Bangor Savings raises its minimum wage for the third time in two years

Courtesy / Rinck Advertising Bangor Savings President and CEO Bob Montgomery-Rice said Bangor Savings Bank has raised the minimum wage it pays employees in all positions to $15 per hours, effective Feb. 25, as part of the banks' "Living Wage" initiative.

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By Staff

Bangor Savings Bank has raised the minimum rate it pays employees in all positions to $15 per hour, effective Feb. 25.

It’s the bank’s third minimum wage increase since January 2016, it said.

The bank said its intention is to pay a living wage to all employees, regardless of location, position or whether they are full-time or part-time.

“We have the best employees and our ‘Living Wage’ initiative is just one of the many ways we can support them to make their lives and the lives of their families better,” Bangor Savings President and CEO Bob Montgomery-Rice said in a news release.

Montgomery-Rice said the initiative goes beyond the bank.

“It stands as an investment in the communities where we each live and work,” he said. “The wage allows employees to save and provides an ability to spend. That spending, in turn, strengthens local businesses and the towns they serve. We are committed to strengthening our local economies and proud to support the financial stability of our team.”

The wage increase will impact about 40% of the bank’s 836 employees in Maine and New Hampshire, either by bringing them to the new minimum or through a “compression” wage adjustment. The bank’s minimum wage is now $5 more than the state of Maine’s minimum wage, and more than double the state of New Hampshire’s minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Bangor Savings’ footprint expands

The investment in its workforce comes as Bangor Savings continues to grow in Bangor and beyond. The first building in its new headquarters on the Bangor waterfront will open in June and, with the completion of its second building later this year, the campus will house more than 400 Bangor-based employees with capacity to grow to 500.

The bank will relocate branches in Biddeford and Pittsfield to new locations within those communities over the next four months, and expects to complete the acquisition of Colebrook, New Hampshire-based Granite Bank in early April.

The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation’s popular Community Matters More grant making program also was expanded to include Rockingham County in New Hampshire for the first time this year.

About Bangor Savings Bank

Bangor Savings Bank, with more than $3.7 billion in assets, offers retail banking to consumers as well as comprehensive commercial, corporate, payroll administration, merchant services, mortgage and small business banking services to Maine and New Hampshire. The bank, www.bangor.com founded in 1852, is in its 166th year, with 55 locations. The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation was created in 1997. Together the bank and its foundation invest nearly $2 million per year into the community in the form of nonprofit sponsorships, grants, and partnership initiatives.

Bangor Savings Bank is an Equal Opportunity Employer.