Capital One to Shut Mattituck Office

Five years after it bought its way into the New York banking market by acquiring North Fork Bank, Capital One has decided to shut down the office in Mattituck that once was its headquarters.

The office is scheduled to close in December, and Capital One said the 135 employees affected have been offered work in either its Melville office, or in Virginia, where the financial giant is based.

The jobs affected were in the information technology, bank operations and corporate real estate divisions.

A spokesman said the move was being made to "simplify operations."

"This was a very difficult decision and one that our banking leaders do not take lightly," said Stephen Schooff, the spokesman, in an email. "This is not a reflection of the associates' performance."

In July, the bank also announced that it was letting employees in its wire operations department.

Capital One entered the New York area banking scene in a big way in 2006, when it agreed to pick up North Fork Bancorporation. By then, North Fork had morphed from an East End community staple to a regional behemoth.

Through multiple acquisitions, North Fork had become one of the 20 biggest banks in the United States, with about 125 branches on Long Island and more sites throughout New York City, Westchester County and New Jersey. Under the direction of John Kanas, it also shifted its headquarters west to Melville.

Kanas, considered at one time to be the most powerful banking executive on Long Island, left Capital One a little more than a year after he sold the bank.

Capital One has more than 2,000 employees on Long Island, and operates about 120 branches.

David Reich-Hale contributed to this report.