Wells Fargo to close 21 bank branches in Nevada

Norwest Corp. bought Wells Fargo on Nov. 2 and took the Wells Fargo name. Wells Fargo and Norwest were Nevada's second- and third-largest banks when they merged.

"Most, if not all, of these branches are right across the street from other branches," said bank spokesman Bryan Waters. "It's simply a matter of taking out the redundancy that we have" as a result of the merger.

"The customer impact should be minimal," he said, adding customers' accounts at closed branches will automatically be transferred to the nearest branch.

No layoffs are planned, and many of the dislocated bank employees will go to nearby locations, Waters said.

The branches won't close until later this year or early 2000 when Norwest and Wells Fargo combine their systems.

Until then, both banks are legally merged but continue to operate separately under the Norwest and Wells Fargo names.

"Right now, we are still separate banks," Waters said. "Norwest customers continue to bank at Norwest sites and Wells Fargo continue at Wells Fargo locations."

In northern Nevada, nine Norwest branches and one Wells Fargo branch will close. In southern Nevada, eight Norwest and three Wells Fargo branches will close.

To meet federal antitrust guidelines, the two banks last year agreed to sell a dozen Nevada branches and their deposits to California Federal Bank.

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