Univest Bank & Trust Company of Pennsylvania announced it will be opening its first branch office in Lancaster County. The Souderton-based holding company said they have signed a lease for a full-service retail branch in the Willow Valley Business & Medical Center at 90 Willow Valley Lakes Drive, Willow Street, in West Lampeter Township.
The announcement came on the heels of Univest filing an application to open a loan production office in East Lampeter Township, also in Lancaster County. Jeff Schweitzer, CEO of Univest Corp., said the moves are a direct result of the market disruption in Lancaster County’s banking industry.
Some of the county’s major banking players have been acquired by out-of-market banks, and local community banks have moved in to target customers that may not feel like they fit in the new banks. Mr. Schweitzer said expanding to Lancaster County was on the bank’s radar, but the market disruption sped up the schedule.
They intend to open the branch in the third quarter of 2016.