Wings CU to Take Over U.S. Bank's Minneapolis Airport Branch

Wings Financial Credit Union has scored a deal to take over a branch from U.S. Bank at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

U.S. Bancorp decided to close its airport branch to cut operating costs, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported. Airport officials contacted TCF Financial in Wayzata, Minn., Wells Fargo and Bank of America to gauge their interest in taking over the branch, but they declined or didn't respond.

"We evaluated the opportunity and determined that it did not align with our market objectives," a TCF spokesman said in an emailed statement to American Banker.

A spokesman for Wells Fargo declined to comment on the airport branch and said the bank operates more than 550 ATMs in Minnesota. Bank of America did not immediately return a request for comment.

U.S. Bank had struggled with its operations at the airport, noting last year that it had lost millions from its ATMs there, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported. The bank still plans to operate its 17 airport ATMs after closing the branch.

The $4 billion-asset Wings will occupy the branch starting May 1. It will vacate the branch in 2018, when the space will be repurposed as part of an airport improvement plan.

Wings, headquartered in Apple Valley, Minn., will pay the same rent as U.S. Bank, $68.22 per square foot monthly and a portion of a $3 surcharge for out-of-network ATM fees. Wings already operates ATMs in the terminal. Wings was founded in 1938 by airline employees.

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