Royal Bank of Canada is set to close its branch in Metcalfe this fall, leaving the village in Ottawa's south end without a bank branch.
Now, the area councillor is urging community members to join in his "big campaign to save the bank" by sending letters to RBC asking the big bank to reconsider the branch closure.
RBC tells CTV News Ottawa that clients have been notified that it will close its Royal Bank branch on Victoria Street on Oct. 14.
"RBC is consolidating the Metcalfe branch into our newly built branch at Bank and Findlay Creek," said a statement from RBC.
RBC says "a couple of factors" led to the decision to close the Metcalfe branch, including fewer clients coming into branches and more choosing to do their banking online or at the ATM, clients tending to do their banking at more than one location and more options available to meet with an advisor.
The RBC branch at Bank Street and Findlay Creek Drive opened in August 2020, and is located 15 km away from the branch in Metcalfe.
RBC says during the six-month transition period, it will work one-on-one with clients to identify the nearby branch that best suits their needs. RBC has branches at Bank and Findlay Creek, in Embrun, Manotick and Winchester.
"RBC clients in the Metcalfe and broader Osgoode Township Area will continue to be served by our network of nearby branches and ATMs, our team of mobile advisors and telephone and online banking channels," RBC said.
The councillor for the area has reached out to RBC asking them to reconsider the decision to close the branch.
"This is the conversation in the village every day. You have a farmer market down the road, you have senior citizens live in the community," Coun. George Darouze said. "We are going to do a big campaign to save the bank and it’s coming out very soon. I’m going to advocate but we need their help, we need the community help. We encourage all the members of the community to send an email, to send a letter to the bank.”
Darouze says the branch closure will have a "huge" impact on the community.
"Osgoode ward and rural areas have so much small and home businesses that they benefit from the bank and we have so many small activities in the community and people require to come to the bank.”
The Metcalfe Community Association calls a bank branch a "real necessity of the village."
“Metcalfe is growing not only in population but there is new businesses coming in that will need commercial banking. It’s a bustling city and the Royal Bank is a part of the village and we need it without question," association president Marc Sauve said.
"We need it and we already have people in the background with feet on the street."
Resident Robert Fowler tells Newstalk 580 CFRA he was "taken aback" by the decision to close the branch, adding there are a number of senior citizens living in the village.
"The number of people there can't drive, either because of their age or because of physical disabilities, and they'll have no access to the bank in Findlay Creek at all," Fowler told Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron.
While RBC says it will work with customers to learn about online banking, Fowler says most residents in the neighbourhood either do not have access to computers or are not comfortable using computers for online banking.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.