We are not aware of any Illinois or federal law that addresses a reduction in hours. The state law we found closest to this question is the Illinois Promissory Note and Bank Holiday Act. This is principally a permissive Act that addresses days on which banks are closed in the context of whether the day is a “bank holiday,” and it sets default bank holidays as being noon onwards on Saturdays, Sundays, and the holidays listed in the statute. This Act does impose some duties on a bank when it plans to close a branch one day per week, but it is silent as to a “reduction” in hours. 205 ILCS 630/17. Consequently, we do not view this Act as providing much guidance for your questions. When one or more drive-up facilities are left open, we believe that the bank or branch should be considered “open.” The IDFPR agrees; it has provided informal guidance to us stating that if customers can transact business at the bank, such as making deposits, the IDFPR bank will consider the bank to be open, even if only a drive-through is open.

However, note that under Regulation CC — for purposes of setting your cut-off hour for posting the receipt of deposits — your bank is considered “closed” if only drive-in teller windows remain open (i.e., when the main office and branches are closed). Official Interpretations, 12 CFR 229, Paragraph 19(a), Comment 6(c). Moreover, under Regulation CC, while the cut-off hour for the receipt of deposits may be no earlier than 2:00 p.m. (or 12:00 p.m. for ATMs), you are not required to post deposits after the bank has closed, even if your closing time is before 2:00 p.m.  Under that rule, given the facts you have presented, it appears that you may treat Saturdays as a day on which the bank is closed for purposes of taking deposits.

As to notifications to customers of a reduction in hours, we recommend checking your account agreements to ensure that they do not contain any notification requirements. It also may be prudent to provide advance notice of the changes in hours to your customers and your primary regulators. We recommend updating any advertising, listings and information related to the branch to reflect the new hours, as well.

Also note that the change in hours may raise some Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) concerns. One factor in your service performance rating is whether a branch’s services, “including, where appropriate, business hours,” vary in a way that inconveniences customers in your assessment area. See Appendix A to Part 228—Ratings, Part (b)(3). Therefore, it would be prudent to document your reasoning for making the change (although you are not required to do so). As part of your documentation process, you may want to include some of the following information, adapted from the Metavante policy on branch closings:

• The bank’s efforts to keep the branch profitable during the hours that are being reduced;
• The drive-up hours of other financial institutions in the branch’s neighborhood;
• Any actions taken to notify the public and your customers of the change in hours, with copies of any notifications; and
• Any actions taken to minimize the impact of the change in hours.