In his first week as president and CEO, Dan Tilton told Mainebiz that while the bank is open to potential acquisition or branch expansion opportunities, it remains committed to its existing footprint.
On Day 4 of his dual role as president and CEO of Skowhegan Savings Bank, Dan Tilton said the bank will focus on slow, steady growth while keeping an eye on potential mergers.
Dan Tilton, president and CEO of Skowhegan Savings Bank
“We’re well-capitalized and that’s a good position to be in right now,” Tilton told Mainebiz in a Wednesday phone interview from Skowhegan.
“If there is ever any opportunity, we have plenty of capital and feel like we’re in a good position to take advantage of something that might come our way,” he said.
However, he said that there is “nothing active on the runway right now.”
Tilton, who joined the bank more than a decade ago, succeeded former President and CEO David Cyr in a two-stage transition. Tilton has held the president role for the past year, but this week took on the CEO title as well.
With more than $843 million in assets as of June 30, 2025, Skoweghan Savings was ranked the 16th-largest Maine-based bank in the 2026 Mainebiz Book of Lists.
In addition to its home base in Somerset County, the bank has 11 other branches. While most are in rural parts of central and western Maine, it entered the crowded southern Maine market with a Portland branch in 2021, housed in a former tanning salon on Marginal Way. A year later, it added a newly built branch in Farmington.
Tilton said that while he wouldn’t rule out adding other branches, there is nothing immediately on the radar.
“We continue to look for opportunities, whether it’s a de novo branch somewhere else in the state of Maine or even an opportunity to acquire branches from any other institution,” he said.
Bank 'close to home'
Underscoring the bank’s “methodical” approach to growth, Tilton said that it would “not just throw a flag up somewhere” for the sake of doing so, and remains committed to smaller communities even as larger institutions often close rural branches.
“Every time that happens, our business grows in those markets and in surrounding areas, because most people do want to have a bank pretty close to home,” he said.
Skowhegan Savings has a 150-strong workforce with plans to add a couple of new hires this year in commercial and retail positions, Tilton said. He also said that hiring entry-level employees is somewhat easier than it was a couple of years ago.
Bullish on 2026
Bullish on business in 2026, Tilton said the bank’s lending pipelines are healthy in both commercial and residential sectors and are expected to continue growing, supported by a strong mortgage track record.
"If the anticipated rate cuts happen in 2026 and rates on the long end continue to drop, we see lots of increased momentum" for mortgage lending, he said.
