Banking New England July/August 2015

JULY/AUGUST 2015

INSIDE: COMMERCIAL BANKING’S TALENT CRISIS

NEW ENGLAND

THE RESOURCE FOR NEW ENGLAND’S FINANCIAL LEADERS

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CONTENTS

A PUBL ICAT ION OF T HE WA RRE N G ROUP

NEW ENGLAND

THE RESOURCE FOR NEW ENGLAND’S FINANCIAL LEADERS

4

6

10

12

A DIFFERENT SIDE OF SALES

New Approach to Social Media Could Be a Game Changer

PLAYING IT SAFE

When Presented with Legal Documents, Caution and Common Sense are the Watch Words

BANK PROFILE

Pentucket Leads the Charge

WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY

Commercial Banking’s Talent Crisis

19

INDUSTRY NEWS

20

22

24

16

TECH REVOLUTION

The Tech Companies Are Coming

PASSING THE TORCH

As CEOs Approach Retirement, Boards Approach Succession Planning

FINDING THE BALANCE

Work-Life Balance: Finding The Right Job for Your Purpose

26

PERSONNEL FILE

28

COMMUNITY GOOD WORKS

ARHAYMPSBHIRAE NK PEBRUTSIM IN NEW D

TWG STAFF CEO & PUBLISHER Timothy M. Warren Jr. PRESIDENT David B. Lovins EDITORIAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Cassidy Murphy ASSOCIATE EDITORS Joe Kourieh, Malea Ritz and Anna Sims INTERNS Katelyn Conley and Jess Pitocco

www.thewarrengroup.com ©2015 The Warren Group Inc. All rights reserved. The Warren Group is a trademark of The Warren Group Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Advertising, editorial and production

30

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

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Call 617-896-5307 or email custompubs@thewarrengroup.com

SALES DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS MEDIA George Chateauneuf PUBLISHING GROUP SALES MANAGER Rich Ofsthun ADVERTISING ACCOUNT MANAGERS Claire Merritt, Bob Holzhacker and Michael Lydon ADVERTISING & SALES COORDINATOR Jennifer Burke CREATIVE/MARKETING DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & CREATIVE SERVICES John Bottini DESIGN PRODUCTION MANAGER Scott Ellison GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Amanda Martocchio, Tom Agostino and Tyler Grazio

A DIFFERENT SIDE OF SALES

New Approach to Social Media Could Be a Game Changer

BY JOHN MCGEE

John McGee is CEO of OptifiNow, an industry leader in SaaS solutions designed to optimize the effectiveness of the sales force.

M

ore than 15 million businesses and organizations are now part of Facebook.

Many corporations also have company Twitter pages. In the financial world, these pages are typically followed or liked by customers and employees. Major financial institutions with large customer bases and thousands of employees might have impressive numbers of likes or follows, but all too often, posts or tweets are stagnant, void of real interaction and results.

One of the main goals many companies share in regards to social media is solving how to monetize the various mediums. Currently, most corporate social media accounts function more as a customer service or brand awareness tool than a sales tool. The explanation for this is simple.

Social media at its core is about relationships on an interpersonal level. By definition, a person cannot have a relationship with a corporate social media account. At the corporate level, posts and tweets are too broad and out of touch with individuals’ needs and interests to function as effective sales methods.

Corporate media accounts should not be done away with, but it is time for executives at financial institutions to change expectations and develop a new, more effective approach to social media. The role of the corporate account should remain what it always has been; a necessity of the times. An institution’s Facebook or Twitter can be a public 4

BANKING NEW ENGLAND

face of the company, but not one that is used to drive sales of new products or services.

Instead, this function of social media should be pushed down to the employee level. Personal bankers, loan officers, branch managers, financial advisors – customers have one-on-one relationships with the individuals they interact with on a regular basis. They are the people who customers trust, and the people who to customers are the essence of the financial institution they choose for their business.

This trust provides employees with an open door to make connections with their customers on social media and deliver tailored, educational messaging that also sells.

In an employee-centric social media strategy, financial institutions are able to reach customers through channels that are more effective while simultaneously exposing more potential customers to their products and services at the same time.

Employees should be empowered with brand and legal compliant messaging they can post to their individual Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts by their employer. The messaging should be relevant, not pushy, relatable, and solve a problem for current and potential customers. If this method is utilized, financial institutions will be able to touch more people through social media and experience greater success at creating opportunities for sales. BNE

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5

PLAYING IT SAFE

When Presented with Legal Documents, Caution and Common Sense are the Watch Words

BY KEVIN HANDLY

Kevin J. Handly is a Bostonbased banking attorney. He can be reached at khandly@ bostonbankinglaw.com.

A

teenage son of a customer comes in to the branch and asks if someone can notarize his mother’s signature on a legal document. The branch notary notices that the document is already signed in the customer’s name, but includes a recital that the document was signed in front of the notary.

A person comes in to the branch and asks a teller for information about the account of a close relative who is a bank customer. He says he has the power of attorney for the absent customer and presents identification and what appears to be a formal legal document.

A person comes in to the branch and seeks to open an account in his own name and the name of the bank “as co-trustees.” He has personal identification and what appears to be a formal legal document evidencing the existence of a trust naming him and the bank as co-trustees.

A customer walks into the branch with a large envelope containing what appear to be numerous stock and bond certificates. He asks if the bank would mind placing the certificates in its vault for a short while “for safekeeping.”

What should bank personnel do in each of these scenarios? Hopefully, the bank has written, board-approved policies and procedures and the branch personnel have been well-trained how to respond when a customer presents and asks the bank to handle or rely upon a legal-looking document.

When presented a legal document or request for action outside the bank’s approved policies and procedures, bank personnel should instinctively refer 6

BANKING NEW ENGLAND

the situation to senior management or the bank’s legal counsel.

I say “legal-looking” advisedly. With the proliferation of online services offering legal forms for “do-it-yourself ” wills, trusts, deeds, powers of attorney, trademark registrations, prenuptial agreements, divorces, corporations, LLCs, bankruptcies, etc., there are a lot of “legal-looking” documents out there that were not actually prepared or reviewed by a lawyer skilled in that area of practice. The combination of a non-lawyer’s diligent online research, an online publisher of legal forms and review by a relative or friend who once attended law school may, but often will not, produce the intended legal status, relationship or result.

Of course, bank branch personnel are not lawyers or trained or employed by their bank to review legal documents or perform other professional legal tasks, nor should they be. Yet, quite often, tellers, CSRs and other branch personnel are presented legal documents in the course of performing their daily duties at the branch. How branch personnel handle these encounters can have material implications for the bank as well as for the customer or customers concerned and any other interests involved.

Resort to the use of a couple of technical legal terms may be needed here. The first of these is “caution.” The second is “common sense.”

