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Even with the ink still not dry on its agreement to acquire Colonial Federal Savings Bank, Hometown Financial Group President and CEO Matt Sosik indicated that the multi-bank mutual holding company will look to continue to grow.
The transaction will expand Hometown’s market presence in eastern Massachusetts via its subsidiary, North Shore Bank. Following its completion, Hometown will have consolidated assets of nearly $6.9 billion and a branch network of 56 offices across Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, and northeastern Connecticut.
“We have a tight grip on the strategy that we’re trying to deploy and execute upon,” Sosik said. “This is just a natural fit, both from a footprint perspective, cultural perspective, and sort of a natural expansion of our company on all of those fronts. You look at the footprint, obviously, we’re on the South Shore, and this builds upon that presence in a couple of key towns for us.”
With the increased deposit pool of over $5 billion to tap into post-merger, Sosik noted that it will look to invest in technology as well as employees.
“It allows you to be profitable for starters, and then being profitable allows you to reinvest in all of your constituents and that’s customer-facing technologies, that’s critical in today’s world. That’s cyber security and the actual humans that help us do this,” he said.
Prior to the announcement of the Colonial Federal deal, Hometown completed its merger with North Shore Bank in September of last year. Sosik estimated that the merger with Colonial Federal will be completed over a similar timeframe.
“I think we’re measured about it,” he said. “If you consider our history and our level of experience at the M&A execution side of it, not just finding a partner, but I mean actually being able to execute at a high level.”
Still, the Sosik didn’t rule out another deal soon after.
“We’re very cognizant of the pace,” Sosik said. “We’ll continue to have conversations with like-minded companies looking for the same things we are, long-term viability, long-term relevance in a really tough, low-margin business.”
