Vice President of Financial Affairs and University Treasurer David Rubenstein announced in a campus-wide email on Friday that the Georgetown Capital One Bank branch will be closing on May 21.
According to Assistant Vice President for Communications Stacy Kerr, Georgetown’s 10-year contract with Capital One is set to expire in June, which Capital One chose not to renew.
“We have had a positive relationship with Capital One for the past 10 years, we of course respect their business decision not to reapply and appreciate their service to our Georgetown community,” Kerr wrote in an email to the Voice.
According to Kerr, 400 to 500 faculty members use the branch for direct deposit, and the number of students who use the bank is Capital One’s private information to which Georgetown is not privy. Capital One Georgetown branch manager April Seymour said she was not able to answer questions at this time.
In the process of reviewing the contract in October, the University invited eight undisclosed banks to apply for partnership and three have done so. The chosen bank will be announced on April 1. The committee assembled to select the bank, chaired by Assistant Vice President of Financial Operations Lennie Carter, include representatives from the Faculty Senate, Georgetown University Student Association, Department of Financial Affairs, Department of Student Affairs, Athletics Department, and University Auxiliary Services.
“We wanted to make sure we had student representation,” said Asad Esmail (MSB ‘15), GUSA treasurer and representative on the committee.
According to Kerr, priorities for the committee include choosing a bank that will support Georgetown in “financial literacy programs, scholarships, mission-driven programming and internships.”
“I am devastated by this news [of Capital One closing],” Parth Shah (COL ‘16), a student who opened a Capital One account last semester. According to Shah, he chose the bank solely because of its partnership with Georgetown. “I now see myself opening up another bank account and my wallet can only hold so many cards,” he added.
