RBC closing central location

Another bank branch is leaving Winnipeg’s centre — and a flurry of letters, petitions and gatherings have amassed as community members fear a “banking desert.”

“It’s pretty integral to this community,” said Cheryl Martens.

She visits the Royal Bank of Canada at 588 Sargent Ave. in the West End often for transactions. However, she and fellow customers must complete their business at the branch by July 10. After that, the location will close and merge with an RBC in a strip mall at 1395 Ellice Ave.

The pending move has prompted all three levels of government to speak out against the decision. Martens and peers are circulating a petition to keep the branch open and are planning to protest on Thursday.

“(The branch’s) closure will create a banking desert,” NDP MP Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre) wrote in a May 26 letter to Canada’s finance minister.

Gazan requested Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne direct the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada to intervene, but has yet to hear a response, she said. Gazan cited an “exodus” of commercial banks in recent years.

There was a Bank of Montreal at 1596 Ness Ave. that closed this year. In 2024, both a CIBC and an HSBC shuttered on St. Mary Avenue. RBC closed its 885 Portage Ave. location in 2021.

“People need brick-and-mortar banking. Whatever (the banks’) reason, it’s unacceptable that people are not being provided with banking services in our community,” Gazan said in an interview.

Winnipeg Centre is among the poorest ridings in Canada, Gazan said, adding many people in the area don’t own a car, so an added expense like busing to the bank will have an impact.

The average income in Winnipeg Centre is $39,120, per Elections Canada data. It’s the lowest average income among Manitoba ridings.

Seniors, new immigrants and people living on employment and income assistance are significant portions of the population, local politicians and protesters have underscored.

RBC said customers can visit “any RBC branch most convenient to them.”

“These decisions are made after careful consideration of how we can best serve our clients in the market,” Robb Ritchie, a regional director of communications for RBC, wrote in a statement.

He highlighted telephone, mobile and online banking, and ATM access. RBC staff can meet clients at their homes and offices, he added.

“It makes the assumption that everybody has access to internet. That’s actually not the case,” Gazan countered.

The 1395 Ellice Ave. RBC — more than three kilometres from the Sargent Avenue location — is inaccessible for many, she said.

RBC didn’t specify the reason for closing its branch at 588 Sargent Ave. in its statement.

On Monday morning, the site was busy — a regular occurrence, according to Martens and other customers. A street-facing poster encouraged newcomers to enter. (The branch is across the street from an immigration centre.)

The hub is especially beneficial because its staff speak many languages, Martens said.

Joseph Mikolash, a West End resident who stopped by RBC during the lunch hour, said the closure is disappointing, but it can be a rough area.

“I don’t know if it’s for safety. I thought it was busy, so I’m kind of puzzled,” he said.

RBC reported a net income of $16.2 billion last year and “could afford a security guard,” Martens asserted. (The Sargent Avenue site employs uniformed security guards.)

Neighbourhood residents organized community meetings about the branch closure at the end of June. They’ve met with the bank manager and are protesting near the site on Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Martens said.

The group is also circulating paper petitions, hoping to garner 500 signatures in support of keeping the branch open.

Michael Paille was one person who signed. “It’s a cost to all people that bank with them,” he said of the closure.

Paille walks to the Sargent depot for business transactions; he owns Cobra Collectibles and runs the Sargent Business Community. Company employees will have to drive if they want to use a Royal Bank, which is another expense, Paille stated.

He plans to ditch RBC once it’s moved; instead, he’ll walk to the CIBC at Ellice Avenue and Empress Street.

“They’re going to leave another empty building. How does it look to other businesses? We need establishments that are here for the community,” Paille said.

Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) wrote a note supporting the petition organizers.

She said she has noticed payday lenders sprouting where banks are missing.

“They often take advantage of people that really are struggling financially,” Gilroy said, adding banks are key for financial literacy.

Her stance was echoed by area MLA Uzoma Asagwara (Union Station). Asagwara wrote a letter to RBC dated June 17, urging for a reconsideration of the closure.

Last year, the provincial New Democrats asked the Public Utilities Board to review payday lenders. The government is now combing through recommendations to “help prevent Manitobans from being trapped in a cycle of high-interest loans,” a statement from Asagwara reads.

High interest can trap people in poverty, said Kate Kehler, executive director of the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg.

“Maybe it’s time that we start looking at different ideas of banking,” she suggested, noting Canada Post could dip into financial work. “That’s a government commitment to the area and to lower-income folks.”

There will be no layoffs at RBC as a result of the Sargent Avenue closure, a bank spokesperson confirmed.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com