MountainOne Financial Partners in North Adams, Mass., is merging two of its thrifts under one charter in an effort to become more efficient.
The $823 million-asset company said Tuesday that it plans to merge Williamstown Savings Bank's charter into Hoosac Bank's charter. The two names, however, will remain intact with Williamstown functioning as a division of Hoosac Bank.
"With the economy today, it is important to manage any business as efficiently as possible. By consolidating bank charters, we can eliminate redundant expenses for certain back-office functions like audits, mandated regulatory filings, and vendor contracts," Stephen G. Crowe, MountainOne's president and chief executive, said in a Tuesday press release. "This is a natural evolution of our successful move to streamline other bank functions."
MountainOne Financial was formed in 2002 by a merger between the two thrifts.
The $218 million-asset Williamstown had an efficiency ratio of 94% at Sept. 30, while the $344 million-asset Hoosac's ratio was 79%, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The national average of all banks was roughly 61%.
The company said the consolidation had been approved by the boards of each thrift and the holding company. It said in a release that it plans to file the formal application with the Massachusetts Division of Banks and the FDIC with hopes of completing the merger by the second quarter.
MountainOne operates a third thrift in Massachusetts, South Coastal Bank in Rockland, which will continue to operate under its own charter.
