Page 15 - BusinessWest March 2, 2026

make a great candidate.”
As he takes the helm, Albero will
be focused on keeping the bank on a
strong growth trajectory, a pattern that
has emerged “organically and safely,”
and continued in 2025, with roughly
6% growth.
“Sometimes, when you try to grow
your portfolio, you’ll do a little higher
risk rating, but we didn’t — we stayed
with high-quality customers while also
moving more south,” Meshako said,
adding that the move to open a branch
in Easthampton is the latest and bold-
est manifestation of this strategy.
Actually, this will not be just a
branch, Albero said, referring to
it instead as the bank’s “southern
headquarters.”
Indeed, the facility, due to open
its doors later this month or early in
April, will include a commercial lend-
er, a wealth management and trust
services representative, and a resi-
dential lender, as well as the branch,
he noted, adding that it will serve as
a staging point, if you will, for contin-
ued growth in Hampden County, in all
facets of banking, but especially com-
mercial lending.
Indeed, the bank is focused on its
two large investments — the Easthamp-
ton facility and the renovated Leavitt-
Hovey House — and assimilating those
into the corporate portfolio.
“Our plan is to make sure that
Easthampton becomes profitable very
quickly,” he noted. “We’ll continue to
evaluate the markets, but we’re not
going to jump in immediately. We have
a lot to digest from a cost perspective.”
Renovation of the Leavitt-Hovey
House represents a different kind of
investment in the community — not a
check to a nonprofit, but the restoration
and reuse of a city treasure, Meshako
said.
“If we didn’t buy it, I think it would
The renovated Leavitt-Hovey House will become home to the bank’s
trust and wealth management business, residential lending, and cash
management teams.
“Tom and I both agree that,
if the bank does better, the
communities can do better.”
Your business
is personal.
Your banking
should be too.
Working with UMassFive
has really been a game
changer. I feel like I
have a team supporting
every aspect of my
business. It has allowed
me to go from day-to-
day operations to—
yeah, okay—maybe I
can retire in 10 years!”
Indeed, where once the bank’s
commercial portfolio had 50% to 60%
or more of its originations in Frank-
lin County, that number is now less
than 25%, a nod to both slow growth
in the Greenfield area and the bank’s
pursuit of business east and south of
its traditional base.
“We have a lot of borrowers in the
Springfield market, and they refer
other borrowers to the bank because
of our ability to get the deals closed,”
Albero said. “And we have some other
borrowers more toward Worcester,
and they refer more borrowers to
our commercial team for the same
reason.”
Meanwhile, with assets now
approaching $1.5 billion, GSB has
expanded its sweet spot when it
comes to commercial loans, its niche
now being the $3 million to $7 mil-
lion range, where it was once $1 mil-
lion to $3 million.
“That’s another way that you can
grow, not just doing more loans, but
larger loans as well,” Meshako said,
adding that this higher ceiling creates
many more opportunities to do busi-
ness across the region.
Points of Interest
When asked about plans for fur-
ther expansion beyond Easthampton
and when and where that might take
place, Albero said there was nothing
on the drawing board yet.
At UMassFive, we understand that your business is
more than just margins and spreadsheets–it’s an
extension of you. Your vision. Your goals. Your potential.
That’s why we look beyond the bottom line to learn
what makes your business tick, and provide expert
guidance every step of the way toward what’s possible.
UMassFive: It’s all about you.
Francesca DenHartog
Northampton, MA
Owner, Valley Fabrics
umassfive.coop/business
Business W est << BANKING & FINANCE >>
MARCH 2, 2026
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