Bank of America’s Longboat Key branch plans to reopen lobby

Bank of America’s branch in Longboat Key is not planning to remain closed to walk-in business indefinitely, company officials said.

“They’re just temporary closures just in light of the pandemic,” said Bank of America spokesperson Matthew Daily. “When these temporary closures happen, it’s a result of a couple of things. It could be one of many things.”

While Daily said when one of the bank branches temporarily closes, it could be because the bank doesn’t have enough staff. Sometimes, bank branches will share staff, but certain branches aren’t physically large enough to enable social distancing.

“It’s not unique to this location,” Daily said. “I’m up in Atlanta and the same thing is happening here.”

During the Jan. 5 town commission meeting, Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier also said Bank of America wasn’t planning to permanently close its Longboat Key branch based on conversations he had with the bank’s executives.

“I was apprised this week of a note to another source from the CEO of Bank of America Southwest Florida reassuring us…that there is no imminent determination to close this branch,” Schneier said.

Schneier said the bank offered to meet with the town staff, and called it “good news.”

“We’re working to get it open as soon as we can,” Daily said. “If folks do have a safe deposit box at any of our branches that are temporarily closed, they just could get online or call and make an appointment. And, we can have somebody help them get into there.”

Daily said the bank works to clean the interior of its branches, frequently sanitizing high-touch surfaces, encouraging social distancing with markers on the floor and having plexiglass barriers available. He also encouraged Bank of America customers to go online to check which branches are open.