The Pony Express Community Bank is closing its downtown St Joseph facility at 624 Felix Street.

President and CEO Bob Means tells us they have notified customers and published their intentions in the “Daily Courier” to close the facility at the close of business on Friday, June 22.

Means says there are a lot of factors that contributed to the decision to close the facility. Among them are the new regulations brought on by the recent downturn in the financial sector.

“There are many additional regulations that have come about in the last couple of years, with many more to come,” Means said.

“Folks, might know of the Dodd-Frank bill, that does contain much of it. The Dick Durbin amendment has impacted us. So I do believe many community banks will be closing some of their less efficient facilities in the near term. I think this is a trend that we’re going to see more of.”

Means also listed some problems specific to the Felix Street location, but he was quick to point out that those problems are specific to banks and do not reflect badly on the building itself. The former American National Bank building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Means says that listing makes it difficult to dramatically change the building to better facilitate use by the elderly and the handicapped. He also says it’s not feasible to add a drive-through banking facility in the structure.

He says they will shut down the facility June 22, but they will not move out right away. The bank’s other branches in Elwood, Horton, Paxton, and on the Belt Highway in St Joseph will remain open.

Means says the closure does not mean the bank is in a bad way financially.

“We believe that good bankers have to make tough decisions,” he said.

He also says they still have a good relationship with the building’s ownership group, which still have offices there.