The exercise of caution is particularly appropriate when a legal-looking form or document is Continued on page 8

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PLAYING IT SAFE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

presented by a customer at a branch office of a bank. A customer may seek advice regarding the meaning or effect of terms or wording in the document. Or a customer may ask the bank to take specific actions in reliance on the document presented. There is a risk in either case that if the bank answers the customer’s questions or takes the requested action and the document turns out to be defective, the bank, the customer or others may suffer injury or damage as a result, and may seek to hold the bank responsible.

Because banks are neither legally authorized nor technically equipped to provide legal advice to their customers, it is very important for bank personnel to avoid even appearing to provide legal advice.

Since banks enjoy a high level of trust from their customers and are regarded as knowledgeable and experienced in finance and business, it is natural for customers to come to them for advice in legal and business matters. When approached by a customer with questions about a legal-looking document, the banker should always remind the customer that the bank and its personnel are not permitted to provide legal advice and that the customer should consult legal counsel to get such advice, including answers to questions regarding the interpretation or effect of legal documents. This is just good old common sense.

There is an even greater need for caution when a customer or other person asks a bank to take action in reliance upon a legal looking document the customer presents. Rather than asking the bank to review and answer questions regarding the document, a customer may present a document as legally valid and ask the bank to take specific action in reliance upon it, such as opening a new account in the name of a corporation or trust, honoring a check drawn or endorsed by the customer or another person or providing information about or access to an account or safe deposit box belonging to another. In these situations there is of course a danger that if the bank honors the request and the legal-looking document later turns out to be invalid, the bank or its customer may incur significant losses or liability as a result.

Wells Fargo Learns a Lesson

The recent case of Kelley v. Wells Fargo Bank illustrates the hazards that can attend banks’ reliance on powers of attorney and notarizations of seemingly valid legal documents. In the Kelley case, a person holding a power of attorney from a married couple resident in Massachusetts executed a mortgage on the couple’s home in favor of Wells Fargo Bank. The signature on the mortgage was required to be notarized. The couple subsequently declared bankruptcy. The bankruptcy trustee sued Wells Fargo, seeking to set aside the mortgage on the ground that the notarization on the mortgage document was defective. The bankruptcy court found for the bank, and the trustee appealed. On appeal, the federal appeals court reversed, concluding that the bank’s mortgage on the property was invalid because of defects in the notarization of the power of attorney holder’s signature. The form of notarization used on the mortgage document was defective, the court held, because it did not include the statutorily required affirmance that the power of attorney holder signed the mortgage as the “free act and deed” of the grantors.

In the Kelley case, Wells Fargo Bank could have protected itself from loaning (and losing) money on an invalid mortgage by having 8

BANKING NEW ENGLAND

an experienced Massachusetts conveyancing attorney supervise the execution and notarization of the mortgage document. The attorney would have known of the statutory requirement and made sure that the form of notarization of the power of attorney holder’s signature included the required “free act and deed” language.

Formal Policies in Place

Any customer request involving a trust should be handled only by advance appointment and only after advance review by the bank’s trust counsel of any trust agreement or other documentation involved. The provision of fiduciary services is a highly structured, highly regulated activity, governed by complex legal requirements.

Most community banks do not have trust departments empowered to accept appointments as trustee or act in other fiduciary capacities.

Those that do have board-approved policies and procedures governing their conduct of their fiduciary activities. A bank that does not have a duly authorized and established trust department cannot engage in fiduciary activities or provide fiduciary services – for established customers or anyone else. Generally speaking, that means acting as trustee, guardian, executor, administrator, investment advisor or in any other capacity that involves the exercise of judgment or discretion on behalf of another.

On the other hand, many banks offer notary, fax, photocopying, signature verification and notary services at their branches as an accommodation to their customers and as a public convenience, often free of charge or for only a nominal fee. In addition to or in lieu of offering safe deposit box rentals, some banks offer safekeeping for customer valuables. In addition, many banks offer financial and retirement planning and first-time home buyer counseling, investment brokerage and insurance agency services to their customers, either directly or through appropriately trained and licensed subsidiaries, affiliates or third-party vendors.

To protect themselves and their customers, it is good practice to formalize a bank’s provision of these ancillary products and services through the adoption of written policies and procedures specifying what products and services are provided, where, when and by whom they may be provided and at what cost or fee to the customer. These policies and procedures will incorporate and reflect applicable regulatory restrictions and requirements. They may also take into account the terms and exclusions of the bank’s own insurance coverage.

If, in the course of providing these ancillary services, a legal document (other than the bank’s own forms) is presented, it should be referred to the bank’s legal counsel for review and appropriate disposition.

Of course, yet another form of legal documentation often encountered in the conduct of banking business is judicial (and less frequently, administrative) “process.” This includes subpoenas, search warrants, summonses, complaints, orders of impoundment and court or administrative notices and orders of various kinds. Any document of this type should be immediately flagged and referred to the bank’s legal counsel or senior management for urgent attention.

This article is not intended to be and must not be relied upon as legal advice, which can only be given by an attorney duly licensed in the jurisdiction after consideration of all relevant facts and circumstances. BNE

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COVER STORY BANK PROFILE

Pentucket Leads The Charge Bank’s Commitment Revitalizes Haverhill Waterfront

BY LINDA GOODSPEED

O

Scott D. Cote President and CEO Pentucket Bank

10 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

nce known as “the little bank that could,” Pentucket Bank is now “on track together” and helping drive a renaissance in the Merrimack Valley of northern Massachusetts.

Founded in 1891, Pentucket Bank is located in the old mill town of Haverhill, once home to the most millionaires per capita of any town in the country. But the historic town along the Merrimack River fell into disrepair during the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s when the mills closed.

Now, thanks to a $65-million, 192,000-squarefoot revitalization of two long-abandoned buildings along the town’s waterfront spearheaded by Pentucket Bank, Haverhill is once again on the move. The bank not only provided acquisition and leasing financing for the two buildings, it is leasing one floor in the new five-story commercial building.

Pentucket’s commitment helped leverage other tenants – including UMass Lowell, which is taking two floors – to move into the building, which is expected to be completed in June 2016. The second building, which will house 80 apartments, will be finished about three months later. In recognition of the bank’s leadership role, the commercial building will be known as “Pentucket Bank Plaza.” The entire development, which includes a new public park along

the river, will be known as Harbor Place.

“Community banks like Pentucket play such a pivotal role in a community,” said Ron Trombley, managing director of the Greater Haverhill Foundation, which is overseeing the project. “They understand the marketplace, live in the marketplace, appreciate the value of a project like this. Haverhill is blessed to have a community bank like Pentucket.”

Trombley also lauded the leadership of Pentucket’s President and CEO Scott D. Cote, who serves as the volunteer president of the GHF. “Scott’s guidance and leadership have been critical in developing this project,” Trombley said.

The Little Bank That Does

Pentucket Bank’s own revitalization began some 15 years ago. For well over a century, Pentucket, with three locations in town, was mainly a deposit bank.

