Oklahoma may not exactly be at the center of Bank of America’s plan to unload branches but credit unions in the state remain interested in what properties finally come on the market following the sale of a tiny leased former BofA drive-through in Tulsa to Tinker FCU.
A spokesman for the $2.5 billion Tinker of Oklahoma City confirmed that it has purchased the downtown parcel from a real estate broker for $1.04 million “though we had no dealings with Bank of America.”
The Oklahoma City CU said it is making broader plans to close another Tulsa shopping center branch and reopen by year-end a much larger, 8,000-square-foot full-service facility at a southeast site in the city.
Meanwhile, the $800 million Communications FCU also of Oklahoma City said it, too will be monitoring BofA moves but “we can see they are pulling out of the smaller, rural areas,” said Stephen Lark, vice president-marketing and corporate development.
A case in point is BofA’s closing by year-end of its branch in Enid, a north-central Oklahoma city of 50,000, said Lark.
“We already have a branch in Enid and ours is better located than theirs so we see no need to have another facility there,” said Lark, noting that Tinker also has a branch presence in Enid.
Overall, the $1 billion Tulsa Teachers CU said it just became familiar with the Tinker drive-through transaction and “obviously this piques our curiosity and we’ll be contacting” the Charlotte, N.C., megabank “to see what’s available locally,” said Tim Lyons, president/CEO.
