Bangor Savings Bank opening branch in Portsmouth

Courtesy / Rinck Advertising Bangor Savings President and CEO Bob Montgomery-Rice announced Thursday that the bank will be opening a branch in downtown Portsmouth, N.H.

Write a Comment

By Staff

Bangor Savings Bank will continue its southward expansion, saying Thursday it plans to open a branch in downtown Portsmouth, N.H.

President and CEO Bob Montgomery-Rice said the site, 8 Bow St., will undergo renovations and open by late summer. It will have five employees.

“We’re excited to be moving forward with another investment in Portsmouth,” said Montgomery-Rice. “Portsmouth is a wonderful, vibrant downtown and we are thrilled to be part of it.”

Merger moving forward

In October 2017, Bangor Savings announced an agreement to acquire all Granite Bank locations in New Hampshire including a full-service branch office on Lafayette Drive in Portsmouth. Pending final approvals, the merger will be complete in early April.

Last week, the parent companies of Bangor Savings and Granite Bank jointly announced that shareholders of Granite Bank’s parent firm had approved the previously announced merger transaction on March 14, with 97% of the shares present voting in favor.

No vote by the corporators of Bangor Bancorp, MHC is required, and Bangor Bancorp, MHC, as the sole shareholder of Bangor Savings Bank, has already approved the proposed merger.

In addition, the transactions were approved by the Maine Bureau of Financial Institutions, the New Hampshire Banking Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Under the terms of the merger, shareholders of First Colebrook, Granite Bank’s parent firm, will receive $45 in cash in exchange for each share of First Colebrook stock for a transaction valued in aggregate at approximately $45 million. The transaction is expected to close on April 6.

“We are excited about the potential benefits of the merger for our stockholders, customers and the communities we serve as well as for our employees,” Scott A. Cooper, president and CEO of First Colebrook and Granite Bank, said in a news release.

Bangor Savings, Maine’s second-largest bank with $3.7 billion in assets, has 54 locations. It is building a new headquarters on the waterfront in Bangor.