by Ian Elliot
Northern News Services

INUVIK (Jan 16/98) - Inuvik no longer has a full-service Bank of Montreal: it has a "financial management centre" where the bank used to be.

And by mid-March, the branch itself will move in with another business, although the details of that move have not been finalized.

The Inuvik branch, which was pronounced not profitable enough by senior managers last year, eliminated teller service and shifted many of its operations to Yellowknife on Monday, leaving local customers no choice but to bank by automated teller, toll-free telephone numbers or the Internet, using the institution's Mbanx service.

"We've given out about a gazillion bank cards in the last two days," said Erin Bloomer, financial services manager, on Tuesday.

The new banking services are not to everyone's taste, she acknowledged, especially in a town where people still line up at teller windows to withdraw $20, but the remaining employees will be guiding customers through the new electronic system until March.

The bank's new corporate restructuring plan calls for all branches to meet certain profit targets, and the Inuvik branch, while profitable, did not meet the target.

The automated teller machine will remain in the Mackenzie Road branch until March, when it will be moved to the bank's new home along with the safety-deposit box service. Credit card payments, wiring of money, investment advice and RRSPs can still be arranged at the branch, but other services, such as loan approvals, are being processed out of Yellowknife.

Several of the five remaining employees will be transferred to other branches when the branch moves, Bloomer said, and the business which will house the branch will determine whether the remaining employees will keep their jobs.

"They might want the staff to have a familiar face or to ease the change-over, but that will be their decision," she said.