Banker & Tradesman file photos
The merger of East Boston Savings Bank and Rockland Trust will result in 18 branch closings, including nine locations in Boston, according to the public notice for the proposed merger.
Rockland Trust plans to close 16 East Boston Savings Bank branches and two of its own branches. The banks had announced in April that Rockland Trust’s parent company would acquire East Boston Savings Bank in an all-stock deal valued at $1.15 billion.
Because of overlap between the two branch footprints, Rockland Trust had said the merger would involve branch consolidations.
Rockland Trust has approximately 100 retail branches, commercial and residential lending centers, and investment management offices in Greater Boston, the South Shore, Cape Cod and the Islands, Worcester County and Rhode Island. East Boston Savings Bank has 43 Greater Boston branches.
Three of East Boston Savings Bank’s branches opened during the pandemic, and two of those are slated to close: the Woburn branch on Montvale Ave. and the Brookline branch at 473 Harvard St. near Allston.
East Boston Savings’ branch at 1441 Beacon St. is being retained, but Brookline will lose two other branches: an East Boston Savings Bank location at 1050 Beacon St. near St. Mary’s Street and a Rockland Trust branch on Washington Street in Brookline Village.
The other Rockland Trust branch that will close is at 725 Centre St. in Jamaica Plain. East Boston Savings Bank’s location at 515 Centre St. is being retained.
The remaining Boston branches closing include:
- 95 Kneeland St.
- 4238 Washington St., Roslindale
- 1614 Tremont St. in Brigham Circle
- 1981-1985 Centre St. West Roxbury
- 181 Brighton Ave., Allston
- 960 Morrissey Blvd, Dorchester
- 1608 Commonwealth Ave., Brighton
- 1952 Beacon St. in Cleveland Circle
East Boston Savings Bank’s two Cambridge branches at 1739 and 2172 Massachusetts Ave. will close. Rockland Trust has a branch in Somerville but not in Cambridge.
The other branches closing are:
- 108 Main St., Melrose
- 24 Broadway, Route 1 South, Lynnfield
- 50 Summit Dr., Burlington
East Boston Savings Bank’s other locations will operate as Rockland Trust branches, including the main office in Peabody, according to the notice.
The acquisition of East Boston Savings will be Rockland Trust’s 10th acquisition since 2008. David Bishop, a senior analyst with Seaport Global, told Banker & Tradesman in April that Rockland Trust has a track record of creating efficiencies within the first two quarters of an acquisition, including through branch consolidations.
Branch closings are also expected in Greater Boston with Eastern Bank’s acquisition of Century Bank.
