Harmon and Tamuning Bank of Guam locations should have renovations completed to the facilities this June.

According to Jacqueline Marati vice president of human resources and marketing administrator for Bank of Guam the renovations were planned and completed in the Harmon and Tamuning branches to help maximize the efficiency of customer service and to ensure the two branches’ in-store products and services are immediately visible to customers when stepping foot into the bank. Marati said "Many of the branches were designed a number of years ago and I think with today’s customers it’s important that when they go to the branch they immediately know where they can go to get help."

She said "We’re not only trying to ensure that facilities are well-maintained but [we are] also designing facilities that are customer friendly."

Marati said the renovations are in line with Bank of Guam’s current corporate objectives of reinvesting in the island community by improving its banking facilities and providing financial centers that effectively deliver customer products and services.

Bank of Guam’s plans the upgrade of its ATM network and an improvement in the security of branch banking services.

According to Marati Bank of Guam is committed to making its ATM and branch banking experience as secure and convenient as possible and equally comparable to its strictly secured online banking service.

"Upgrades for the entire networks of our ATMs"¦[have been taking place] for well-over a year and those upgrades have focused on enhancing security speed and convenience to our customers so that they were basically a wholesale replacement of all the ATMs in our network " Marati said.

She said Bank of Guam is planning to replace most of its ATMsl. By replacement she said this means relocating the ATMs to strategically well-placed sites around the island which experience large rates of customer flow. However she noted that the ATMs will be relocated relatively close to where they were before.

"We’re strategically locating them where we have the most traffic " Marati said. "There is a lot of activity in the northern part of the island that’s been going on for years and so you’ll see that many of our ATMs are located there."

Marati also said Bank of Guam has a very large presence of ATMs in the island’s military bases.

Marati was not able to give an estimated figure of the costs of this or the other two renovations but said they may be available after all the projects are completed.

With the high incidences of identity theft and fraud occurring in the U.S. today security is a primary concern to all financial institutions. Marati said Bank of Guam is committed to making its branch banking experience as secure as possible and equally comparable to its strictly secured online banking service.

The upgrade of delivery for Bank of Guam does not stop with its renovations of the Harmon and Tamuning branches. "We’re looking at some other branches that will probably start later on in the year in terms of renovation with the objective of reinvesting in the community " Marati said.

The bank branch located in Tumon is slated to be redesigned and renovated completely beginning in June. Marati said the renovation is meant to maximize the functions that are available in the Tumon branch.

Although Marati said the renovation projects in both the Harmon and Tamuning branches will be completed after the first week of June a longer renovation period is planned for the Tumon branch which is scheduled to remain closed from June 9 through the next 45 days thereafter.

During its temporary closure Tumon branch customers may visit Upper Tumon branch for their banking services. That branch is located at 718 North Marine Drive next to Burger King and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. MBJ