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Rockland Trust expects to open its first Worcester retail branch in January and could add more retail locations there in the next 12 to 18 months.

Rob Cozzone, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Rockland Trust and its parent company, Independent Bank Corp, said during an Oct. 18 earnings call that Rockland Trust rather than deposit growth, the new branches would focus on embedding the bank in the community, finding staff with connections in the community and generating relationships. Cozzone said Rockland Trust also expected to open a branch in Needham in December.

“In terms of deposit growth expectations from those two new locations, we have very modest assumptions when we think about the first couple years of growth in a branch,” Cozzone said in response to an analyst’s question. “So it’s not really going to change the trajectory of our deposit growth meaningfully from a total company perspective, because we focus on building out relationships.”

Rockland Trust recently added wealth management and lending offices in Worcester. Chris Oddleifson, CEO of Rockland Trust, said during the call that the bank had been eyeing Worcester for expansion opportunities for over a decade.

Oddleifson added that the bank still expects to pursue mergers and acquisitions. Rockland Trust completed its acquisition of Blue Hills Bank earlier this year, and Oddleifson said he hoped to continue the bank’s trend of being involved with an acquisition every 1½ years for the past 15 years.

“There will be opportunities, and with our currency, I expect to be at the table, and I would very much like to be there,” Oddleifson said.

Independent Bancorp, Rockland’s holding company, had net income of $51.8 million, or $1.51 per diluted share, for the quarter, compared to net income of $30.6 million, or $0.89 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2019.

“Rockland Trust’s third quarter performance was strong,” Christopher said in a statement. “Our underlying fundamentals remain strong, our integration of Blue Hills Bank has progressed as planned, and we are hard at work pursuing the opportunities presented by our market expansion. Our ongoing success is a testament to the hard work of my talented colleagues and their commitment to forge enduring relationships with each other and with the customers and communities that Rockland Trust serves.”