That all changed in 1998 with the arrival of Cote as the bank’s new executive vice president and chief credit officer.

Since then, Pentucket’s assets have more than tripled from $200 million to $664 million, its deposit market share in Haverhill has doubled, and the bank has added three new branches in Salem and Hampstead, N.H. (in 2006), and North Andover,

Mass. (in 2014). Its commercial loan portfolio has grown from $5 million to $219 million.

“We used to be known as ‘the little bank that could,’ with a train logo,” said Cote, who was named president and CEO in 2010. “It worked very well for us for a long time. But as we went upmarket and brought in seasoned lenders and larger customers, the little bank that could was not a good focus for us any longer. We were not the bank that could. We felt we do.”

Keeping the train logo, Pentucket changed its mission and tagline last year to “on track together since 1891.”

On the deposit side, Pentucket ended 2014 with $558 million, up $19 million from 2013, and $216 million over the last 10 years.

Pentucket is now the dominant leader in deposit market share in the Haverhill area with 40 percent. Cote attributes the growth to the success of the three new branches and the “best relationship” product in the bank’s market.

The bank’s “Pentucket Club” provides higher rates on deposits, lower rates on loans and free services on balances over $7,500.

“We have a very low threshold,” Cote said.

“It’s our mainstay product on the consumer banking side.”

Pentucket’s loan portfolio of $463 million is comprised of residential mortgages ($225 million), business ($219 million), and consumer loans ($19 million). Although loan growth slowed in 2014, Cote expects lending activity to pick up again, noting the bank already has a large pipeline midway through 2015.

“We have a lot of initiatives to generate small business lending and loan growth through our branch network,” he said.

As part of its new mission statement, Pentucket Bank also committed itself to community service and volunteerism.

“Our target goal is to get everybody involved in at least one community event, but many of us are doing multiple events,” Cote said.

Pentucket’s 115 employees last year donated 5,000 volunteer hours, and the bank contributed $400,000 to local community nonprofit and charitable organizations.

The bank also hosts a number of fun and informative events for the community, ranging from retirement planning and cyber security seminars, to Pentuckey Derby day, to a “Great

Gatsby” themed event, to branch doggie days.

“We try to be unique in the way we bring people in,” said Leanne Eastman, assistant vice president for marketing and community relations.

Pentucket, which has been voted a Top Place to Work in Massachusetts five times by the Boston Globe, and is consistently voted as Haverhill’s #1 Community Bank by the Haverhill Gazette, also hosts many events for employees and families, including picnics, apple-picking outings, Red Sox games and Boston Harbor cruises.

As for future plans, Cote said, “We’re always looking for opportunities, but we want to digest our growth and the redevelopment project going on in Haverhill.” BNE

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11

WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY

Commercial Banking’s Talent Crisis Why We Need to Hit ‘Reset’ on Training Priorities

BY NEIL BERDIEV

Neil Berdiev is a commercial banker with almost two decades in the financial services industry. He is a co-founder of DNB Advisory, a Boston-based advisory firm that helps commercial banking clients accelerate their growth.

O

ver the last five to 10 years, commercial bankers across the U.S. have experienced four generations in the workforce for the first time in history, leading to generational conflict in our aging industry plagued by shortage of junior talent. We’ve been hearing more and more vocal conversations about these issues: • Young talent is not interested in our industry.

• Rising professionals know nothing about commercial banking (when asked, they think of the retail banking and branch teller jobs).

• Training and development frameworks have been decimated over the last 10 to 20 years.

• Training budgets are minimal or the first to be cut in good times and bad.

Add to this an increasingly commoditized industry, a sector-specific technology lag, growing regulatory costs, economy yet to improve enough to move the interest rates spreads, and competition that pushes pricing and structures to dangerously unsustainable levels, and you have a problem.

This talent crisis started in the early ’90s, when years of a poor economic environment led many large to mid-size banks cutting the credit and leadership development programs they’d established in the ’80s.

The economic situation led to slower hiring, with subsequent mergers resulting in talent excess.

Splitting of commercial lending into credit and business development functions led to more 12 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

specialized career tracks. Efficiencies that were created through specializing further contributed to excess of trained and experienced bankers. Lastly, banks began to look for ways to make their training programs more efficient, expecting trainees to start contributing as early as possible and not to “sit” in training. This prompted hiring straight into credit analyst roles without any formal training – the school of hard knocks.

The main fallacies of the industry’s decisions were: a) It is not worth training our employees because we are just training them for other banks, and b) Instead of training, we can just poach trained bankers from other organizations.

Now there’s really no one to poach because there are fewer and fewer trained bankers out there.

The traditional model outlined below stopped functioning, although training programs by banks such as Shawmut Bank and Bank of Boston in Boston or Manufacturers Hanover/Chemical and Chase in New York are still the talk of towns, even 20 to 30 years later.

My conversations with training program managers of the 1980s and 1990s revealed exactly why trained bankers left work for competitors post-training. Primary reasons were over-hiring and insufficient placement and growth opportunities.

The long-standing key excuse for eliminating Continued on page 14

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WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY Commercial Banking’s Talent Crisis CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

Tech Savvy is a Must Other Career Tracks

Credit Analyst

Portfolio Manager

Relationship Manager

Team Leader

training programs (i.e. trained bankers were switching banks for more money after graduating) was just a cover for the inability to provide growth and development opportunities to young talent.

So where do we go from here, with time running out and the window of opportunity closing to start readying the young cadres?

Below are the top 10 points we have to hit as individual organizations and as an industry in order to have trained, experienced and wellrounded commercial bankers to take our place as the generational turnover continues in the next 10 years.

Develop a Learning Culture

in many ways. The goal should be to share with them the best we have to offer and help them grow and develop their strengths. A big part of solving this challenge is managerial training. It is completely gone from the industry and needs to come back.

Fire the Cynic

We have lots of cynics in our industry.

Critical thinking is good in risk management, but cynicism is the cancer that erodes every organization’s culture. It is also an incredible turnoff for young professionals who are energetic, eager to learn and grow, perhaps a bit romantic, but overall very positive people.

The most successful organizations in financial services and beyond all have a learning culture that permeates every level.

They are constantly evolving into something better. Learning culture requires long-term vision and consistent multiyear investment just like the technology, business development and regulatory sides of our business. Setting a time limit of a few quarters does not work if you want to draw and retain younger generations.

Inclusive Culture

Revenue vs. Cost Center Mentality Does not Work!

Prioritize Environment and Other Elements of Value to Younger Generations

One of the main reason commercial banking finds itself in this challenging predicament is because it looks at revenuegenerating relationship management (or sales) teams as income centers and almost everyone else as a cost center. This ultimately caused the eliminatation of any meaningful training investment because training was typically part of credit, risk management or HR functions.

