U.S. Bank will open a branch in Norris University Center on July 1 and replace LaSalle Bank’s branch office and ATMs, officials said Tuesday.
The bank was chosen from five contenders to provide service to Northwestern after LaSalle’s five-year contract ends June 30.
“At the end of (the five-year) period we went out to obtain proposals,” said Art Monge, manager of WildCARD and vending. “It’s what we do on a regular basis primarily to stay current with services, service fees and commissions paid to the university.”
The proposal reviewers said they were impressed with U.S. Bank’s record and excellent references.
“We highlighted what we wanted from a bank,” said Eugene Sunshine, NU’s senior vice president for business and finance. “We received a handful of responses. They really won hands-down.”
U.S. Bank is the nation’s eighth largest financial services institution with branches in 24 states, according to the company’s Web site. Although it does not have any branches in Evanston, Monge said it plans to put in a full service branch downtown. The bank also offered to expand the university’s number of ATM locations as part of the transition.
“What we’re going to do is look at alternative locations and propose an alternative to buildings that don’t have ATMs presently,” Monge said. “If they feel that fulfills their needs we’ll tell U.S. Bank.”
Although LaSalle submitted a renewal proposal, Director of University Services Brian Peters said he preferred U.S. Bank.
“Because they have more experience, it will be just that much more convenient for students,” Peters said. “U.S. Bank has more coverage than LaSalle in the U.S.”
Monge, Peters and Sunshine sought institutions that could provide the best services to students, since student surveys had shown dissatisfaction with LaSalle.
“Primarily the surveys were referencing complaints from students because of numerous services that they weren’t necessarily happy with,” Monge said. “That was not the reason why we made the change, but service was a concern. Across the board U.S. Bank had flying colors with institutions that had services.”
Communication junior Rodrigo Lopez said he was glad to hear about U.S. Bank’s future arrival.
“I’m sure it’s a problem for everyone who has a LaSalle account, but personally, since I’m from Columbus (Ohio) and U.S. Bank has several branches there and a pretty decent checking policy, I’m pretty happy about it,” said Lopez. “No more ATM charges.”
The ATMs that U.S. Bank installs may change format. Currently cards must be inserted into most machines, making it possible for them to be forgotten and left behind. The machines then destroy the cards to keep them from being stolen. The new machines may prevent this problem by allowing customers to swipe the cards.
Students will have to open a new account with U.S. Bank to use its services but still will be able to attach their accounts to their WildCARDs.
The Daily’s Amy Hamblin contributed to this report.
