As a result of declining traffic, the south Courtenay branch of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) will consolidate with the bank鈥檚 Ryan Road location in mid April 2018.

Kelly Bissel, RBC鈥檚 regional vice-president for North Vancouver Island, says the consolidation of the bank鈥檚 two Comox Valley branches is due to a recent decline in traffic at the south Courtenay location, as well as the building lease coming to an end.

鈥淯ltimately, as an organization, we鈥檙e always looking at our infrastructure and physical network to see what is the need of our clients. A lot of clients do their banking on the phone or online. So the preferences of how people are doing their banking are starting to evolve,鈥� she said.

Even though the move will not take place until next spring, Bissell said RBC has already begun contacting clients of the south Courtenay branch to notify them.

She said no employees of the south Courtenay branch will be let go as a result of the consolidation, and that the bank is looking to make sure the Ryan Road branch has enough physical space for the influx of employees.

鈥淲e鈥檒l be taking all of our team members from the smaller branch to join our team at Ryan Road,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l be looking at the premise there to make sure we have everything set up for people.鈥�

RBC鈥檚 south Courtenay branch is located in the shopping plaza at the end of Cliffe Avenue. It has operated there for 鈥渏ust shy of 10 years,鈥� according to Bissell.