Hartford Business Journal

12 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | July 18, 2022 PeoplesBank President and CEO Tom Senecal said recent merger activity has created more of a need for community banking. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Cross-Border Incursion Freedom Credit Union the latest lender to jump state lines in search of growth on either side. "The region transcends political boundaries," Welch said. "It comprises the Hartford, Springfield and New Haven metro areas and is centered on seven counties, linked by a shared economy, history and culture, and by features including Bradley International Airport, rail lines, Interstate 91 and the Connecticut River." Credit union charters usually limit their membership fields to specific communities, industries or affinity groups. In Freedom's case, that meant only people who lived, worked or attended schools in four Massachusetts counties — Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire — qualified for membership prior to its approved expansion. The number of credit unions and banks headquartered in Connecticut has decreased in recent years due to merger activity. That has led many smaller banks to expand in-state, seeing an opportunity with fewer players in the market. There were 32 Connecticut-based banks at the end of this year's first quarter, down 24% from the first quarter of 2017, when 35 banks were based in the state, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data. There were 86 credit unions in Connecticut at the end of the first quarter, down 14% from five years earlier when 101 not-for-profit cooperatives were operating in the state, according to data from the National Credit Union Administration. Mass. incursion There have been a number of other financial institutions that have crossed the Connecticut/ Massachusetts border in recent years to do business. Westfield Bank, which is based in Westfield, Mass., has locations Glenn Welch A rendering of PeoplesBank's planned new location in South Windsor. RENDERING | CONTRIBUTED By Andrew Larson alarson@hartfordbusiness.com W here other banks see a state border, Freedom Credit Union President and CEO Glenn Welch sees an in- road to a new market. That's the reason underpinning the credit union's application to the Connecticut Department of Banking to open a branch in an office building at 115 Elm St. in Enfield, which will be its first Nutmeg State location. Freedom's expansion into Connecticut is part of a cross- border incursion that several other financial institutions have taken in recent years, as smaller lenders see growth opportunities from large bank mergers, such as Buffalo, New York-based M&T Bank's union with People's United Bank. The void in local, personalized customer service gives smaller institutions an opportunity to woo dissatisfied customers and fill gaps in local markets, bankers say. Welch said the merger creates "an even greater need for individuals and small businesses to be served in the northernmost counties of Connecticut." Freedom, which has $650 million in assets and 10 branches, has received approval from the Massachusetts Division of Banks to expand its field of membership to include Hartford and Tolland counties. The expansion will more than double the number of people and businesses the credit union can serve. Welch said he sees no reason to allow the border between two contiguous states to impede Freedom's ability to serve customers

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