Mountain West Bank to close Whitefish branch

The Mountain West Bank branch in Whitefish will close its doors this fall.

First Interstate Bank announced its plan to merge with Mountain West Bank last week. First Interstate will consequently close eight branches of Mountain West banks throughout Montana that are located near existing First Interstate branches.

The First Interstate and Mountain West banks in Whitefish are less than half a mile apart on Spokane Avenue.

“Having multiple branches located so close to one another following the expected merger is impractical and inefficient,” said Ed Garding, President and CEO of First Interstate.

The merger is expected to happen later this year, when the select branches of Mountain West will close on Oct. 17. All accounts from those branches will be automatically transferred to the nearest First Interstate location.

Starting Oct. 20, customers will be able to conduct banking transactions at any First Interstate location in Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota. Customers affected by the closures will receive letters with additional information.

First Interstate says it’s working diligently to minimize the impact to employees through job placement throughout the consolidated organization. Employees left without a job will be offered separation pay and outplacement services.

“This was certainly not an easy decision to make,” Garding said. “However, the result will be a consolidated footprint…providing customers with convenient access to a larger network of branch banking offices.”