Much of Bristol County Savings Bank’s growth has stemmed from its expansion in the Southeastern Massachusetts market. The state-chartered institution is looking beyond that market to Rhode Island for future growth, with a branch planned for Pawtucket and a loan origination office slated for Providence.
The Taunton-based bank has nine branches, including educational branches in Attleboro and Taunton high schools. Bristol County Savings plans to open a branch in Franklin in April and will open the Pawtucket branch by the end of this year, pending regulatory approvals. The bank has assets of $579 million. E. Dennis Kelly Jr. is the bank’s president and chief executive officer.
“It’s just a natural move as we look to grow,” said Patrick J. Murray, the bank’s executive vice president and treasurer. “Pawtucket is the next community over from Attleboro, where we have a big presence.”
Bristol County Savings is the first state-chartered bank to apply to operate branches in Rhode Island since the implementation of Massachusetts’ interstate banking bill in 1996. The federally chartered First Federal Savings Bank of America entered Rhode Island three and a half years ago. It operates four branches there and plans to open a fifth branch in June. Murray said his bank’s expansion plans are limited to the Pawtucket area for now.
“At this point we’re just looking at our geographical expansion,” Murray said. “We don’t plan to jump in leaps and bounds.”
Over the last five years, much of the bank’s growth has resulted from its entrance into new markets. The bank entered the Attleboro market in 1995 and has nearly 17 percent of the deposits outstanding in the market. Growth in that market has leveled off recently, according to the filing, so the bank is seeking a new market in which to grow.
The bank’s primary service area includes 14 Southeastern Massachusetts towns, from Easton and North Attleboro to Lakeville. When it opens the Franklin branch the service area will expand to include Franklin, Bellingham, Plainville and Wrentham. Bristol County Savings already serves customers in Rhode Island who frequently travel the short distance to the Bay State, but it will face competition from a number of financial institutions already established in Rhode Island.
Bristol County Savings’ entrance into Rhode Island will pit it against FleetBoston, Citizens Bank and FirstFed, all of which it competes with in Massachusetts. It will also face competition from four credit unions in Pawtucket – Pawtucket Credit Union, Central Falls Credit Union, Alliance Credit Union and Woodlawn Credit Union. All together these institutions operate 17 branches in Pawtucket. That number will drop to 16 when FleetBoston completes its divestiture.
Market Alternative
According to the application filed with the Division of Banks, Bristol County Savings will serve as an alternative in the market for consumers looking to do business with a savings bank. The bank’s primary deposit products are savings and checking accounts and term certificate accounts. Its main lending products are residential mortgages, commercial mortgages, and commercial and industrial loans. The bank also markets trust services through a subsidiary, Anawon Trust, to individuals and small businesses. The trust company has approximately $150 million under management.
Robert F. Stoico, chief executive officer of Fall River-based First Federal Savings Bank of America, said Bristol County Savings will have to work to establish ties in the Ocean State.
“One thing that’s very different about their market is there’s a tremendous amount of credit union competition,” Stoico said. “We have some well-established business contacts and some well-established networks that supply us with business in banking, trust and insurance. We’re already part of the fabric of the Rhode Island community from a business standpoint.”
With a loan center in East Greenwich, FirstFed became the fourth largest residential lender in Rhode Island before it opened a single branch there, according to Stoico. The bank had customers in the East Bay and Tiverton areas of Rhode Island, just minutes away from the Massachusetts border. Some of the bank’s customers lived in Rhode Island but worked in Fall River, making it convenient to bank with FirstFed, Stoico said.
“If you put a pin on the location of our headquarters in the Fall River community and you draw a circle of 30 miles you’re going to encompass a lot of Rhode Island,” Stoico said. “It just makes a lot of sense.”
FirstFed headquartered its insurance company in Providence and plans to locate its new trust company there as well.
Although the interstate banking bill allowing state-chartered institutions to branch in other states came into effect four years ago, Bristol County Savings is the first Massachusetts bank to follow FirstFed into Rhode Island.
The Division of Banks has received only a handful of applications for interstate banking, according to Senior Deputy Commissioner Steven L. Antonakes. Andover Savings Bank applied to move into New Hampshire, PNC Bank applied to expand into Connecticut, and several out-of-state institutions have applied to open shop in Massachusetts.
