Banker & Tradesman file photo
Rockland Trust Co. remains open to mergers in the coming years, but changing economic conditions could see the bank taking a different approach to possible deals.
Rockland Trust’s CEO Chris Oddleifson said during the bank’s second quarter earnings call last week that the bank plans to continue making acquisitions and be part of the discussions in the next couple of years as franchises become available for acquisitions. Rockland Trust completed its acquisition of East Boston Savings Bank in November.
“We’ve had tremendous success with our M&A transactions over the years,” Oddleifson said.
In response to an analyst’s question about whether he was thinking about M&A differently, Oddleifson said the uncertainty of the next couple of years would warrant further discussions about potential deals, as well as additional scenario analysis about the implications of an acquisition.
“It would require a lot more thought now than I think it has in the past,” Oddleifson said. He added: “We still have a nice currency advantage; I’d like to be able to use it.”
Rockland Trust had second quarter net income of $61.8 million, or $1.32 per diluted share, compared to first quarter net income of $53.1 million, or $1.12 per diluted share. First quarter results included pre-tax merger-related costs of $7.1 million.
The bank’s total assets were $20 billion at the end of the second quarter, decreasing by $176.7 million from the first quarter. Assets increased year-over-year by $5.8 billion, or 40.8 percent, following the East Boston Savings Bank acquisition.
Total loans were $13.7 billion in the second quarter, up by $95.7 million, or 2.8 percent on an annualized basis compared to the first quarter. The bank said in its second quarter earnings statement that organic loan growth was driven primarily by consumer loan activity, with most residential real estate loan closings retained on the balance sheet. The bank also saw growth in home equity balances of 3.9 percent in the second quarter as demand and line utilization increased.
Mark Ruggiero, Rockland Trust’s chief financial officer, said the bank has a loan pipeline of $372 million, up from the first quarter pipeline of $307 million.
Deposit balances were $16.6 billion as the end of the second quarter, down by $123.8 million, or 0.7 percent from the prior quarter, which the bank attributed to continued runoff in higher-cost time deposits.