Each Generation is Different

Every generation is going to be different

14 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

Younger generations typically find themselves out of place in commercial banking because we do not have inclusive cultures. It is all about job tenure, title and rank, and so on. The reason why high-tech, biotech and other industries are such a draw for young talent is because they are allowed to sit at the table Day One – and their employers also tap into their rising talent.

How many banks don’t recycle, require double-sided printing, have timer-controlled lights, support environmental efforts and occupy high efficiency LEED-certified buildings? High-tech and biotech firms that are a magnet for young professionals do all those big and little things that make them responsible citizens. The definition of responsible, community-focused banking is not what it used to be. It is time that we recognize and do something about it.

Technology is here to stay. The more we fall behind, whether front-end for our customers or back-end for our employees, the less we become an attractive industry compared to investment management, investment banking, private equity, venture capital and non-financial services that compete for the same talent pool.

Balanced Lifestyle

Technology allows people to work whenever and wherever. Many leading industries offer extensive remote and flexible work arrangements, and not only for tenured, senior staffers. Younger generations grew up seeing their parents spend hours away from them in weekly commutes. They are not willing to do the same. Lack of flexible work arrangements in the industry is not so much due to the lack of technology but due to the resistance to change.

Learn from the Best

Rather than chasing our competitors’ term sheets, something we have done for decades, it’s high time to learn from the best of them and challenge our organizations’ every aspect.

Some learning opportunities lie in looking at other industries and companies in unrelated industries. This can give us a fresh perspective.

Say Goodbye to Type-Casting

It is still our industry’s nature to slot individuals into credit, lending and other tracks. Rising generations do not operate that way. Firstly, they still may not know what they want. The first five to 10 years in the workforce will be the time to explore and figure out what they like and what they are good at. Secondly, they are being coached in school and, beyond that, career progression is no longer a ladder, but a lattice. They expect to move in different directions and try various roles. That’s what ultimately will make them well-rounded, valuable employees, and eventually leaders.

The generational turnover and the lack of training challenges are a well-known fact. It is, however, high time to act. We need to act as an industry and as individual institutions.

While only a minority of banks will take action, that’s what will separate winners from losers, leaders from laggards. BNE

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COVER STORY COVER

K N A B Y R A PRIM IN NEW HAMPSHIRE DEBUTS

of Investors am Te is H d an er in re G ill B r de Foun Lending Void Aim to Fill the Small-Business

By Linda Goodspeed . Maggie Hassan; Bill Greiner, missioner, New Hampshire; Gov Com king Ban , low Per nn Gle t: Shaheen and Sen. Kelly Ayotte.

From left to righ CEO, Primary Bank; Sen. Jeanne and nt side pre ne, Sto Bill k; Ban founder, Primary 16 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

he first new bank in the U.S. in two years, and only the second since 2010, opened for business on July 28, next to a shopping plaza in Bedford, New Hampshire. The bank held a grand opening celebration and ribbon-cutting two days later.

As of mid-June, the new bank, to be known as Primary Bank, had received conditional approvals from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and state of New Hampshire, hired staff, and constructed a new two-story, 5,600-square-foot building.

“One of the conditions of approval was that we needed to raise a minimum of $25 million,” Primary Bank chairman and founder Bill Greiner said at the time. “We are very close to that. We expect to have all of those funds in a matter of days.”

Greiner, a real estate developer and former town councilor in Bedford, said staff are already working at the bank, and doors will soon open to customers. It will be the first new bank in the Granite State since 2008, and only the second new bank in the country since 2010.

Over the last few decades, the number of new banks opening around the country has declined steadily, with that number falling more rapidly during the financial crisis and subsequent years of recession. In

NH

the bank’s grand opening on Gov. Maggie Hassan speaks at

July 30.

a Wall Street Journal article, Federal Reserve economist Jacob Gramlich attributed the decline in new banks to low interest rates and weak demand for banking services.

Greiner has had a different experience. He says demand is there, particularly from small business, but the banks are not. In fact, he said his decision to open a bank is the direct result of larger banks not meeting the demands of small businesses like his own.

A developer with interests in apartments, retail and several restaurants, Greiner dealt for years with Providence, Rhode Island-based Citizens Bank. But during the recession, when he could not get suitable terms

from Citizens, he turned to locally owned community banks that he found more receptive to his needs. But in 2011 one of his major lenders, Hampshire First Bank, was bought out by a larger rival. Following the sale, Greiner again found decisions taking much longer. He said that was the catalyst that got him thinking about opening his own bank.

“At that point, I decided it would be worth looking into starting a bank,” he said. “Larger banks are not focused on small business, which is so critical to our market.”

Greiner began calling associates and reaching out to other business people to float his idea. When two other smaller banks merged with larger institutions, he and others became even more convinced a new bank was needed to step into the void.

“It just reinforced what I was thinking about,” Greiner said.

He met with regulators to gauge their receptivity to a new bank in November 2013. At the meeting Greiner told the bank officials he planned to raise the $3 million “at risk” capital for a new bank from at least 50 people, and cap investments at $50,000.

“Usually there are only about 10 people in this round,” Greiner said.

s in Bedford, New Hampshire.

Primary Bank is open for busines state in seven years.

It is the first bank to open in the

“We wanted as many people as possible in on the ground floor. We didn’t want it to be seen as a club. We wanted a more broad-based effort. We feel this matters in our community. It also gives us a good network to tap into.

The more people that buy into the bank, the more successful we will be.”

Regulators liked the approach, assured Greiner there was no moratorium on new banks, and gave him the green light to submit a proposal.

By August 2014, Greiner had raised the $3 million – not from 50 people, but 133. More than 90 percent of the investors are from New Continued on page 18

BANKING NEW ENGLAND

17

COVER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

Hampshire. He also started putting together a board of directors that includes former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Lynch, and hired William Stone, president of Bank of New England for the past 12 years, as president/CEO of the new bank.

“Bill Greiner has done a fantastic job putting that group together,” said Primary Bank investor Kevin Keyes of Moultonborough, New Hampshire.

Keyes, who says he will have little need for the new bank’s services, invested in Primary for the long term. “I can’t imagine them being anything but very successful. I feel very lucky to be able to ride their coattails.”

“Bill has put together a heck of a business plan,” agreed Robert L. Rohrer Jr., another investor and managing director of a Colliers International-affiliated commercial real estate firm. “I know a lot of the people involved. They are excellent business men and women. I feel he’s tapping the right people.”

In November 2014, Greiner submitted formal applications to the FDIC and New Hampshire Banking Department to open Primary Bank. New Hampshire approved the application in February 2015, and the FDIC in March. Including both the first and second capital rounds, the shareholder base for Primary now totals more than 300. Individual investments range from $5,000 to $2 million.

“We’re intending to be a community bank with a commercial focus,” Stone said.

