Banking roundup: New branches; a former Sea Dog takes on mortgage lending

Photo / Peter Van Allen In Westbrook, Biddeford Savings Bank has a ground-floor space across from Rock Row.

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In a day and age when banking apps have become a routine part of managing personal finances, bank branches continue to crop up across Maine.

Chase Bank opened the first of four planned branches, on Monument Square in Portland. Three other branches will open in newly built space.

Chase has a freestanding “pad” site branch set to open at Rock Row in Westbrook. A branch office in Falmouth is planned for the ground floor of a four-story building being developed on U.S. Route 1 in Falmouth. In the not-so-distant future, it will break ground on another pad site branch, in front of the Hannaford in Yarmouth.

Maine Community Bank recently opened a branch in a three-story building on Larrabee Road in Westbrook, directly opposite Rock Row. The three-story building serves as the operations center and on the ground floor has a branch office for Biddeford Savings Bank. Maine Community Bank also owns Mechanics Savings.

Bangor Savings Bank is putting the final touches on the makeover of a former University Credit Union branch, where it will relocate in January. Its move is a short one, from across Brighton Avenue. Each of those Bangor Savings branches have Portland addresses but are not far from the Chase branch at Rock Row and a planned credit union branch.

Photo / Peter Van Allen

In Westbrook, Atlantic Federal Credit Union plans to break ground soon on a new branch.

That credit union branch will be for Atlantic Federal Credit Union, which plans to build on a pad site in front of the shopping center with Shaw’s, Kohl’s and Pizza Hut, among other tenants. It will be on the west side of Riverside, with a Westbrook address.

Christopher McGorrill, Atlantic FCU’s chief marketing officer, said it will break ground soon, and the branch is on track to open next year.

In Waterville, Katahdin Trust Co. has a branch under construction not far from the Maine Turnpike.

All this is happening at a time when big banks are closing branches, not drastically but prudently — more of a trim than a full haircut. U.S. Bancorp, Wells Fargo, PNC, Capital One and Chase all closed U.S. branches in 2020, according to the Financial Brand.

But in Maine, which has 30 active commercial banks, physical branches remains a strong component of doing business. Brick-and-mortar is still an important part of showing a commitment to Maine communities.

By market share in Maine, the top five banks are TD Bank, Bangor Savings, Camden National, KeyBank and Bank of America, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

‘Pitching’ mortgages

Michael MacDonald has joined Bangor Savings Bank as a mortgage development officer associate.

Fans of the Portland Sea Dogs might remember Mike MacDonald, as he was known, as an efficiency-minded, reliable right-handed pitcher who was here for the 2012 season.

Photo / Courtesy of Bangor Savings

Michael MacDonald, of the Bangor Savings mortgage lending department.

MacDonald, 40, was born in Camden and played baseball at the University of Maine. He was the first Mainer to play for the Sea Dogs.

After being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays, he spent nine seasons in the minors, pitching for a dozen teams at the Single-A, Double-A and Triple-A levels. For his career, he had a 61-62 career record and a 4.63 earned run average, according to Baseball-Reference.com.

His long stint in the minors bears little resemblance to the fictional life of Crash Davis, played by Kevin Costner in the movie “Bull Durham.”

“There was none of that craziness,” he told Mainebiz. “It’s a grind, playing 142 games in 164 days.”

Except for AAA, where the teams flew commercial flights, there was a lot of travel by bus and plenty of 4:30 a.m. wakeups, he says.

Photo / Courtesy of the Portland Sea Dogs

Michael MacDonald, former Portland Sea Dogs pitcher.

MacDonald said his longevity earned him the nickname “Poppy.” It was for his age, he quickly points out.

“Not like Big Papi,” he says, referring to Red Sox slugger David Ortiz.

MacDonald, who lives with his family in Saco, will be assigned to Bangor Savings’ southern Maine region.

In recent years, he has worked in sales for Patriot Subaru in Saco.

His aim at Bangor Savings is to make deals “less transactional and more of an experience.”

He said he’s “100% excited” to join Bangor Savings. “There’s a real team atmosphere there.”

Bangor Savings, the largest Maine-based bank, has $6 billion in assets and 60 branch offices.

“We are so pleased that Mike has joined the Bangor Savings Bank mortgage team,” said Stephen Jordan, vice president and regional sales manager. “We’re confident that Mike’s commitment to customer service will translate to an excellent customer experience.”

Bank employee giving

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, the third-largest Maine-based bank, said it donated $11,000 to four northern New England nonprofits. The funds came from the bank’s employee-driven charitable giving program, Casual for A Cause.

The recipients of the contributions collected in Q3 2021 are: Easterseals New Hampshire, Safe Harbor Recovery Home for Women and Children, Veterans Inc. and Vermont Institute for Natural Science.

“These donations are a testament to our employees’ commitment to and investment in the health and vitality of the communities where we live and work,” said Jack Frost, vice president and director of community giving at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. “The four organizations selected this quarter provide important services to our friends and neighbors, and we are honored to support their efforts.”

Since 2018, Bar Harbor Bank employees have donated $139,000 to dozens of organizations in northern New England.

Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE American: BHB), parent company of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, has assets of $3.6 billion and 50 branches in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. It is based in Bar Harbor.