Three days after fire damaged its Oakes Field branch forcing the closure of one of the all-Bahamian bank’s busiest locations, Commonwealth Bank said today it will move the branch’s operations to a new temporary location next month.
“Oakes Field is a very important branch in our network, one that serves many customers from the immediate area, including The College of The Bahamas, who come into the bank by foot so we wanted to find another location that would as convenient as possible. ” said Commonwealth Bank President Ian Jennings. “We have identified a temporary site on Thompson Boulevard and hope to be in and operational by mid-June.”
Meantime, Jennings said, Saturday banking will be available at two locations only in New Providence, Prince Charles Drive and Golden Gates. Hours are 10 am to 1 pm at both.
“Unfortunately, our two ABMs at Oakes Field are also out of service but we do encourage customers to use any of the more than one dozen ABMs at bank branch and off-site locations,” said Jennings.
Police are continuing their investigation into the fire that broke out the same night as a freak storm that dumped more than 16 inches of rain on parts of New Providence and Jennings praised the Royal Bahamas Police Force Fire Unit for responding during the height of the storm.
Only days before at the bank’s annual general meeting, executives told shareholders that the Oakes Field branch was slated for a major expansion later this year because business demand had been so strong. Jennings said as soon as police completed their investigation and the bank could re-enter the premises, they would assess expansion plans and make critical design and construction decisions.
Diane Phillips and Associates
