The Town of South Otselic has been home to a local bank since the turn of the century, but a recent announcement by NBT Bank could be changing that in near future. (Photo of the South Otselic bank from www.nbtbank.com)

SOUTH OTSELIC –  The Town of South Otselic has been home to a local bank since the turn of the century, but a recent announcement by NBT Bank means all of that could be changing in the near future and local residents do not plan to let the bank go without a fight.

The Otselic Valley National Bank opened in South Otselic around 1900. In 1945, the bank was absorbed into the National Bank and Trust Company of Norwich, which later was renamed NBT Bank.

“It was clear since the turn of the century that South Otselic was a community that was resilient because it had to be in order to provide for the community,” said local resident Michael Foor-Pessin.

According to Foor-Pessin, NBT has slowly been reducing the services offered at the South Otselic branch over the last several years, making it difficult to conduct business in the location. Despite that fact, many local community members still relied on the local branch in order to cash their paychecks and access a 24-hour ATM.

Florence Doller, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications confirmed that the decision has been made to close the South Otselic Branch of the bank.