Jul. 29--Puerto Rico-based Banco Popular will be closing 21 California branches, most of them inside Wal-Mart stores, including 11 Inland locations in September. The closings are part of a restructuring, announced late last year, as the bank's parent company reacts to heavy financial losses from delinquent construction loans.

Bank representatives said Tuesday the closings do not affect the bank's 24 stand-alone locations in California, but the closest of those are in Orange and Los Angeles counties. The bank will continue offering services through its Web site, bancopopular.com, and through existing call centers and mail programs.

Vernon Aguirre, California regional executive with Banco Popular, said the bank will no longer have a physical presence in the Inland area after September.

However, he said many of its business customers are already using check-scanning technology that makes bank trips unnecessary.

After the local branches close, other customers will still be able to withdraw up to $100 using their Banco Popular debit cards at Wal-Mart checkouts, and up to whatever limits are placed on those transactions by other retailers.

"We've decided to pursue opportunities to serve customers more outside traditional branches," Aguirre said.

A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said the retailer is looking into potential tenants to replace the departing bank branches, but she referred all questions to Banco Popular.

Bank and store representatives said the closings are not related to Wal-Mart's moves in recent months to offer its own in-store financial services, such as money orders.

The bank's parent firm, San Juan-headquartered Popular Inc., announced in May it had reached an agreement to sell six branches in New Jersey and $250 million in deposits to Investors Bancorp. The transaction is set to close by October.

At that time, Popular also said it plans to close its in-store branch network in California, comprising about half of its total 46 branches in the state. Most of its U.S. branches are in New York, New Jersey, Florida and Illinois.

Earlier this month, Popular reported a net loss of $183.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, compared with net income of $24.3 million for the same quarter a year ago.

For the six months ended June 30, the corporation's net loss totaled $235.7 million, compared to net income of $127.5 million for the same period in 2008.

Aguirre said losses stemmed primarily from construction loans made in the troubled Puerto Rico and Florida real estate markets. In California, the bank primarily does expansion and construction loans to owners of existing businesses and does not do speculative home or commercial development lending.

It originates home mortgage loans and refinancings locally, but those loans are held by other parties, Aguirre said.

Bank representatives said signs were posted in stores and customers were sent letters 90 days in advance of the planned local branch closings.

In a bid to retain customers during the changeover, Aguirre said the bank recently began offering a money market account, with an interest rate of 2 percent, good through October.

The September closings will affect branches at 10 Inland Wal-Mart stores, as well as one Banco Popular inside the Liborio Market grocery store in Ontario.

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