WSFS Financial and Beneficial Bancorp have announced plans to consolidate branches as part of their merger.

The cash-stock merger deal, valued at around $1.5bn, was first announced in August this year.

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The deal involves the merger of Beneficial subsidiary Beneficial Bank into WSFS Bank, a subsidiary of WSFS.

A total of 14 Beneficial and 11 WSFS retail banking offices will be consolidated following the merger. The move will lead to the consolidation of 25% of the combined entity’s branch network.

The reduction in branch network is said to be driven by a decrease in branch transactions, rapid adoption of digital channels, and geographic overlap.

WSFS will also sell five more retail banking branches on the outer edges of its combined footprint.

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The branch optimisation plan is expected to reap $32m in cost savings, which will be used to develop a physical and digital servicing platform.

WSFS executive vice president and COO Rodger Levenson said: “This retail banking office optimisation initiative and our planned technology reinvestment, combined with a larger balance sheet and an intimate knowledge of the market, affirms our unique position to fill a long-standing gap between big banks and smaller community banks in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington MSA.”

The merger deal has now secured the green light from stockholders of both the companies. The deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year, subject to regulatory nod.

The system conversion and rebranding is slated to take place in August next year.

“The votes of approval by both companies’ stockholders represent another major milestone in our plan to transform WSFS Bank into the premier, locally-headquartered community bank with the size, scale and modern technologies to compete with banks of all sizes,” Levenson stated.