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Massachusetts mutual bank holding companies keep getting bigger, this time thanks to a Fitchburg-based community bank’s decision to join River Run Bancorp.
Rollstone Bank & Trust announced its plans Tuesday to merge its holding company with the mutual holding company for Newburyport Bank and Haverhill-based Pentucket Bank. The merger would see Rollstone continue to operate under its own brand while sharing back-office operations and gaining access to new products.
If the tie-up is approved by regulators, that would give River Run $3.57 billion in assets: $899.47 million from Rollstone, $1.06 billion from Pentucket ant $1.61 billion from Newburyport, according to second-quarter FDIC data.
Like many other banks that have engaged in mutual holding company mergers in the last few years, Rollstone’s longtime leader framed the decision as offering the competitive advantages of scale while avoiding selling out to a much larger, potentially out-of-state competitor.
“Since our founding as Fitchburg Savings Bank in 1846, the banking industry has evolved greatly and is currently undergoing tremendous consolidation. Through it all, we have served our customers and community with pride. Our dedication has never wavered, nor has our commitment to maintaining our mutuality,” Rollstone President and CEO Martin F. Connors said in a statement.“Joining forces with Newburyport Bank and Pentucket Bank, and becoming part of the River Run family, will afford us the opportunity to enhance our service offerings and build an even stronger bank for the future.”
Connors had been Rollstone’s president since 2004 and had planned to retire in the middle of next year. Once he retires, he’ll be replaced as president by the bank’s COO Mary Beth Jokela. The move will make Jokela Rollstone’s first female president. Jokela was elevated from senior vice president of bank administration and its CRA officer in February.
Post-retirement, Connors will join River Run’s board as vice chair. Four Rollstone directors will also join.
In Massachusetts, four multi-bank mutual holding companies have used these mergers to effect significant growth in the last two years, building on a model proven out by Hometown Financial Group’s serial acquisitions of smaller banks like Pilgrim Bank and Abington Bank in 2018, Milbury Savings Bank in 2019 and Envision Bank in 2022. Following member bank Abington Bank’s merger with North Shore Bank last month, Hometown now boasts around $6.5 billion in assets.
River Run got its start in late 2022 with Pentucket and Newburyport banks seeking back-office savings by merging holding companies.
South Shore Bank and Dedham Savings followed only a few months later with their own mutual holding company merger, forming 1831 Bancorp in 2023. That combination, now boasting $4.55 billion in assets, has seen the two banks jointly fund commercial real estate projects like a 160-unit Petruzziello Properties MBTA Communities-fueled development in Westwood that broke ground last month.
And Cape Cod 5 used the same strategy to join up with Worcester-based Fidelity Bank in 2023 to form a nearly $7 billion entity.
“We formed River Run to secure the independent community banking model for the future,” Lloyd Hamm, president and CEO of River Run, said in a statement. “As community banks face challenges that could impact their long-term sustainability, River Run provides the structure for them to not only survive but thrive. We are thrilled to welcome Rollstone to the River Run family and are confident that, together with Newburyport Bank and Pentucket Bank, we will continue to support the evolution of community banking.”
The Rollstone merger also brings wealth management and trust services to River Run’s portfolio.
