Umpqua Bank To Consolidate 27 Stores As Part Of Merger With Sterling Financial

(RTTNews) - Umpqua Bank, a unit of Umpqua Holdings Corp. (UMPQ) announced Monday that it will be consolidating 27 stores this year as a result of its April 2014 merger with Sterling Financial Corp.

Umpqua noted that store consolidations will begin in September and continue through the end of 2014. The company has notified all customers affected by these consolidations, and will be automatically transferring customer accounts to the most convenient store, most of which are less than a mile from the previous location.

Ray Davis, president and CEO of Umpqua Bank, said, "The decision to consolidate a limited number of store locations was one that we considered carefully from the moment we first explored merging with Sterling. Our consolidated footprint will provide customers with the convenience of more than 350 locations while minimizing the impact on our people, customers and communities."

At this time, no additional store consolidations have been finalized, although a number of stores are still under review for potential consolidation in 2015, the company said.

It was on April that Umpqua Holdings and Sterling Financial completed their merger. The new firm operates as Umpqua Holdings Corp. and conduct banking operations under the Umpqua Bank name and brand.