Worcester Business Journal

companies with another bank came down to doing more for customers. is year, the bank's parent company formally merged with Mutual Bancorp, the parent company of Hyannis-based Cape Cod 5. e idea, said Fidelity chairman and CEO Edward F. Manzi, Jr., was to create a single holding company for two different banks with strategically aligned missions and values. e merger created a holding company with a combined $7 billion in assets. Fidelity previously had $1.5 billion in assets on its own. "If we could find a like-minded partner, to share and combine a holding company to share costs, and things like technology, human resources, finance and accounting, and risk management, then we could make bigger investments and stay hyper-local focused in our respective markets while being able to invest even more than either of us could wbjournal.com | October 28, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 49 35th Anniversary WBJ alone," said Manzi, who is also now vice chairman, chief strategy officer at Mutual Bancorp. "We thought it could get us further faster, and that's what we set out to do." Although the merger is still in its infancy, Manzi said Fidelity quickly took advantage of new customer services available through Cape Cod 5. e Hyannis-based bank has a robust wealth management and trust department Manzi said Fidelity offered to some of its clients, and the Leominster bank will also receive $5 million for a charitable endowment, which it will invest in a mix of bonds and stocks and donate to the community. "It will be in addition to our normal philanthropic giving. We've been averaging $400,000 plus a year," he said. e holding company merger also makes sense from a big-picture banking "If we could find a like-minded partner, to share costs ... then we could make bigger investments and stay hyper-local focused. ... We thought it could get us further faster." – Edward F. Manzi Jr., Fidelity Bank CEO, on the firm's $7-billion merger with Cape Cod 5 Fidelity Bank's recent merger created a financial services firm with more than $7 billion in assets. WBJ FILE PHOTO Edward F. Manzi Jr., chairman and CEO, Fidelity Bank COURTESY FIDELITY BANK Continued on next page

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