On the commercial lending side, Stone said Primary will offer an array of business products, including working capital financing, equipment financing, provide construction lending for both residential construction as well as commercial and industrial building. The bank will

finance multifamily properties and provide commercial loans on retail, office and industrial investor and owner-occupied projects. The bank will also offer a home equity line of credit. Stone said loans will likely range from $100,000 to $4 million.

On the deposit side, the bank will offer all standard products for both business and consumers, including money markets, IRAs, checking, online banking for both commercial and consumer customers, bill pay, remote deposit capture and mobile banking. Like most small banks, Primary has contracted with a national firm to provide technology services.

Stone said the southern New Hampshire economy is ripe for a new community bank focused on small businesses.

“New Hampshire has become a big bank state,” he said. “All the mergers and acquisitions the last few years have left a void in the marketplace for small to mid-size business customers. Businesses want to deal with a bank close to decision making staffed by local business people.

Everything we do will be focused on the local marketplace.”

Stone said the southern New Hampshire economy is among the strongest regionally.

“We never suffered the real highs and lows like some other regions,” he said. “The demand for a commercial bank such as ours is there.”

Primary Bank’s first location is at the corner of Wallace Road and Route 101 next to a retail plaza that is owned by 16 investors, including four Primary directors. Greiner said that building should serve the bank for the first three to four years. He said more locations are planned, but are yet to be determined. BNE

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Berkshire Bank Parent to Buy Needham Specialty Finance Firm

Pittsfield, Massachusetts-based Berkshire Hills Bancorp will acquire a Needham, Massachusettsbased commercial specialty finance outfit for approximately $53 million in a deal slated to close in the third quarter this year. Firestone Financial Corp. focuses on secured installment loan equipment for small and medium-sized businesses.

The firm had approximately $190 million in commercial loans as of March 31. Firestone’s senior management team has extensive experience in the markets they serve and will continue to run the business following the closing. The acquisition is priced at 130 percent of Firestone’s adjusted tangible book value. Berkshire will pay 75 percent of the price with its common stock and the balance in cash. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Berkshire’s 2016 earnings per share and to generate a return on equity in excess of 15 percent.

The transaction is expected to be 8 cents dilutive to Berkshire’s tangible book value per share, with a related payback period of approximately 2.5 years.

Washington Trust to Acquire New Haven RIA Firm

Westerly, Rhode Island-based Washington Trust Bancorp will acquire the New Haven, Connecticut-based registered investment advisory firm Halsey Assoc. Inc. in a deal expected to close in the third quarter this year. Chairman and CEO Joseph J. MarcAurele, who describes Washington Trust as a community bank with an outsized wealth management business, said the $3.5 billion bank presently has about $5.2 billion in assets under management in its wealth management division. The acquisition of Halsey, which has about $850 million in assets under management, will bring that number up to about $6 billion. The deal strengthens Washington Trust’s presence in Connecticut, too. Washington Trust will acquire all

of the outstanding shares of Halsey capital stock.

Consideration for the transaction will consist of a combination of cash and Washington Trust common stock.

HarborOne Closes on Merrimack Deal

Brockton, Mass.-based HarborOne Bank closed on its acquisition of New Hampshire-based Merrimack Mortgage Co., which averages more than $1 billion in business annually throughout New England and will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of HarborOne. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. HarborOne originally announced its intention to acquire Merrimack at the end of April. The deal will significantly increase HarborOne’s mortgage business and its footprint in New England. Merrimack principals Dan McKenney and Timothy Boyle will assume the respective roles of president and CEO and executive vice president and CFO of the subsidiary mortgage unit.

Featured Banks • Berkshire Bank • HarborOne • North Shore Bank • Merrimac Savings Bank • Washington Trust

North Shore, Merrimac Savings to Merge

North Shore Bank and Merrimac Savings Bank will merge under North Shore’s name in a deal slated to close in the fourth quarter this year. The combined bank will have almost $750 million in assets and 11 full-service branches across Essex County, as well as one in Southern New Hampshire. The bank already does residential and commercial lending in Merrimac Savings Bank’s markets and the acquisition would provide a convenient depository location for those customers it already has. Merrimac Savings Bank presently has two locations – in Merrimac and Newton, New Hampshire – and $73 million in assets. The bank was chartered in 1871. The deal is still subject to approval by North Shore Bancorp’s directors, Merrimac Savings Bank’s corporators, the FDIC and the New Hampshire Division of Banks. BNE

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19

TECH REVOLUTION

The Tech Companies Are Coming How Community FIs Can Fight Back

BY NICOLE ROVI AND RYAN WHALEN

Nicole Rovi and Ryan Whalen are financial analysts in FinPro’s Consulting Division.

For more information, contact Nicole or Ryan at (908)604-9336 or nrovi@finpro. us and rwhalen@finpro.us, respectively.

T

he growing customer utilization of mobile technology has driven systems investments in mobile banking for banks across the country over the last decade. Spending on IT at banks has increased by over 49 percent over the last five years. These investments have generally been defensive in nature.

While some early adopters realized a small increase in customers, community bank utilization typically protected them from losing deposit share to the massive online systems of the big banks. Whether or not to play in mobile banking is now old news; mobile is now a necessary product offering. Designing the perfect mobile banking application is the next market disruptor threatening community banks.

Ranging from mobile payments and money transfer applications, technology companies are encroaching on mobile banking and offering more complex services, including small business lending and personal financial management (see sidebar for a list of the most popular competitors). These applications utilize detailed and clear images and provide the customer with budgeting tools and tips, as well as insight into his or her spending patterns and spending history. Applications developed by technology companies are capturing community banks’ customers because they provide a more interactive and userfriendly experience.

20 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

The introduction of Apple Pay, a mobile payment platform which links a consumer’s credit/ debit cards to his or her mobile devices, and Mint, a web-based personal financial management tool, have sent shockwaves throughout the banking industry. With the development of more complex banking functions on mobile applications and online, technology companies have become increasingly prevalent throughout the banking industry.

Community banks must evaluate their position in the mobile banking space and determine how they can compete with established technology companies that have greater resources, reach and expertise on the mobile platform than most community banks.

Like the initial adoption of mobile banking itself, it is imperative that community banks provide their customers with these services before their customers find alternatives.

Most mobile banking applications created by community banks have been designed with simple functions in mind, such as monitoring accounts and paying bill. Consumers are becoming more interested in money management tools on mobile devices, a feature readily available on applications created by technology companies. For example, Mint provides the customer with a simple, interactive process that allows the customer to budget, track spending

patterns and view his or her credit score, along with more complex features.

A Missed Opportunity

In a recent study conducted by the Aite Group, 86 percent of banks surveyed had the ability to complete bill pay from their mobile platform, while only 49 percent had the tools to help customers with budgeting. Only 48 percent had the ability to categorize expenses.

This is a missed opportunity for community banks, as a consumer who values budgeting tools might download one of the many applications available, as opposed to his or her own bank’s app.

