Bank lops off only branch in Pound Ridge

A sign in the window lets depositors know Key Bank in Pound Ridge will be closed permanently.

By THANE GRAUEL

The KeyBank in Pound Ridge will close down June 26, leaving the town with no bank within its borders.

The full-service branch located at 56 Westchester Ave., has been in Scotts Corners since Sept. 1, 1976, and has $39.5 million in deposits, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 

KeyBank has 228 branches in New York state, nine of them in Westchester County. The nearest locations for its customers once the branch in Scotts Corners closes will be in Mount Kisco and Stamford, Conn. There are closer branches of other institutions closer to Scotts Corners.

Pound Ridge, a town of about 5,000, is accustomed to not having everything found in many places. There are no interstate highways, rail lines, airports, major waterways or box stores. There isn’t even a traffic signal.

Some choose to live there because it is away from all that.

But Town Supervisor Kevin Hansan is hoping the bank’s closure is temporary.

“There is interest from other banks,” Hansan said Wednesday of discussions involving the property owner, who notified him about the impending closing. “But we won’t know until he signs a lease.”

Hansan noted the town had two banks not long ago, but then Bank of America closed its branch at 73 Westchester Ave. The only ATM that will be left in town is inside the Chestnut Market located at 66 Westchester Ave., Hansan said.

The KeyBank might soon fade away, but memories of its armed robbery in June 2016 might linger. That’s when a man armed with a handgun held the branch up and left with an undisclosed amount of cash. He was never caught.

Why KeyBank chose to shut down the Scotts Corners branch is not clear. A spokesman for the Cleveland-based bank did not immediately respond to questions from The Recorder.