Good Friday is April 3, 2015, and many are wondering if banks are open or closed on the day.
Good Friday isn’t a federal holiday, meaning public services like schools, the post office, mail delivery, and libraries will be open. The stock market, however, is closed.
Banks are OPEN on Good Friday with normal hours in most states.
However, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas observe Good Friday as a state holiday. That means some banks, businesses, and municipal services are closed regionally.
“The Friday before Easter is celebrated by Christians and is referred to as Good Friday. Since it’s a religious holiday, most banks and credit unions keep their doors open for their regular Friday hours. This is a general rule and there can be exceptions depending on where you live. If you plan to visit your bank or credit union on April 3, you should call ahead to confirm they will be open their usual hours,” says SavingAdvice.com, which covers banking and bank holidays across the U.S.
On Easter Saturday and Sunday, banks (like every other weekend) are closed.
Says Nasdaq.com: “With the Federal Reserve Bank remaining open, banks will have the full support of this important financial infrastructure to process payments and transactions. Since banks are able to operate fully, and Good Friday is celebrated by a relatively limited number of customers and bank employees, the majority of banks will remain open for regular hours to serve customers.”
Customers who use a “Christian financial institution should verify hours with their local branches, as those banks or credit unions might choose to close on Good Friday,” the site says.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of major banks were open on Good Friday 2014. “Wherever you bank, chances are good the your bank will be open on Good Friday to deposit money, pay bills or take advantage of other services as normal,” says GoBankingRates.
And stock trading will be closed in the U.S. in observance of Good Friday this week.
Good Friday is an exception to other stock market holidays in the U.S. such as Thanksgiving and Christmas because it is not also a federal holiday. That means the government and many businesses will be open.
Nonetheless, stock trading has traditionally closed for the day, with some exceptions.
The New York Stock Exchange, which opened for business in 1817, first shut down trading for Good Friday in 1864, according to the NYSE. The Christian holy day marks the crucifixion of Jesus and precedes Easter.
Since then, the exchange has closed on Good Friday every year but three: 1898, 1906 and 1907, the NYSE said.
Not all trading in U.S. financial markets comes to a halt on Good Friday.
Bond trading will be open until 12 p.m. Eastern time, and electronic trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange will be open briefly, giving investors a window until 10:30 Eastern time to trade futures for the S&P 500 stock index and other financial instruments.
Good Friday is one of nine stock market holidays in the U.S. The others are New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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