We have to study several things, including traffic patterns and customer behavior,'' before deciding which branches will be shut, she said. It's likely that several branches in Hampton Roads will be closed because the two banks have overlapping offices in a number of commercial areas, including downtown Norfolk, the Greenbrier Parkway section of Chesapeake and the Hilltop area of Virginia Beach. If the two banks held onto the deposits they currently have, the First Union-Wachovia combination would have slightly more than 20 percent of the bank deposits in Hampton Roads after their merger. When they announced their merger agreement, the companies said that no branches would be closed during the first year. Officials said this week that no branches will close until the end of 2002.
Banks use such centers to store customer account information on mainframe computers.
Neither First Union nor Wachovia will say which data center or how many people it employs. The highly secure locations typically don't employ many people but do house expensive technology. First Union operates two data centers in North Carolina. A Wachovia spokesman wouldn't say where its data centers are. About half the savings will come in the first 17 months after the deal is final, Kelly said.