By Linda Stinnett

The Fidelity Bank branch in the Derby Walmart will close when its lease expires this summer. 

Two other branches in Wichita Walmarts will also be closing in coming months, according to Al Sanchez, senior vice president of marketing for Fidelity Bank.

The branch in the Derby Walmart will operate through the end of its lease on June 30, he said. In addition, the branch in the Walmart at Rock Road and north 29th Street in Wichita will close at the same time. A branch in the Kellogg and Greenwich Walmart will close when its lease ends on April 30. 

The closings will leave 17 branches open in the Wichita area, including one in Derby. Of those, 13 are stand alone buildings and another four will remain in Walmarts across Wichita which still have active lease agreements.

“We have got a good relationship with Walmart so we will fulfill that commitment,” Sanchez said.

The decision to not renew the three branches which are being closed comes from customer input and results of a look at customer trends. The bank’s customers are telling the company they want more electronic and convenient banking services, he said.

Those services include secure mobile service, ATMs - including drive-up ATMs, and additional electronic services for account-holders, Sanchez said.  In addition, the company is looking at expanded hours in all of its branches, including additional Saturday and more Sunday hours. 

Additional weekend hours is not a new concept to the bank. Sanchez points out the company first had an agreement for a bank branch in Walmart in 1997. Those branches were full service and open Saturday and Sunday.

“So we have been running Sunday hours for 15 years,” he said. “We try to go where our customers lead us.”

The changes will not impact the Derby branch on Rock Road. Sanchez said the company does work to keep its employees in mind when changes are made and all of the employees in the closing branches will be absorbed into other branches.