Wells Fargo will be closing Hamilton branch on Sept. 23

HAMILTON — The Wells Fargo branch in Hamilton will be shutting its doors on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
Customers with accounts open in the Hamilton branch received a letter dated June 2, in which Wells Fargo announced the upcoming closure, reading simply, “A change is coming to a branch location in your area. The following branch will permanently close on September 23, 2026.”
The letter then listed the Hamilton branch’s address of 320 Bexar Avenue West in Hamilton.
Wells Fargo said next in the letter that, “You can continue to receive the person-to-person financial support and services you expect from us at the following branch:” and gave the address for another branch location in Jasper.
The letter said anyone holding a safety deposit box would receive a separate letter.
Based on the letter, customers would still have access to their accounts, but the next location to travel to and conduct business in-person would be the Wells Fargo branch in Jasper.
According to Apple Maps, that is roughly a 52-mile drive from the Journal-Record’s office in Hamilton.
When asked for comment, Wells Fargo Executive Director of Consumer Banking and Lending Communications Amy Amirault sent an official statement.
In the statement, Arimault attributed the decision to changing economic circumstances and “customer needs.”
“Branches continue to play an important role in how we serve our customers,” Arimault said. “As we evaluate our network, we focus on aligning our locations with customer needs and changes in the retail landscape.
“As a result, Wells Fargo has made the decision to close the Hamilton main branch location on Sept. 23, 2026. We recognize this change may impact customers in this community, and this decision was not made lightly. We remain committed to supporting our customers through the transition and helping them find options that work best for their needs.”
The closure is not the first Wells Fargo location to close in Marion County. A branch in downtown Winfield closed several years ago, not long after a fraud scandal rocked the company around 2017/2018.
According to People’sTrust Bank President and CEO Randy Whitehead, the closure of Wells Fargo’s Hamilton branch is following a trend that’s been happening for several years that included multiple closures in the area.
“I didn’t know the exact timing, but I had anticipated this happening at some point,” Whitehead said. “It’s just a trend that the bigger banks are leaving the smaller markets. It’s just been a trend for a while.”
Whitehead shared some of his insight into why larger franchise banks are closing locations in smaller, more rural communities.
“I think it just doesn’t fit into their model,” he said. “There’s just not enough numbers, not enough people, not enough deposits to fit their model.”
The bank first opened as Marion County Banking Company in the late 1960s, before becoming SouthTrust, then a Wachovia branch some time around 1995, before eventually being purchased by Wells Fargo.
For anyone with questions regarding their account, the letter announcing the closure listed the Hamilton Wells Fargo branch’s phone number at 205-921-7886, which is available Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Jasper branch’s phone number is 205- 384-7096.
The letter was signed by Wells Fargo District Branch Network Senior Manager Julius Peterson, whose phone number was listed in the letter at 205-681-1033.