Sep. 3--Despite the national recession, banks and financial institutions are still settling into new branch locations along the commercial corridor of U.S. 36 though Avon.

At least 18 banks and credit unions already compete for customers in a four-mile stretch of the highway between Raceway Road and Ind. 267 in Hendricks County. At least two of the biggest banks, Chase and National City, have two branches each within the four miles.

And at least three more banks recently opened or will be coming soon.

Next up, probably opening by spring, will be a branch of KeyBank on a site along the north side of U.S. 36 and just west of Wal-Mart.

Gary Hentschel, president of KeyBank's Central Indiana District, said the Avon branch, with a drive-through and full electronic conveniences, is to be under construction some time this month.

Meanwhile, National City Bank has opened a branch in a new, free-standing building at the busy intersection of U.S. 36 and Raceway.

And a branch of Flagstar Bank is now operating in a new shopping center in the 10700 block of West U.S. 36 -- having just opened two weeks ago. The branch was relocated over a weekend from inside the nearby Wal-Mart to the more visible and larger building with a drive-through window and more services.

Kevin Collins, vice president and Indiana regional sales manager for Flagstar, said "we have been inside Wal-Mart for five years and had great success in Avon. So when our lease in the store was running out, we looked for an opportunity to grow with the community."

Collins and Hentschel both said the Avon and Hendricks County area is still growing with new homes and businesses, so banks will stay interested in the region despite the recession and housing bust.

They like being in the dense and growing commercial corridor and don't mind a lot of competition.

"We're not really following the herd mentality, because we've had a site in Avon for some time," KeyBank's Hentschel said.

"It may be crowded with a lot of other banks, just like other areas," he said. "But when you model it out and see where the new homes are being built and where the population continues to move -- there's the reason why a lot of banks are going there."

Avon is one of 15 new locations in KeyBank's aggressive growth and expansion plan in the metro area over three years.

So far this year, KeyBank has opened branches on Indianapolis' Northeastside and in Noblesville's Hamilton Town Center, and it now has 36 locations in Central Indiana as of this week. Within the next two months, another branch will open in Beech Grove, and another west of Zionsville near Anson.

In 2010, seven more KeyBanks are primed to open, including the one in Avon next spring and another on Indianapolis' Northwestside in Pike Township, near 46th Street and Lafayette Road.

"The reason behind all this growth is that we have about 5 percent of the market share, and we have about $1.2 billion in assets," Hentschel said. "So this area is a good growth market, and we think this is an opportunity to increase our share."

Avon's "money trail," as it is sometimes dubbed, has seen this kind of interest before, when financial institutions invested in bricks and mortar to put up expensive branches and reach customers.

As many as eight found branch locations within few miles along U.S. 36 during one short boom period of the 1990s.

For a time, bankers scaled back on building, because they believed online banking and automatic teller machines would replace the need for real branches.

"What we found is that customers do like to bank online and at ATMs, but they also still want some time face-to-face (time) with their bankers," Hentschel said.

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