Bank Rhode Island Opens New Xcel Branch in Cranston.Business Editors PROVIDENCE Providence, city (1990 pop. 160,728), state capital and seat of Providence co., NE R.I., a port at the head of Providence Bay; founded by Roger Williams 1636, inc. as a city 1832. , R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 15, 2001 Bank Rhode Island Rhode Island, island, United States Rhode Island, island, 15 mi (24 km) long and 5 mi (8 km) wide, S R.I., at the entrance to Narragansett Bay. It is the largest island in the state, with steep cliffs and excellent beaches. opened its new Xcel Branch last month with its own unique combination of service, technology and style. The Bank created the new branch, which combines the best in technology, personal service and customer convenience, to be a magnet for new customers and to serve as a model for future branches. The branch, which was completely renovated over the Summer, feels much more like a retail store than a bank branch, says Retail and Marketing Executive Vice President Jim DeRentis. The branch features overhead television monitors playing cable news, a curved teller TELLER. An officer in a bank or other institution. He is said to take that name from tallier, or one who kept a tally, because it is his duty to keep the accounts between the bank or other institution and its customers, or to make their accounts tally. line that extends into the center of the branch, modern furniture and innovative signage and marketing displays. The Bank has also added several customer conveniences. The branch is now open until 7 p.m. weekdays and until 3 p.m. on Saturdays. During off hours, customers have access to a 24-hour Automated au·to·mate v. au·to·mat·ed, au·to·mat·ing, au·to·mates v.tr. 1. To convert to automatic operation: automate a factory. 2. Center with an ATM, a night depository The place where a deposit is placed and kept, e.g., a bank, savings and loan institution, credit union, or trust company. A place where something is deposited or stored as for safekeeping or convenience, e.g., a safety deposit box. and Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the Banking Kiosks. And the main sales floor of the branch has dedicated areas, and personnel, for business banking and investment services. But the visible changes are only part of the story, DeRentis explains. "While a lot of banks are pulling back on the services they provide, the idea behind the Xcel branch is to provide our customers with the utmost in convenience and service," DeRentis said. "And it goes beyond extended hours and internet banking kiosks. All of our personnel have been cross-trained on all the products and services we offer so customers can quickly get answers to almost any question. They're also trained on how to direct customers to use the facility." The branch combines the best features of successful branch models from around the country. It also incorporates Bank Rhode Island's own experience with expanded services, such as extended hours and internet kiosks, that it has successfully implemented at other locations in the State. The Park Avenue branch was selected for the Bank's first Xcel branch largely because of its location. It is in a densely populated pop·u·late tr.v. pop·u·lat·ed, pop·u·lat·ing, pop·u·lates 1. To supply with inhabitants, as by colonization; people. 2. area in Cranston, a city of 80,000 people, with a high volume of vehicle traffic and a high concentration of businesses. The branch is also located near other retail services. The Xcel style branch figures to be a cornerstone cornerstone Ceremonial building block, dated or otherwise inscribed, usually placed in an outer wall of a building to commemorate its dedication. Often the stone is hollowed out to contain newspapers, photographs, or other documents reflecting current customs, with a view to in the Bank's retail strategy. The Bank plans to use the Xcel model to expand into new areas of the State. The Bank will look for other areas that match the demographics The attributes of people in a particular geographic area. Used for marketing purposes, population, ethnic origins, religion, spoken language, income and age range are examples of demographic data. of the Park Avenue area. The Bank also plans to supplement its retail network with other branch models, including Xpress branches (designed to be located along commuter routes) and automated banking kiosks. "It's all based on customer convenience," DeRentis added. "In order to compete in a new market, you need a full-service facility, however, customers also want as many access points as possible. This strategy allows us to expand our customer base in the most cost effective way." Bank Rhode Island, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bancorp Rhode Island, Inc., is a full-service, FDIC-insured financial institution headquartered in Providence. The Bank operates 13 branches throughout Providence and Kent Counties. As of September 30, 2001, Bancorp Rhode Island's total assets stood at $845.9 million and total deposits were $652.4 million. Bancorp Rhode Island's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on National Market under the symbol "BARI" and its corporate web site is located at www.bankri.com. |
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