1.   EWM had been buying up high street sites at a rate of nearly one a month and its first English branch was opened in Carlisle.

2.   The first branch will have the new system in August, and one branch in every district will have the system by October.

3.   Banking industry analyst Alan Boughton at SNL Securities in Charlottesville, Va., said the first branches being closed are the obvious ones.

4.   Bellagio will house the first branch of Le Cirque outside New York.

5.   But Citibank has opened its first retail branch in the region and its flashy decor, lavish services and plastic cards are making a splash.

6.   Chase Manhattan Bank recently opened a full-service branch in University Heights, the first bank branch to open in the South Bronx in years.

7.   First Financial branches will be consolidated into American Trust Bank.

8.   Last year, JobSeekers opened its first out-of-state branches, in Knoxville, Tenn., and Tucson, Ariz.

9.   The first local branch of Virgin Megastore, due to open in Burbank next month, also will feature one.

10.   The first branches would be in Israel, the Palestinian areas and probably Egypt.