A stream of customers arrived at Rosebank banking centre on Bermudiana Road yesterday morning, nearly all of them unaware that Butterfield Bank had announced its closure earlier in the day.

Maria Medeiros, of Paget, tried the main door, stepped into the revolving door only to find it immobile, and then spoke to a security guard, who advised her that the banking centre had closed for good.

“I was shocked,” she said. “I got here and it said it’s closed on the door. Oh my God. I have been doing business in this bank all the time. Now, I will have to do business in the other bank on Reid Street, so that’s where I’m going now. They should have advertised in the paper to let people know.”

Art Riviere of Pembroke is the owner of Bull’s Head carwash.

“I came in to get change for the carwash,” he said. “I do that at least once a week. I was shocked. A friend called and told me Butterfield Rosebank had closed, so I came to check that he was correct.”

Mr Riviere said the closure was inconvenient because “they have a parking facility here, and the Reid Street branch doesn’t. They have street parking over there but it is sometimes hard to find.

“Maybe it’s a sign of the times. Has it got that bad in Bermuda? I know they have two outlets in Hamilton, but it’s just more convenient to come here.”

Elaine Fox, of Devonshire, said she normally does her banking online. “But today, I have a cheque to cash,” she said, “and I didn’t want to just put it in the ATM because I wanted the cash now.

“For me, it’s basically a one-time thing, but today I have to go to Reid Street and find a parking space. I should have known it was closed when I saw it was so empty.”

Reggie Raynor is the owner/operator of Raynor’s Rubis gas station on Middle Road, Southampton.

“It’s no big thing but it would have been nice if they let people know,” he said. “That’s the general thing in Bermuda these days — anything goes, unfortunately. They just referred me to the other bank.”

Simon Sorrentino of Pembroke said he was “fine” with the closing. “I just use the ATM here for my deposits,” he said. “But it will be unfortunate for some people who have to use it. A banking centre is somewhat obsolete.”

A Warwick woman who declined to give her name was philosophical about the closing. “I’m actually waiting for someone, I just thought on the off chance I’d try the bank, so I’ll just go to the other one. It has not inconvenienced me because I have time to kill. But it might bother someone else who needs to go to this bank.”

Another woman, a former Butterfield employee who declined to give her name, said she was not surprised to see the banking centre close.

“When I used to work here, I asked if Rosebank was closing,” she said. “Management said ‘it’s just a rumour, don’t believe it’. Now, three years later, they’ve got six signs on the windows saying they have closed.

“This bank isn’t for Bermuda — it’s just greed.”