Oconomowoc Bank Closing Downtown Milwaukee Branch
Bank Five Nine, state's 14th largest, won't be Downtown anymore.
400-408 E. Wisconsin Ave. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
After a decade-long run, Bank Five Nine is leaving Downtown.
The Oconomowoc-based bank will close its branch at 400 E. Wisconsin Ave. on Oct. 1.
Jeff McCarthy, senior vice president and marketing director, told Urban Milwaukee via email that “a careful study of our branch locations revealed that our office in downtown Milwaukee was underutilized and was no longer financially viable.”
The bank was founded in 1859 as Summit Bank and later known as Bank of Oconomowoc and First Bank of Oconomowoc. It opened its downtown branch in 2015, when it was known as First Bank Financial Centre, and rebranded in 2020 as Bank Five Nine, a nod to its founding year.
Including the soon-to-shutter branch, the bank currently has 14 full-service branches and eight loan offices. Its only Milwaukee location is a loan office at 6004 W. Howard Ave.
“As part of our normal course of business, we are consistently evaluating ways to improve our customer experience while providing the products and services our customers require. Through that evaluation, it was determined that there was an incredible opportunity to serve the low-to-moderate income population near our Howard Avenue loan office by installing a deposit-taking ATM,” wrote McCarthy. “With this functionality, the ATM allows our customers to deposit and withdraw money at their convenience, without having to travel to one of our full-service branch locations. Coupled with our online and mobile banking capabilities, we feel confident in our ability to best serve our customers in this geographic area.”
McCarthy said no bank employees will be affected by the downtown closure.
A sign on the door announces the branch’s Oct. 1 closing date and says that visitors who want to come inside should first call another branch to obtain access. Account holders, according to the sign, are encouraged to visit a Glendale branch after closure.
The bank’s downtown branch covered much of the first floor of the Curry Piece Building, a five-story office building owned by an affiliate of the F Street Group. The 1,400-square-foot space is for lease with CBRE.
According to FDIC data, as of June 30, the bank reported $2.1 billion in customer deposits in Wisconsin. By deposits, it is the 14th largest bank in the state.
Existing members must be signed in to see the interactive map. Sign in.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
