Page 14 - BusinessWest January 23, 2023

BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES >>
Cloudy Forecast
Area Banks Navigate Unpredictable Economic Tides
BY JOSEPH BEDNAR
[email protected]
Aconstant flow of interest-rate increas- es didn’t exactly make borrowers happy in 2022, Paul Scully said, but it didn’t keep them from participat- ing in the economy.
“I think, coming out of the pandemic, there was a pent-up desire to reconnect, within busi- ness circles and in communities. We had a ter- rific year for lending,” said Scully, president and CEO of Country Bank, which opened a new business production office in Tower Square in downtown Springfield last year. “That’s worked out beautifully for us. Our loan production in 2022 was the greatest level ever — we originat- ed over $400 million in loans, almost $170 mil- lion in net growth.”
A broadening of the focus made a difference, Scully said. “Country Bank has been known as a commercial real-estate lender; that was our niche. We’ve gotten more deliberately into C&I lending from 2021 going into 2022, and have done some significant C&I deals: $10 million, $20 million, $30 million deals. We have the expertise in house to be able to do that. And based on our capitalization — we’re one of the highest-capitalized banks in the Commonwealth — it gives us the opportunity to be able to grow along with businesses and customers.”
bankESB’s holding company, Hometown Financial Group, continued to grow in 2022 as well, with the acquisition of Randolph Bancorp and its subsidiary, Envision Bank, which was
“The most interest-sensitive customers are residential borrowers, and as residential mortgage rates rose throughout 2022, we saw the volume of residential lending, especially refinances, drop dramatically. Commercial lending is definitely impacted as well, though not to the same extent.”
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JANUARY 23, 2023 << BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES >> BusinessWest
Paul Scully says loan demand was strong in 2022 despite the interest-rate hikes.