PeoplesBancorp, MHC Closes on Acquisition of the First National Bank of Suffield

HOLYOKE — PeoplesBancorp, MHC, the parent company of PeoplesBank, has closed on its acquisition of the First National Bank of Suffield, effective Nov. 30. All the current branches of the First National Bank of Suffield opened and conducted business on Dec. 1 under the trade name First Suffield Bank, a Division of PeoplesBank.

“First Suffield Bank customers will notice that they are still working with the same people they have always worked with,” said Tom Senecal, president, CEO, and chairman of the board of PeoplesBank. “We think that’s important. One of the things that attracted us is the loyalty and the commitment that customers have to the bank and that the bank has to the community.”

Senecal suggested that PeoplesBank will soon bring enhanced product offerings and technology improvements to the market. “Commercial and consumer banking customers will notice improvements in technology,” he said. “PeoplesBank was one of the first community banks in the country to roll out mobile banking. Our mortgage process is one of the fastest in the market because of our online application and processing technologies. For business customers, of which we have a significant number in Connecticut already, we will be able to offer cash management with the ability to do positive pay and remote deposit capture. This will make business banking with us an extremely efficient process.”

First Suffield Bank has four branches located in Suffield, West Suffield, East Granby, and Windsor Locks, Conn. PeoplesBank has 20 banking centers located throughout Hampden and Hampshire counties in Massachusetts.

In connection with the completion of the acquisition, one member of the board of directors of First Suffield Bank will join the board of directors of PeoplesBank and the board of trustees of PeoplesBancorp, MHC, the parent company of PeoplesBank, and certain other directors of First Suffield Bank will be provided the opportunity to serve as corporators of PeoplesBancorp. The combined organization has approximately $2.8 billion in assets and $1.9 billion in deposits.