Photos by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff (left) and courtesy of Mechanics Cooperative Bank (right)
Massachusetts’ newest mutual holding company combination will see banks on opposite sides of Massachusetts join forces.
North Adams-based MountainOne Bank and Taunton-based Mechanics Cooperative Bank announced Tuesday they have entered into a formal agreement to merge their mutual holding companies into one. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025.
Both are active commercial real estate lenders in the Greater Boston market, having made a combined $84.8 million worth of loans on commercial properties in the region in 2024 alone, according to data from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
After the completion of the merger, the new consolidated holding company for both banks will be MountainOne Financial MHC. Both banks will continue to operate independently, retaining their respective charters, headquarters and brand names.
Robert J. Fraser will become chairman and Joseph T. Baptista Jr. will become president and CEO of the combined mutual Hholding company. Fraser will continue in his role as president and CEO of MountainOne Bank and Baptista will also remain as president and CEO of Mechanics Cooperative Bank.
“I am thrilled at the opportunity this partnership creates for our combined organizations. Continuing to operate independently enables us to position both mutual banks, as well as MountainOne Insurance and MountainOne Investments, for continued and future growth,” Fraser said in a statement. “Simply put, as two individually successful, fiscally strong, and strategically aligned mutual banking institutions, our combination is far greater than the sum of our parts.”
Under the terms of the agreement, both entities will have no reductions in staff at either institution. Additionally, the agreement illustrates that both banks want to remain mutual banks.
“Today is an exciting day in Mechanics Cooperative Bank’s 147-year history as we announce a partnership with MountainOne,” Baptista Jr. said in a statement. “Our shared values, vision and deep roots in our respective markets make this partnership a natural fit. As mutual banking institutions, we are owned by our depositors, not by shareholders. As we set our sights on the future, we are committed to maintaining our mutuality structure, and our combined organization will continue to prioritize the interest of our customers and communities above all else.”
The agreement, approved by each institution’s boards of trustees, awaits regulatory approval. After the completion of the merger, the new consolidated holding company for both banks will have approximately $1.8 billion in assets and 15 full-service retail banking locations across Massachusetts.
Holding company mergers are an increasingly popular form of consolidation among Massachusetts’ mutual banks, allowing them to generate efficiencies by sharing back-office services while also creating a larger pool of deposits that lets them compete for larger loan deals and creating the scale many bankers say is necessary to survive in the Massachusetts market.
And with the constituent banks continuing to operate as independent brands, bank CEOs who’ve taken part in these holding company combinations say they believe their customers haven’t been put off as they might have been in a traditional merger.
The latest such merger to be consumated: Worcester’s Cornerstone Bank and Holyoke-based PeoplesBank. If the MountainOne-Mechanics Cooperative tie-up goes through, Massachusetts will have five mutual holding companies collectively representing 14 mutual banks.
