Sept. 14. Aquesta Bank plans to close its downtown Cornelius branch in November when the lease expires. The headquarters of the Cornelius-based financial institution is about two miles away on Jetton Road.

“Our experiment of placing a very small branch near a larger bank location – in this case our main office – proved to be not cost-effective,” said James Engel, CEO of Aquesta. “While we were able to attract a number of new customers, once accounts were opened these new customers would use either digital banking…or, alternatively, often bank in person at one of our other locations.”

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Like many banks, Aquesta has a robust online presence and banking app for mobile devices. Brick and mortar, though, is not a thing of the past. Aquesta purchased a CertusBank branch in SouthPark last year as well as a former Gateway Bank Mortgage building in Wilmington this year. The Wilmington office is its first full-service branch outside the Charlotte metro area.

Aquesta opened on the North Carolina coast with an insurance agency in Wilmington. Aquesta also has bank branches in Davidson, Huntersville and Mooresville.

Engel, who launched Aquesta with investors in 2006, is considering new locations outside Lake Norman.

“We continue to look for cost-effective expansion opportunities, but such will likely service geographic areas further afield from current branch locations,” Engel said. “For instance, these target areas will likely include Concord and Ballantyne.” Aquesta opened and later closed an insurance office on Dale Earnhardt Boulevard in Cabarrus County.

The downtown Cornelius branch employees will move to “other open positions within the bank,” Engel said.