A 2013 Cisco Customer Experience Report that focused on retail banking showed that customers in the United States are willing to provide more of their private information in exchange for customized banking services. In this case, the bank will miss out on valuable information about a customer’s spending habits, and thus the opportunity to further their relationship with that customer.

Mobile money transfer applications have become popular as a way to connect individuals who bank with different companies for the purposes of mobile payments. Applications such as Venmo that use social networks to connect individuals have become increasingly popular among the younger generations as a more convenient and reliable way to repay others. While many money transfer applications do not allow users to transfer money between their own personal accounts (a function most mobile banking applications provide), it fills a need that mobile banking applications cannot peer-to-peer transfers, regardless of one’s bank affiliation. Mobile money transfer apps have become a threat to traditional banks, as they provide convenient banking services to a larger network of people.

Community banks can compete with technology companies by implementing new technology and mobile app add-ons. There is a distinct difference in generational values regarding banking. Generation Y (born in the 1980s and 1990s) and Millennials

(born between 1990s and early 2000s) value convenience and speed over relationships, while older generations often appreciate the personal touch that is associated with community banks.

Banks can make their mobile applications more inclusive to all demographics by utilizing add-ons that incorporate videoconferencing into their existing mobile app. These add-ons, such as Linqto’s Personal Banker app, give the customer the option to videoconference with a bank employee face-to-face rather than using the traditional help window. Innovative products like this can help bankers bridge the gap between impersonal and relationship banking, ultimately leaving the choice to the consumer.

If consumers are unable to find what they need from their bank’s mobile application, it is exceedingly simple to find alternative solutions.

Banks need to determine the most pertinent needs of their customers and implement them into their mobile applications so that they can capture valuable information and strengthen customer loyalty – both which will build value for the institution. BNE

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PASSING THE TORCH

As CEOs Approach Retirement, Boards Approach Succession Planning

BY LAURA ALIX

Laura Alix is a staff writer for The Warren Group, publisher of Banking New England.

A

s the Baby Boom generation enters retirement en masse and the banking industry faces unprecedented challenges on the regulatory and technology fronts, among others, succession planning is more important than ever.

That’s for a number of reasons, not least of which is sheer demographics. About 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 every day, though of course not every single one of them will retire the minute they hit that magic number.

Furthermore, Massachusetts is home to a high number of community banks, many of them mutual, and many of those community bank CEOs got their foot in the door via the in-house training programs of yesteryear. But as the story goes, those training programs have all but vanished, and those CEOs are largely nearing retirement age.

Those factors, coupled with the ongoing recovery from the Great Recession and the stock market’s relative good shape, are leading many bank and credit union CEOs to consider retirement over the next several years, said Richard “Chip” Goode Jr., managing partner of the executive search firm Kiradjieff & Goode.

“There is no question today there are greater regulatory pressures, technology’s become a big investment issue for a lot of organizations, so I think a lot of people are saying, ‘I’ve had a great run, but it’s time now for me to retire,’” he said.

Even setting aside the graying of both America and the banking industry, succession planning is top of mind because it’s just good business sense. Goode said that boards are more aware now than ever of their fiduciary duties as they concern good corporate governance, and compensation advisor Arthur Warren added that regulators have increasingly turned up their focus on succession planning, as well.

‘Not a Perfect Science’

Goode and his firm might get involved at any stage of the succession planning process, he said.

Sometimes, a financial institution may have one or two internal candidates they’re considering for the position, but keeping in mind their fiduciary responsibilities, the board may want to compare that person with other potential candidates – just to make sure they get the best possible candidate for the job.

“It varies. It’s not a perfect science. We’ve seen a number of situations where they alternately choose 22 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

the internal candidate, and then there’s a number of other situations where they decide to go with the external candidate,” he said. “Each one is different.”

Consensus seems to be that many banks face a dearth of talent as they look to replace outgoing executives in the years ahead and they may have to think a little bit differently about what their next CEO should look like.

William M. Parent, president and CEO of Blue Hills Bank, estimated that his own background and skill set, largely in finance and private equity, might have been rejected by 90 percent of banks around the time that he was recruited to lead what was then Hyde Park Savings Bank.

“I had no prior CEO experience; I was not a commercial lender. I had a finance background, I had a private equity background,” he said. “What I was fortunate to be able to do was explain to the board that the breadth of those experiences gave me the capability to be a successful CEO. At least it put me in the same position as anybody else.”

It can be difficult, if not impossible, for a community bank to develop its own in-house training program, but Parent thinks that community banks may also have an edge in luring talent away from big banks with a more attractive workplace dynamic.

“Now I think there is an opportunity, and there may be a requirement, to look at a broader grouping of backgrounds that people have,” he said. “But I do think there are still very capable folks in some of the larger institutions that will become more interested in senior positions in the community bank space.”

The work doesn’t stop once a successor is chosen, either. Goode said that if a client of his winds up choosing an external candidate, his firm uses a proprietary on-boarding program to work with the board and the retiring CEO to help ensure a smooth transition. And Warren said that such transitions often require special compensation strategies to incentivize the outgoing CEO to stay with the organization through the transition and also retain that CEO’s direct reports.

“I’m optimistic about the future of the industry overall,” Goode said. “There still is a very high quality group of well qualified, competent people in financial services organizations that I’m very confidence in the next generation and the leadership transition.” BNE

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FINDING THE BALANCE

Work-Life Balance: Finding the Right Job for Your Purpose

BY BRIAN MOHR Brian Mohr is co-founder and managing partner for Y Scouts, a purpose-based leadership search firm that connects organizations with exceptional leaders.

T

he corporate world is susceptible to fads.

Work-life balance, a push to properly prioritize work in relation to lifestyle, features the kind of faddish thinking that can lead gifted people down the wrong path, says talent expert Brian Mohr.

“Think of those who love their job – for them, it’s not exactly ‘work’ as they exercise their capabilities fully toward a goal that they believe in,” says Mohr, co-founder and managing partner for Y Scouts (yscouts.com), a purpose-based leadership search firm.

“Finding the right fit – whether an organization is searching for leadership or an individual is seeking the right job – is more important than people realize.

The problem of work-life balance starts farther upstream. When the appropriate person is aligned with the appropriate goal, balance is natural.”

A concept like work-life balance is a claim on how we should prioritize our lives, which, if believed, can be confusing. An organization’s employees, from bottom to top, can benefit from a more helpful perspective, Mohr says.

Don’t Buy into the Notion of the ‘Work You’ We spend 8.8 hours of each day working, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics – the largest amount of time spent in any single activity (sleeping is second at 7.6 hours).

Work-life balance enforces a strange notion that you are essentially different on the clock than off the clock, which hurts both employers and employees.

Who wants this divided personality? Why not be yourself while doing what’s important – providing for your well-being and that of your family?

24 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

“Costumes are for Halloween,” Mohr says. “In my line of work, I want to offer a leader who is authentic and not some impostor version of who they really are.”

