Greater Boston will see 35 bank branches close as a result of upcoming bank mergers, and four of those locations have already been claimed.
Chelsea-based Metro Credit Union will open new branches or relocate existing offices into four East Boston Savings Bank branches. A total of 18 branches will close as a result of Rockland Trust Co.’s acquisition of East Boston Savings Bank, including 16 East Boston Savings Bank locations.
Metro Credit Union filed plans last month with the Massachusetts Division of Banks to relocate its Burlington and Melrose branches into East Boston Savings Bank locations. The credit union also plans to open two more Boston branches in Dorchester and West Roxbury.
“With the overlapping geographies between East Boston Savings Bank and Rockland Trust as a result of the merger, we recognized that there would be some opportunities for us to look at some of those locations to see how it fit with our overall strategic plan,” Robert Cashman, Metro’s president and CEO, told Banker & Tradesman.
Metro had already filed plans with the Division of Banks to expand into West Roxbury by opening a branch at 2029 Centre St., the site of a Boston Firefighters Credit Union branch that closed earlier this year. When the East Boston Savings Bank location at 1985 Centre St. became available, the credit union decided to open there instead, Cashman said, noting the additional space and parking.
Metro’s other new Boston location will be at 960 Morrissey Blvd. in Dorchester. The credit union decided to open a branch there, Cashman said, because in addition to having a high-volume branch on Massachusetts Avenue near South Bay shopping center, Metro also has a growing membership of South Shore residents who would benefit from having an office near by.
The East Boston Savings Bank locations in Melrose and Burlington will allow Metro to have facilities with more space, Cashman said, something the credit union had already started looking into. Metro will move its Melrose branch from 138 Main St. to 108 Main St., and the Burlington location will move from 120 Cambridge St. to 50 Summit Drive.
Cashman said that even as the adoption of digital banking tools accelerates, Metro saw a need for more branch space to meet with members.
“We’re finding that more and more people want to come in person and actually sit down and talk with somebody to go over their financial needs,” Cashman said.
The credit union’s board of directors has prioritized expanding the footprint, Cashman said, adding that more expansion could be coming.
While the credit union does not currently plan to open branches in Western Massachusetts, Metro has also applied to the Division of Banks to expand its membership to the four counties there, as well as more New Hampshire counties. Cashman said residents in those locations have been looking to open Metro products.
Cashman added that the expansion of large national banks into the area, including Chase, PNC and M&T Bank, which is acquiring People’s United Bank, gives credit unions like Metro opportunities with customers who prefer local and smaller institutions.
Rockland Trust’s acquisition of East Boston Savings Bank is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Also expected to close in the fourth quarter is Eastern Bank’s acquisition of Century Bank, which will see another 17 Greater Boston branches close.
