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Eastern Bank is now two weeks away from completing its acquisition of Century Bank, and the bank is looking at another opportunity to spend some of the capital raised in last year’s initial public offering.

Boston-based Eastern Bank will complete the acquisition of Medford-based Century Bank on Friday, Nov. 12, and the system conversion of Century accounts to Eastern will take place that weekend, Jim Fitzgerald, Eastern Bank’s chief administrative officer and chief financial officer, said during the bank’s third quarter earnings call on Friday.

Eastern Bank expects to lose some Century Bank customers after the acquisition. As Eastern integrates Century’s loan portfolio with Eastern’s approach to lending, Fitzgerald said, the bank expects to experience modest runoff. He does expect loan growth in 2022, with a rate in the mid-to-high single digits.

Some customers with deposit accounts will also likely leave as Eastern reshapes Century’s existing funding structure for deposits, Fitzgerald said. He added that Eastern plans to use excess liquidity to cover the effects of any deposit runoff, noting that a more efficient balance sheet long-term would help improve Eastern’s overall returns.

Fitzgerald also expects the net interest margin to be lower in 2022 since Century has a lower net interest margin than Eastern.

“We expect 2022 to be a bit of a repositioning year for the balance sheet,” Fitzgerald said.

About a year after converting to a stock bank, Eastern Bank had third quarter net income of $37.1 million, or $0.22 per share, compared to net income of $34.8 million, or $0.20 per share, in the second quarter of 2021.

Eastern’s total assets were $17.5 billion at the end of the third quarter, an increase of $413.8 million, or 2 percent, from the second quarter.

Total loans were $9.5 billion, a decrease of about 1 percent, as PPP loan forgiveness outpaced new loan originations in the third quarter, the bank said in its earnings statement. Excluding PPP loans, the bank saw loans grow by $175.3 million, or 2 percent, from the second quarter, driven by growth in commercial and residential loans, the bank said. Eastern had total deposits of $13.6 billion, an increase of $399.5 million, or 3 percent, since the second quarter.

After the all-cash deal for Century Bank is complete, a transaction valued at $642 million, Eastern will next look to use capital on a share repurchase program. Eastern’s board of directors has approved a share repurchase program that would buy up to roughly 9.3 million shares, 5 percent of the company’s outstanding shares of common stock, over a 12-month period.

The bank has applied to the Federal Reserve for a non-objection ruling on the repurchase plan, a requirement since the bank just had its initial public offering in October 2020. If approved, Eastern said it does not expect the share repurchases to begin before December.

Eastern Bank’s Chairman and CEO, Bob Rivers, said in response to an analyst’s question during the conference call that Eastern would pursue another acquisition in 2022 in one became available. While Greater Boston now has fewer targets for a deal, Rivers said, the region has “terrific potential opportunities.”

Rivers added that the bank is focused on organic growth. He pointed to a new digital account opening platform the bank has been building to accelerate account acquisitions and improve the experience for customers.

“We are very focused on organic growth,” Rivers said. “It has always been very solid and strong and continues to be that way. Right now are energies are very focused on things that will help accelerate organic growth.”

If another merger is pursued, it might not be an all-cash deal like the Century transaction. In response to an analyst’s question, Fitzgerald said the decision to go with a cash or stock transaction is determined by the bank putting itself up for sale rather than the buyer.

Eastern to Close Century Deal in Two Weeks

by Diane McLaughlin time to read: 3 min
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