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August 01. 2012 9:12PM
New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares to acquire Nashua Bank
Newport-based New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares Inc. said Wednesday it will acquire the Nashua Bank for $19.4 million in cash and stock.
The Nashua Bank, which is state-chartered, will merge into NHTB's subsidiary bank, Lake Sunapee Bank, which is federally chartered, and will operate as “The Nashua Bank, a division of Lake Sunapee Bank.”
“The southern part of the state for us has always been an area that we've been interested in expanding into,” said Stephen R. Theroux, vice chairman, chief executive officer and president of New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares Inc.
“It's a bank that fits our culture, it's the right size for us,” Theroux said.
The combined company will have approximately $1.3 billion in assets and operate 28 branches in New Hampshire and Vermont.
The merger comes on the heels of other recent bank and credit union combinations, including Hampshire First Bank joining Norwich, N.Y.-based NBT Bancorp. Inc.; Berlin-based Woodlands Credit Union planning to merge with Northeast Credit Union of Portsmouth; Monadnock Community Bank of Peterborough selling to GFA Federal Credit Union of Gardner, Mass.; and Meredith Village Savings Bank and Merrimack County Savings Bank merging.
State Bank Commissioner Ronald Wilbur said the consolidations are driven by shrinking margins, increasing regulation and higher costs for technology.
Particularly for community institutions, size matters, he said, with smaller ones lacking the mass to spread out increasing fixed costs. “I would say institutions are being impacted and thinking strategically about how to deal with the environment,” Wilbur said. “What's nice about these is they are generally being done in positions of strength ... as opposed to absolute need.”
Besides being the parent of Lake Sunapee Bank, New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares also has an in-house insurance agency and owns 50 percent of Charter Trust Co., a trust and investment management firm.
G. Frank Teas, the Nashua Bank president and chief executive officer, will continue to run the Nashua operation, he said.
Theroux said he expects the Nashua Bank purchase to close by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval.
dpaiste@unionleader.com
The Nashua Bank, which is state-chartered, will merge into NHTB's subsidiary bank, Lake Sunapee Bank, which is federally chartered, and will operate as “The Nashua Bank, a division of Lake Sunapee Bank.”
“The southern part of the state for us has always been an area that we've been interested in expanding into,” said Stephen R. Theroux, vice chairman, chief executive officer and president of New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares Inc.
“It's a bank that fits our culture, it's the right size for us,” Theroux said.
The combined company will have approximately $1.3 billion in assets and operate 28 branches in New Hampshire and Vermont.
The merger comes on the heels of other recent bank and credit union combinations, including Hampshire First Bank joining Norwich, N.Y.-based NBT Bancorp. Inc.; Berlin-based Woodlands Credit Union planning to merge with Northeast Credit Union of Portsmouth; Monadnock Community Bank of Peterborough selling to GFA Federal Credit Union of Gardner, Mass.; and Meredith Village Savings Bank and Merrimack County Savings Bank merging.
State Bank Commissioner Ronald Wilbur said the consolidations are driven by shrinking margins, increasing regulation and higher costs for technology.
Particularly for community institutions, size matters, he said, with smaller ones lacking the mass to spread out increasing fixed costs. “I would say institutions are being impacted and thinking strategically about how to deal with the environment,” Wilbur said. “What's nice about these is they are generally being done in positions of strength ... as opposed to absolute need.”
Besides being the parent of Lake Sunapee Bank, New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares also has an in-house insurance agency and owns 50 percent of Charter Trust Co., a trust and investment management firm.
G. Frank Teas, the Nashua Bank president and chief executive officer, will continue to run the Nashua operation, he said.
Theroux said he expects the Nashua Bank purchase to close by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval.
dpaiste@unionleader.com
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