Maine Community Bank and Gorham Savings Bank announced the banks plan to merge Thursday morning.
The two locally focused banks are based in Maine and serve Androscoggin, Cumberland, and York counties. Their merger under the Maine Community Bank name will create the state's second largest mutual holding company with $2.7 billion in assets.
Leadership for the two banks emphasized the merger is between two equally sized entities, saying the combined 21 branches will provide better coverage for their combined 70,000 customers. The company will continue reinvesting into their local communities.
"[All of the assets] are concentrated in three counties," said Maine Community Bank president and CEO Jeanne Hulit. "It's not across the entire state of Maine [or] going into New Hampshire, Massachusetts, or Vermont. We're focused in the three counties we already serve, which really demonstrates how deep our penetration can be to support our communities."
It's now in the hands of regulators to approve the merger. Hulit says they expect the merger to be completed by the third quarter of 2024.
"We've made it abundantly clear that there will be no layoffs associated with [the merger]" said Steve deCastro, Gorham Savings CEO and president. "Roles may look a little different, and we may have growth opportunities in areas that we don't have today. But this [merger] is not about a reduction in staff."
