Bangor Savings Bank hopes to open a new branch in Kennebunk, continuing an expansion into southern Maine and other parts of New England after the Bangor-based bank, the largest headquartered in Maine, posted a record year.
The bank announced earlier this month that it was seeking approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to open a branch office at 30 Main St. in the southern coastal town.
Bangor Savings Bank has expanded its presence throughout much of Maine into New Hampshire and other parts of New England, mostly through acquiring other banks. Its 2019 acquisition of Damariscotta Bank and Trust, for example, gave Bangor Savings a foothold in the midcoast, and its 2018 acquisition of Granite Bank gave the bank a handful of New Hampshire branches.
The Kennebunk branch, which is anticipated to open in 2023, would allow the bank to better serve its customers in the southern Maine coastal region, along with “continu[ing] to fill in the coastal corridor, from Eastport, Maine, to Portsmouth, New Hampshire,” chief executive Bob Montgomery-Rice said.
Its closest branches are located in Ogunquit and Biddeford.
And even as businesses turn toward online services and away from brick-and-mortar stores — and Bangor Savings has expanded its slate of online services over the years — having an in-person bank branch will allow customers to conduct more “complex” transactions, Montgomery-Rice said.
“Opening new, convenient banking locations, as well as providing access to simple and seamless digital tools are integral to serving our customers whenever and wherever they need it,” he said.
“We continue to be shown by our customers that they want in-person care and service, especially when they want to have more detailed or complex banking conversations.”