Texas’ banking commissioner Monday said he’s allowing state-chartered banks to temporarily close all or part of their offices in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement came the same day a few San Antonio banks said they were temporarily closing branches or reducing lobby hours.

Department of Banking Commissioner Charles G. Cooper issued his proclamation to “protect the public and implement preventative strategies to preserve public health.”

Cooper expects state banks “will take the necessary measures to continue meeting the financial needs of their customers and those affected, while protecting the health of their employees.”

USAA Federal Savings Bank said it’s closing its San Antonio bank lobby until further notice to avoid “face-to-face interactions.” The drive-thru lanes, including drive-up ATMs, will remain available. Its members also can conduct business remotely using their phone or computer.

Broadway Bank is temporarily closing all but seven of its 35 lobbies effective Wednesday, spokesman Nathan Kokemor said. All drive-thru operations will maintain regular hours. Digital banking and its customer-service center will remain open.

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USAA Bank and Broadway Bank are not state-chartered institutions, so their actions are unrelated to Cooper’s proclamation.

Managers of federally chartered banks have the discretion to temporarily close branches without authorization from regulators.

There are about 170 national banks in Texas regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. There also four thrifts and two trust banks overseen by the banks.

By comparison, there are 218 state-chartered banks.

The Texas Finance Code gives the banking commissioner authority to allow institutions to close all or part of their offices and operations if he deems there is an emergency. In response to Gov. Greg Abbott’s disaster declaration Friday, Cooper said an emergency is “impending” in all Texas counties.

“The thought was to be able to give the banks the ability to close without having to go through the formal process of requesting it,” Cooper said. “I was trying to make this as easy for the banks to be able to do what they needed to do to protect their employees and the community, but still provide services.

“It really wasn’t an intent to say you’re going to shut down your bank, and therefore people don’t have access to their money,” he added.

A bank office can remain closed until the emergency has ended, or until bank officers determine that it should be reopened, according to the Texas Finance Code. Normally, state-chartered banks can’t remain closed for more than three consecutive days — excluding days they’re customarily closed — without the commissioner’s approval.

San Antonio’s state-chartered banks include Frost Bank and Jefferson Bank. Neither has any plans to close offices or operations at this time.

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“As of now, we have no plans to close anything,” Frost Bank spokesman Bill Day said. “Of course, we have a lot of ways people can bank with us, online and by the app and by phone. There’s not really that much of a need to come into the financial centers.”

Frost Bank has about 140 branches around the state.

“As of now, we are continuing to run business as usual,” said Jefferson Bank spokeswoman Lindsay Armstrong. “We don’t have any intentions at this time to shut down any of our banking centers or lobbies.”

Jefferson Bank has 11 bank branches.

Unrelated to Cooper’s proclamation, San Antonio’s Vantage Bank Texas said it is cutting its bank lobby hours and modifying staff schedules to abide by social distancing recommendations. The lobbies will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. instead of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Its drive-thru operations will maintain regular hours.

Vantage has 25 bank branches.

The state Department of Banking had received numerous calls from bankers inquiring about closing lobbies but keeping their drive-thru operations open, Cooper said.

As of Monday afternoon, a bank believed to be in North Texas gave notice it intends to close a small branch, Cooper said. He didn’t know the bank’s name.

The last time Cooper allowed banks to temporarily close was for Hurricane Harvey in 2017. He couldn’t recall, however, if there has ever been a time when state-chartered banks statewide were allowed to shut their doors during an emergency.

This article has been updated to reflect the number of state-chartered banks.

Patrick Danner is a San Antonio-based staff writer covering banking and civil courts. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | pdanner@express-news.net | Twitter: @AlamoPD