Berkshire Bank has acquired Springfield-based Hampden Bank in a deal announced this week. The $706 million acquisition bumps Berkshire Bank’s total assets up to $7.1 billion.Headquartered in Pittsfield, Berkshire Bank has 91 branches in Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and New York staffed by 1,200 employees. Sean Gray is executive vice president of retail banking for Berkshire Bank, which has 11 branches in the Springfield area.
“This acquisition allows us to better serve that community, better serve that customer base and really reap the rewards and the synergies of both institutions,” Gray said. “So I think that’s the driving force here.”
Glenn Welch is Hampden’s president and CEO. He will become Berkshire Bank’s regional vice president for the Pioneer Valley and Connecticut.
“This is a partnership and Berkshire Bank certainly noted who was performing well in the market and that’s why they had an interest in us,” said Welch.
Berkshire’s Gray says his company is in a good position to place Hampden’s 126 employees in 102 job openings at Berkshire.
“Right now we’re in an assessment mode,” Gray said. “We are going to really look at those individuals and try to map them to current opportunities to minimize impact. We know that’s the important because at the end of the day we are a community bank. We don’t want to move away from that as some of our larger competitors do. Part of being a community bank is being responsible to that community in both jobs and foundation giving.”
Berkshire is assessing which of the combined 21 Springfield-area branches to keep open. Gray says it will be business as usual for Berkshire customers while Hampden’s base will be introduced to more services.
“We’re big enough to do and provide all the products and services that customers in this era are looking for,” Gray said. “They’re looking for certain levels of technology, mobile banking, web site, a sophistication of product suites whether it be insurance, wealth management or larger commercial type offerings for our commercial customers in that region. So our Hampden customers I think will be very happy to see that the products and services they’ll be able to have in one shop will be expanded.”
Welch says the timing seemed right for Hampden Bank, founded in 1852, to increase its firepower in the market to better serve its customers. Gray agrees.
“I think what we’re seeing is, smaller institutions it’s very difficult to continue to grow and expand those services that keep you competitive,” he said. “Things like insurance, wealth management, private banking and investment services because there is a cost associated with making that investment [and] hopefully a payback over time. So it’s just more challenging for smaller institutions. We really look at it as a partnership so they are able to partner with us, we can provide that we’ve already made the investment in those products and services and then work with them to better serve their customers.”
Both banks’ charitable foundations are expected to continue. Both companies’ boards of directors have signed off on the deal. Withstanding shareholder as well as state and federal regulatory approval, customer transition would begin in 2015.