Not Everyone is Working for the Weekend Rather than work-life balance, it’s more helpful to think of your role in a company or nonprofit as work-life symbiosis. Just do the math. Working nearly nine hours in a role that you do not like doesn’t stack up well with two days that quickly pass by – assuming you hate your job. How many years of your life do you want to waste not doing what would make you happier?

“Most importantly of all is aligning the right people with the right role,” Mohr says. “That means aligning the purpose and values of an organization to the purpose and values of the right people. Everyone owes it to themselves to find the right organization.”

Take a Cue from your Technology In today’s world, we simply cannot compartmentalize different areas of our lives like people used to. You can communicate with your spouse at any time and know people better through social media than through real-life interaction. And, for work, most of us carry our work around in our smartphones. If not text messages, then we get emails sent to our phones.

“Whether through our technology or the software running in our brains, we don’t simply turn off work when we leave the office,” he says.

“We should drop the idea that ‘work’ and ‘life’ are somehow separate. They’re not.” BNE

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COVER STORY PERSONNEL FILE

Career achievers in banks across New England are constantly on the move, with their professional journeys reflecting a combination of mobility and longstanding service. In this space, we acknowledge them, and welcome readers to submit news of their own banks’ efforts and endeavors to Editor Cassidy Murphy at cmurphy@thewarrengroup.com

Appointments and Elections Centreville Bank Centreville Bank elected Thomas J. Lamb as president, CEO and chairman of the board of trustees at the bank’s annual meeting. Lamb was formerly the bank’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. He succeeds Raymond J. Bolster II, who retired in May. Thomas J. Lamb

East Cambridge Savings Bank

Featured Banks • BankNewport • Bank of New Hampshire • Centreville Bank • Eastern Bank

East Cambridge Savings Bank (ECSB) elected Diane G. Papadakos as vice Diane G. Papadakos Robert J. Pettit Ann Marie Robinson Donald S. Wallaga president. The bank also has elected Robert J. Pettit as its commercial credit manager and vice president, and Ann Marie Robinson as manager of human resources. ECSB’s current Controller Donald S. Wallaga was also elected vice president.

MutualOne Bank

• East Cambridge Savings Bank • Granite Bank • Middlesex Federal Savings Bank • MutualOne Bank

William H. Mayer

William H. Mayer was appointed to the board of directors of Natick, Massachusetts-based MutualOne Bank. Mayer is a partner in the Framingham law firm of Mayer, Antonellis, Jachowicz & Haranas, specializing in family law.

He has been engaged in the practice of law since 1977 and has concentrated in the area of family law since 1984. He is also the current Town Counsel for the town of Holliston (Massachusetts).

• Needham Bank • New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp • Savers Bank • TD Bank

Promotions Granite Bank

Granite Bank promoted Lisa Whitaker to vice president and human resources director.

• Village Bank • Webster Five Cents Savings Bank

Mark Whalen, CEO; Paul Totino, president; and Barry Whittaker, COO

Needham Bank

Massachusetts-based Needham Bank has a new executive team: Mark Whalen, CEO; Paul Totino; president; and Barry Whittaker as executive vice president and COO. Jack McGeorge, former CEO, has retired from that role but remains as chairman of the Needham Bank board of directors.

26 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

Whalen has more than 30 years of experience in the banking industry and is the former president and CEO of Dedham Cooperative Bank. He joined Needham Bank in 2007 when the two institutions merged and was named president and COO in 2012.

Paul Totino also has more than 30 years of banking experience, including 22 years at Middlesex Savings Bank. He joined Needham Bank in 2012 as executive vice president responsible for residential mortgage lending, commercial real estate and construction lending, and commercial and industrial lending.

Barry Whittaker has 40 years of banking experience including 29 years at Holbrook Cooperative Bank, where he held the position of president and CEO. He joined Needham Bank in 2011 and serves as executive vice president responsible for retail, operations, commercial credit and analytics.

Promotions New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp

New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp promoted Paul Provost, Certified Financial Planner, executive officer, to executive vice president of its newest subsidiary MillRiver Wealth Management.

Paul Provost

Kyle Farrell

John Tarpinia

Savers Bank

Robert J. Landolina

Savers Bank of Massachusetts has promoted Robert J. Landolina to vice president and commercial credit manager. The bank also promoted Laurie A. Alicea, Diana Bruneau, Lynne B. Ellis and Monique Marinelli to retail banking officer.

TD Bank

Webster Five Cents Savings Bank

Jessica McGarry

Maria Harvey

Pawel Powaza

Loreta Sulejman

TD Bank of Bangor has promoted Jeffrey A. Plourde to regional vice president in commercial lending for Northern Maine.

Village Bank

Jeffrey Tucker

Slater Cram

The Village Bank, based in Auburndale, Massachusetts, promoted Jeffrey Tucker to senior vice president. He joined The Village Bank in 2006 as assistant vice president and

manager of information systems. Slater Cram, who joined the bank in 2006 as a teller, was promoted to assistant treasurer. Kyle Farrell was promoted to assistant treasurer. John Tarpinian was promoted to assistant vice president, commercial lending.

Webster Five Cents Savings Bank of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, promoted Jessica McGarry to vice president of business banking; Maria Harvey to assistant vice president/retail trainer and development manager; Pawel Powaza to assistant branch manager of the Shrewsbury location; and Loreta Sulejman to branch manager of the Worcester branch.

New Arrivals BankNewport

W. Frazier Bell

William J. Marcello

BankNewport hired W. Frazier Bell as vice president and retail sales manager.

William J. Marcello joined as vice president and branch manager of the bank’s Coventry office, located at 730 Centre of New England Boulevard.

Bank of New Hampshire

Bob Mercer has joined the team of commercial banking professionals at Bank of New Hampshire as vice president of business development and treasury management officer.

Bob Mercer

Granite Bank

Michael Gonzales has joined Granite Bank as vice president and credit administration manager. Sylvia LaCasse joined the bank’s Colebrook office as residential loan officer.

Eastern Bank

Paul Alexander

Paul Alexander has joined Bostonbased Eastern Bank as Chief Marketing & Communications Officer. He was most recently with the chief communications officer for Liberty Mutual Insurance and brings more than 30 years of experience at Fortune 500 global companies, including Time Inc., Procter & Gamble and Campbell’s Soup.

