Two years after TCF Financial Corp. underwent a major financial restructuring and started diversifying into areas such as auto financing, the bank is embarking on a new cost-savings project.
The Wayzata-based lender said Wednesday that it's closing eight bank branches in Minnesota by the end of March. All are located at Cub supermarkets outside the core metro area, the bank said, and most are near other TCF locations.
In December, the bank said it was shuttering 37 Chicago-area branches inside Jewel supermarkets, as well as a branch in downtown Minneapolis, and adding 52 new ATMs in Chicago "L" train stations. The additional eight closings announced Wednesday bring the total chop to 46.
"There's probably some more things to come in that, not only in the branch system but other areas in the bank as well," TCF CEO Bill Cooper said in a conference call with analysts Wednesday.
The Minnesota branches being shuttered are in Hastings, Forest Lake, Northfield, Rogers, Chanhassen, Lakeville South, Elk River and west Mankato.
The branch strategy is more about pruning, executives said, adding that TCF is not backing away from its long-standing strategy of placing branches in Jewel and Cub supermarkets. Cub Foods remains an important partner, the bank said.
The closings cost the bank $9 million in the fourth quarter and shaved about 3 cents per share off earnings. The cuts were disclosed in the company's fourth-quarter earnings release.
Overall, fourth-quarter profits jumped nearly 50 percent from a year ago to $35 million, or 22 cents per share, missing the consensus Wall Street estimate by a penny.