Thomaston Savings Bank plans to plant its first flag in Hartford County later this year when it opens a new branch in Bristol.
Stephen Lewis, CEO and president of Thomaston Savings Bank, which has $649 million in assets and nine branches, said the lender plans to open a new branch on 40 Middle St. by the end of 2011. That will be the bank’s first branch outside its main footprint of New Haven and Litchfield counties, including branches in Terryville and Harwinton.
He said the bank sees opportunity to expand its presence in the region, especially in commercial and retail lending. Lewis said the bank would also like to boost its small business loans. The community lender already has $24 million in deposits and $11 million in loans in Bristol, Lewis said.
“We have an existing customer base in Bristol, but we think there is more opportunity in the marketplace as well as surrounding towns,” Lewis said. “It’s also a nice opportunity to serve those existing customers better.”
Lewis said the new branch will concentrate on a mix of retail and commercial business, and there will be at least one commercial lender dedicated to the office. He said there is room for another branch in the city because other community banks have reduced their presence there over the years through mergers and acquisitions. He said the main competition in the city is Webster Bank.
In terms of future growth in Hartford County, Lewis is not making any predictions, although he said he does see more opportunity for branching in Bristol and surrounding towns.
Residential real estate loans are the bread and butter of Thomaston Savings Bank. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the bank had about $400 million in loans on its books at the end of the third quarter, most of which were real estate loans. That includes about $300 million in residential loans and $65 million in commercial real estate. Commercial and industrial loans totaled $13.8 million, FDIC data shows.
Lewis said Thomaston Savings Bank has been posting “solid years,” since 2008, although profitability has come down a bit. Lewis said Thomaston, like all banks, has had to deal with some credit issues as rising unemployment hit some its customers. But Lewis said the bank has been able to work with its customers through a lot of the problems, and they have few foreclosed assets on the books.
Net income attributable to the bank totaled $2.3 million through the first nine months of 2010, compared to $1.9 million a year earlier, according to the FDIC.
He’s also optimistic for the future. While the last three years saw a lot of businesses contract and shy away from taking on more debt, he said his bank is beginning to see some customers coming back.
“We are feeling cautiously optimistic about business activity,” Lewis said. “Businesses are looking for loans to purchase equipment.”
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Bank Health Improving
The number of troubled and problematic banks in Connecticut fell slightly at the end of the third quarter, and overall the state’s financial institutions appear to be in better shape than lenders in most other states, according to BauerFinancial, an independent bank analysis firm based in Florida.
Only five out of the 54, or 9.3 percent, of Connecticut-based banks reviewed by BauerFinancial were rated as problematic, and all of them are located in Fairfield County.
They include the First Bank of Greenwich, Wilton Bank, Community’s Bank in Bridgeport, the Connecticut Community Bank in Westport and Stamford-based Patriot National Bank.
First Bank of Greenwich and Wilton Bank had the lowest ratings of zero stars. BauerFinanical rates banks on a zero-to-five-star system. Banks with two stars or less are considered troubled or problematic.
Nationally, 12.3 percent of banks were listed as problematic by BauerFinanical.
All banks in Greater Hartford were given at least satisfactory ratings. Among the best performing banks in the region, according to BauerFinancial, are Liberty Bank in Middletown, Rockville Bank, Savings Institute Bank and Trust Company in Willimantic, Thomaston Savings Bank and Windsor Federal Savings and Loan.
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Bank Adds Wealth Management
Farmington Bank has inked a deal with Connecticut-based Essex Financial Services, which will provide wealth management services for Farmington customers.
Under the agreement, which goes into effect in the first quarter, Essex Financial Services will make available to Farmington Bank customers financial planning services, investment management, trust services, 401(k) planning and pension capabilities.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Essex Financial has about $2.8 billion in assets.
Greg Bordonaro writes the Financial Sense column every other week. Reach him at gbordonaro@HartfordBusiness.com.
