Bank of America explains why so many of its Wichita branches are temporarily closed

UPDATED — A reader wondered what’s going on with Bank of America because many of the branches he’s tried to go to in Wichita have been closed lately.

Like many banks locally and elsewhere, Bank of America is responding to the pandemic with some streamlined service.

In an e-mail, spokeswoman Diane Wagner said “that throughout the health crisis, we have balanced the need to stay open in as many locations as possible while also prioritizing the health and wellbeing of our employees and clients.”

Some sites are temporarily closing and then reopening on individual schedules.

“For example, this may happen when employees find themselves needing to take time off to care for family members or when someone becomes high risk due to a preexisting condition,” Wagner said in her note.

Bank of America has nine financial centers in the Wichita area, four of which are currently open, including one on North Rock Road, one at Cherry Creek, one at Reflection Ridge and one in southwest Wichita.

“We’re looking to open our Westlink location on 7/24 and Towne West location on 7/30 if there are no staffing concerns,” Wagner wrote. “Our branch locator tool on our website offers the most up to date information on hours of operation as well as the nearest ATMs.”

Wagner said if customers need to access safe deposit boxes at sites that are closed, they can schedule appointments online.

In a phone call, Wagner said she could not say whether any Wichita Bank of America employees have the coronavirus or if any customers have exposed them to it.

“I don’t have access to that information. They don’t share that with us.”

This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 1:52 PM.