Bar Harbor Bank & Trust will move within competitive Brunswick market

Courtesy / Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber The Topsham branch of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust will close next month, but staff and accounts will transfer to a new location in Brunswick.

Write a Comment

By William Hall

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, which operates over 50 branches across northern New England, is moving one of them to what has become a Maine banking hub.

The Bar Harbor-based bank plans to permanently close its branch at 2 Main St., Topsham, on Oct. 23 and to open a new location at 148 Bath Road, Brunswick, on Oct. 26, according to a news release Wednesday. All staff and customer accounts associated with the Topsham location will transfer to the new branch.

Located at the Cooks Corner Shopping Center less than 4 miles from the Topsham site, Bar Harbor B&T’s new branch will add to the dozen-plus retail banking branches already within the Brunswick town limits. The town has a population of about 20,000.

Many of the banks line Maine Street: Androscoggin Bank, Bangor Savings Bank, Bank of America, Camden National Bank, Key Bank, Northeast Bank, Norway Savings Bank, People’s United Bank. Bath Savings Institution and Mechanic Savings Bank are nearby. At Cooks Corner, Norway Savings and TD Bank also operate branches.

In addition, credit unions are popular in Brunswick, with Atlantic FCU, Five County Credit Union and Midcoast FCU all operating branches.

For Bar Harbor B&T, the move to Brunswick may be geographically small but strategically significant.

The bank, which has assets of more than $3.6 billion and ranks No. 7 in Maine market share according to deposits, established its first brick-and-mortar presence in Cumberland County two years ago with a commercial loan office in Portland.

The Topsham branch is currently the bank’s retail location closest to the Portland market. Now, with the branch’s move across the Androscoggin River to Brunswick, Bar Harbor B&T wants to up its game.

“We always strive to provide the best possible service to our customers, and our transition from Topsham to the new Brunswick location will offer a more accessible, convenient and modern banking experience for our customers,” said Marion Colombo, executive vice president of retail delivery, in the news release.

The branch will offer lobby and drive-up banking, a 24-hour ATM, a night drop and other services, and will be open six days a week.

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust is owned by Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE American: BHB).

The move comes as First National Bank announced last week that it plans to purchase the Belfast branch of Damariscotta Bank & Trust Co. in a $25 million deal. That sale is pending the acquisition of Damariscotta B&T by Bangor Savings.