Middlesex Federal Savings Bank

Sean P. Cummings has joined Middlesex Federal Savings Bank as vice president and commercial loan officer. He comes to Middlesex Federal based in Somerville, Massachusetts, with more than 20 years of experience in the banking industry, specializing in commercial real estate, construction lending, and community Sean P. Cummings development projects. Prior to joining Middlesex Federal, he worked at Reading Cooperative. BNE

BANKING NEW ENGLAND

27

COMMUNITY GOOD WORKS

Financial institutions large and small have been making a difference in their communities for years. In this space, we acknowledge them, and welcome readers to submit news of their own banks’ efforts and endeavors to Editor Cassidy Murphy at cmurphy@thewarrengroup.com

BankNewport

Featured Banks • BankNewport • Berkshire Bank • Bristol County Savings Bank • Eastern Bank • Franklin Savings Bank • Merrimack County Savings Bank • People’s United Bank • SIS Bank • Webster Bank

BankNewport, along with Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston and Building Homes Rhode Island, funded a $1.6-million construction project to build new units of affordable rental housing in East Greenwich. The project includes two- and three-bedroom townhouses, with two fully accessible units.

Berkshire Bank Nearly 350 Berkshire Bank employees completed more than 20 community service projects as part of the Pittsfield, Massachusettsbased bank’s Company-Wide Week of Service in mid-June. The 2015 week of service represented the highest number of employee participants and most projects undertaken during a single week in the company’s history.

The series of projects benefitted nonprofit organizations and communities across Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and Vermont, including: • Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield • Cradles to Crayons, Brighton, , Massachusetts • Birthday Wishes, South Hadley, Massachusetts • Dress for Success Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut • The Trustees of Reservations, Great Barrington, Massachusetts • United Way of Central & Northeastern Connecticut, Greater Hartford • Forest Park Zoo and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Springfield, Springfield, • Habitat for Humanity of Bennington County and Hildene, Manchester, Vermont Massachusetts • Meals on Wheels of Rutland County, Rutland, Vermont • Habitat for Humanity MetroWest, Worcester, Massachusetts

Bristol County Savings Bank

Bristol County Savings Bank awarded a grant of $45,000 to the Children’s Museum of Greater Fall River, Massachusetts, which helped create the museum’s “Education Station” classroom.

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Eastern Bank

The Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation donated $10,000 to Plymouth Area Coalition for the Homeless.

Eastern Bank

The Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation donated $10,000 to Cape Cod Center for Women, the only 24/7 domestic shelter for women and children in the area.

Franklin Savings Bank Franklin Savings Bank, based in Franklin, New Hampshire, pledged $15,000 to Concord Hospital Trust in an effort to bring the next generation of radiation technology to Payson Center for Cancer Care in 2016. The donation is part of a campaign to raise $2 million to purchase a new linear accelerator (LINAC) that will improve cancer treatment by precisely targeting radiation to destroy cancer cells, while sparing normal cells and tissue.

The total cost of the LINAC is $4 million. Concord Hospital is investing half of the cost and seeking the remaining $2 million in charitable donations in a special project fundraising campaign through Concord Hospital Trust.

SIS Bank

SIS Bank donated $650 to the Southern Maine Veterans Cemetery Association as part of the bank’s “SIS Home Runs for Good” campaign, which gives $50 to a local nonprofit organization for every home run a member of the Boston Red Sox hit at home throughout the month.

Eastern Bank

The Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation donated $10,000 to the Granite State Children’s Alliance.

Merrimack County Savings Bank

The Merrimack County Savings Bank Foundation granted $2,000 to Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains for after-school Girl Scout programming for low-income girls in grades one through five in Concord, New Hampshire.

Webster Bank

The Webster Five Foundation donated $1,000 to Hands for Help in Dudley (HANDS). The donation will be added to the funds available for awards to individuals qualifying for assistance.

HANDS helps limited-income senior citizens in Dudley, Massachusetts, with heating expenses in the winter

People’s United Bank

The People’s United Community Foundation awarded $65,500 in grants to 10 nonprofit organizations in Maine, in support of activities ranging from job training and affordable housing initiatives to basic needs and STEM programs. Pictured, the foundation also awarded $7,500 to Four Directions Development Corp. in Orono, Maine, an organization that addresses the social and economic challenges of the Wabanaki tribes.

BANKING NEW ENGLAND

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Featured Banks • BayCoast Bank • Bangor Savings Bank • First Niagara Bank • Leader Bank • HarborOne Bank • Needham Bank • Salem Five Cents Savings Bank

‘Merrimack Valley Bandit’ Pleads Guilty Rafael Beamud, dubbed the “Merrimack Valley Bandit,” pleaded guilty to six armed robberies. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison after he was implicated in more than a dozen robberies from 2012 to 2013. The FBI estimated he stole $30,000 to $40,00 in robberies throughout the Merrimack Valley, Maine and southern New Hampshire, including Bangor Savings Bank in Salem. Authorities said he also likely burned down his home in Salem, New Hampshire in 2012.

He generally used a gun to threaten tellers in each case. He faces additional charges for robbing a Nashua bank in 2013.

Needham Bank Opens Ashland Office

Needham Bank opened a new branch in Ashland, Massachusetts. The bank held a grand opening celebration providing food, games and prizes and the opportunity to meet and take pictures with New England Patriots Cornerback Malcolm Butler.

BayCoast Bank Opens South Dartmouth Branch

BayCoast Bank has opened a new branch in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts. The 3,200-square-foot branch features a multilane drive-thru and an open-concept floor plan including a technology bar and a smart ATM. BayCoast Bank has partnered with Vision 3 Architects to renovate and expand its existing branches and design a new interior contemporary banking concept based on a “pod” design to help establish the bank’s new brand identity.

HarborOne Expands into Rhode Island with Commercial Loan Office

HarborOne Bank is expanding its footprint into Rhode Island with the opening of a new commercial loan office in downtown Providence. The office, which is to be located on Westminster Street in Providence’s financial district, is the bank’s first since its conversion to a bank charter in 2013. That news also comes on the heels of the bank’s recent announcement that it would acquire Merrimack Mortgage Co. Inc. in Manchester, New Hampshire. James W. Blake, HarborOne’s president and CEO, said the bank had already been lending to companies in Rhode Island when it made the decision to open up shop there. HarborOne Vice Presidents Mathew Isana and George Sadler will lead that office’s commercial lending efforts.

Leader Bank Sets up Shop in Seaport District

Winchester Soccer Club to Construct New Facilities with $7M Bond

Winchester Soccer Club Inc. will acquire property for and construct a series of structures using a $7 million MassDevelopment bond, purchased by Salem Five Cents Savings Bank based in Salem, Massachusetts. The club will build two multi-sport synthetic turf playing fields, a smaller natural grass outdoor field, and a 70,000-square-foot field house. The organization will also use bond proceeds to furnish and equip the field house and build a 130-space parking lot. The project is expected to support 24 construction jobs.

30 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

Leader Bank has chosen the Fan Pier development in the Seaport Innovation District as the site of its first branch in Boston. The Seaport branch is the Arlingtonbased financial institution’s seventh location overall, selected after observation of growth patterns in various districts throughout the city.

A grand opening ceremony was held June 26.

Pictured, Sushil Tuli, president and CEO of Leader Bank, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg cut the ribbon to open the branch. BNE

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