Compton : Abandoned Bank Branch Will Reopen as Promised

An abandoned Bank of America branch on Rosecrans Avenue will reopen as a Family Savings Bank by July 1, a move that Bank of America officials said will fulfill a promise to the community.

Bank officials said they would try to find another financial institution for the building after drawing criticism from the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People for closing the branch. The NAACP said the closure would further deplete the city’s inadequate banking facilities. Bank officials said the closure was one of several that resulted from the merger with Security Pacific. The branch services were moved to a Security Pacific office just outside Compton.

The African-American owned Family Savings Bank will move from its smaller branch office across Rosecrans Avenue in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, into the former Bank of America branch in Compton. The new offices are larger and are equipped with two automated teller machines donated by Bank of America, Family Savings officials said.