Many students returned to campus after the interim period expecting to make their usual transactions with New Dartmouth Bank, only to find it had been acquired by Shawmut, a bank which is part of a national corporation based in New England.
Shawmut Bank, having $31 billion in assets, officially came into operation on June 6, said Vin Loporchio, Shawmut's media relations spokesman.
"There will be a full conversion in the next few weeks," he said. "Dartmouth customers will have a wide range of services."
Some students said they are indifferent and do not mind the change as long as banking services remain the same.
"It wasn't that great of an inconvenience to me since all the services are the same. I didn't have to get new checks, so it didn't bother me," Grace Yador '96 said.
Other students, however, said they were upset at what they perceived as Shawmut's failure to properly notify them of the management change.
"I didn't like the fact that I was not forewarned. I didn't feel comfortable as a customer," Tanielle McBain '96 said. "I felt that I should have been given the option to change beforehand instead of after the fact."
Simi Chopra '96 said, "I was disappointed because they didn't even notify me. As a banker it is their duty to inform me of any changes. They didn't even send a letter."
Shawmut's logo, an American Indian head, bears resemblance to the Dartmouth mascot that was abandoned by the College after students complained it insulted the Native American culture.
Native American student Casey Barnett '96 said the Shawmut logo appearing on the front of the building does not bother him.
"I don't have an opinion on the symbol one way or the other. It's pretty trivial as long as I can cash checks," he said.
Shawmut National Corporation has more than 200 years in banking experience and has dual headquarters in Hartford, Ct. and Boston.
According to Shawmut information pamphlets, students can continue to bank at New Dartmouth Bank branches and receive the same services.
Students can continue to use their personal or business checking account numbers, ATM cards and checks.
Students may also rest assured that their money is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. New services include Private Banking and Personal Trust.
