Anabela F. (Bela) Vasconcelos has joined the Canton Co-operative Bank as director of residential lending.

Before joining Canton Co-operative, Vasconcelos served as senior retail loan underwriter/secondary markets officer at both Mutual Bank in Whitman and at the Randolph Savings Bank.

"We had been looking for someone to join our lending team for quite a long time," Deborah Kreusch, president and CEO of Canton Co-operative Bank, said in a statement. "When we met Bela, we knew she was the person we had been hoping to find – a seasoned mortgage officer with years of local bank experience and an excellent track record of helping people finance and refinance their homes."

"I love that Canton Co-operative is a strong independent bank with more than 120 years of top management commitment to local lending," Vasconcelos said. "Getting a mortgage can be a roller-coaster, especially for first-time buyers but really for almost every borrower. We use our experience with the process to keep things moving smoothly and we reassure borrowers that everything is going to be fine. People absolutely appreciate that."