Page 17 - BusinessWest March 2, 2026

Doubling Down
Community Bank Expands
Presence with Second
Springfield Branch
BY JOSEPH BEDNAR
[email protected]
For Community Bank, N.A., Springfield was originally a
remote outpost. But now, the institution is increasing its
footprint in the City of Homes.
“We really are excited about Springfield as a market,” said
Matt Plasse, regional president for New England. “I think it
looks pretty similar to a lot of the markets where we operate
— like, in upstate New York, I think of Syracuse or Rochester
or Binghamton, markets where we really do well. There’s no
single industry that dominates any one of those markets. It’s
pretty diverse, small to mid-sized, family-owned businesses.
“And that’s what we do,” he added. “We’re a relationship
bank. We don’t get too specialized in any one area. And at the
end of the day, in order to be a community bank — which is
part of our name, but it’s at the heart of what we do — you’ve
got to have people in the market. So that’s why we are expand-
ing in Springfield, and investing in that community.”
“At the end of the day, in order to be a
community bank — which is part of our
name, but it’s at the heart of what we
do — you’ve got to have people in the
market. So that’s why we are expanding
in Springfield, and investing in that
community.”
MATT PLASSE
MADE TO
SUPPORT
YOUR
BUSINESS.
When Community Bank, whose strongest roots are in New
York and Pennsylvania, acquired Merchants Bank in 2017,
it gained a large network of branches in Vermont … and one
in Massachusetts, in downtown Springfield’s Tower Square,
which had been NUVO Bank before hanging the Merchants
banner for a short time.
Located far from any other Community location, it would
have been a prime candidate to be shed altogether, but instead,
not only did it become a strong-performing branch, but its suc-
cess has led, almost a decade later, to a second Springfield
branch, which opened on Boston Road in late January.
“It’s not a small investment. We’re excited about this area,”
Plasse said. “Boston Road is on the upswing. There’s a lot of
investment going on in that side of the city, and we’ve already
got great people in Springfield. And now, we’re putting more
people on the ground.”
Like the first Springfield branch, Plasse said, the Boston
Road office offers the usual range of banking services, from
checking and savings accounts to lending, both personal —
mortgages, home equity loans, auto loans, and the like — and
business loans, from real estate to traditional commercial and
industrial borrowers.
“We do have to be somewhat generalists and meet every
customer where they’re at, so we have to offer everything,”
Plasse said.
The Tower Square location has proven to be a strong per-
forming branch over the past eight years, he added, which
paved the way for the expanded footprint.
Support for your business means better business
banking. It means easier, smarter, and built for
the way you work. It means faster payments,
smoother cash flow, and tools that grow with your
business. Support means bankers who know your
name and your goals. Because when it comes to
your business, support makes a difference.
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