Two banks with a longtime presence on the downtown skywalk system are closing those limited-service branches to concentrate their efforts on full-service offices elsewhere.

Iowa State Bank closed its Skywalk & Trust branch on April 19. The three-level building at 612 Locust St. had housed its investment and trust departments, which as of today have been moved to the bank’s newest branch at 2301 128th St. in Urbandale. The bank opened on the skywalk in 1988.

West Bank, which had operated a skywalk branch since 1990, will close that facility at 501 Locust St. at the close of business April 30.

Tom Gronstal, superintendent of the Iowa Division of Banking, said the trend in the past several years has continued toward banks adding branches, not closing them. There are now more than 1,600 commercial banking offices in the state, the highest number since 1930.

“It might seem that that might be pretty close to enough,” he said. “Going forward, I expect that we’re going to see some banks closing some offices they have decided are not profitable or successful, however they measure it.”

Executives at both Iowa State Bank and West Bank said operating downtown facilities that had no drive-up teller capabilities and no off-street parking no longer made sense strategically.

“We’ve made the business decision that we’re only going to operate full-service branches with complete drive-up facilities and complete lending facilities,” said Tom Stanberry, president, CEO and chairman of West Bank’s parent company, West Bancorporation Inc.

Stanberry said he’s aware of more than one other bank that is closing its skywalk offices, but he declined to name any others. With the closure, all of West Bank’s Greater Des Moines offices will be full-service branches, he said.

Steve Henry, Iowa State Bank’s president, said his bank decided about a year ago to close its downtown branch, which is located 12 blocks away from its main office at 601 E. Locust St. in the East Village.

“The trouble we had with our downtown location was that it had no drive-up, and a lot of people had to park on the street,” Henry said. “In my mind, it just didn’t seem fair to not give our customers the same kind of service we could give them at our other locations.”

Despite those considerations, some other banks are choosing to retain their skywalk operations.

Bankers Trust Co. considers its skywalk access at its main office at 453 Seventh St. to be “an opportunity for growth,” said Paul Erickson, senior vice president of the bank’s retail division.

Earlham Savings Bank, which opened its skywalk branch at 604 Locust St. about six years ago, also plans to stay on the skywalk.

“We feel like business for us is picking up,” said Garrett Hulse, manager of the skywalk branch. “We’re excited about the development that’s happening downtown.”