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Mother Nature was kind to Washington Mutual last week as the Seattle institution opened 10 more branches on Florida's West Coast last Monday.
Power outages and debris blockages from Hurricane Jeanne forced WaMu to temporarily close more than a dozen existing branches in the Tampa Bay area that day. Some opened later in the morning; a couple were shut down for the day.
But the 10 locations slated for their grand opening Sept. 27 were spared.
"We were very fortunate," Washington Mutual spokeswoman Nova Barnett said.
Gwynn Virostek, senior vice president and consumer group manager of the thrift's Southeast region, said she was pleased to see customers opening accounts that morning throughout the new branches.
Still, coming a day after Jeanne swept through town, customer traffic overall was on the light side. "I wouldn't say it was one of our bigger days," Virostek said.