New Canaan-based Bankwell Bank will see a one-time $3.9 million charge in its fourth quarter results, due in part to the bank’s plans to move to a new headquarters and terminate a technology vendor.

The bank said in a statement last week that the charges, which the board of directors approved on Dec. 24, involved previously announced initiatives to reduce expenses.

Bankwell said the $3.9 million pre-tax charge had three components: office and branch consolidation expenses, employee severance costs and a fee related to the early termination of a legacy technology contract.

Approximately $2 million involved expenses related to office and branch consolidations. Bankwell announced last year that it planned to move to new headquarters at 258 Elm St. in New Canaan. The move will consolidate several offices into the new headquarters, and the bank said it expects to incur certain charges by eliminating those sites. Bankwell also plans to close its branch at 208 Elm Street in mid-2021.

About $800,000 involved severance charges from an initiative to reduce the company’s workforce, including a voluntary early retirement plan offered to eligible employees in the fourth quarter.

Bankwell said it expects annual cost savings of approximately $2.3 million from consolidating the offices and reducing the workforce.

The final component is a $1.1 million charge for early termination fees payable to a legacy technology vendor. The bank said it has committed to a new technology vendor that is “a leading provider of digital banking solutions” to support increased commercial deposit growth and offer enhanced Treasury Management services to its clients.

The one-time expense was warranted, Bankwell said, because a more robust digital banking platform would expand its deposit acquisition opportunities with new and existing commercial relationships.

“The actions we have announced today will result in both immediate and longer term improvements to our operating results,” Bankwell’s President and CEO Chris Gruseke said in the statement. “As we leave the challenging operating environment of 2020 behind, we look forward to significant progress in 2021.”