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V O L . X X X I N O. V I I I A P R I L 2 1 , 2 0 2 5 16 B A N K I N G / F I N A N C E / I N S U R A N C E F O C U S "Partnering with Bar Harbor Bank & Trust allows us to build on that tradition while gaining access to enhanced resources that will strengthen our ability to serve the region," James Graham, president and CEO of Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank, has said. Graham will be appointed to Bar Harbor's board of directors. "Woodsville's deep customer relation- ships, strong asset quality and cultural alignment with our organization make for a winning partner- ship," says Simard. Bar Harbor Bank & Trust first entered the New Hampshire market in 2017 with the acquisition of Newport, N.H. -based Lake Sunapee Bank Group in an all-stock deal valued at around $143 million, adding 35 branches in New Hampshire and Vermont. e move was a first for a Maine-based bank in some time and the first of the recent wave of expan- sion into New Hampshire, Simard says. Simard arrived at BHBT in 2013 with a mission to grow the Downeast-headquartered bank, "as we were sort of locked in the upper right hand corner of the state with limited growth opportunities," he said at the time. Like Roche, Simard agrees there are cultural simi- larities that make expansion into New Hampshire a natural fit. "We feel that Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are similar in how we look at life," Simard says. "We're not all from Boston. We like the outdoors. We understand tourism and the working waterfront. We feel like we all 'get' each other." 16-branch acquisition Earlier this year, Camden National Corp. (Nasdaq: CAC) completed its acquisition of Northway Financial, Inc. (OTCQB: NWYF), the parent company of Northway Bank, headquartered in Berlin, N.H. e merger formed a combined institution with assets of just over $7 billion, up from $5.6 billion pre-merger, and 73 branches across Maine and New Hampshire. e all-stock deal gave Camden National 16 branches in North Conway, Laconia, Bedford, Concord and Portsmouth, N.H., expanding its retail presence on its existing loan-office foothold in Manchester and branch in Portsmouth, established in 2014 and 2018 respectively. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Mergers and expansions T he number of bank con- solidations in the U.S. has grown over the past several decades, resulting in a declin- ing number of banks, says Jim Roche, president of the Maine Bankers Association. In 1985 there were about 18,000 banks; today it's 4,500. Factors include a strict regulatory environment. "While banks take regulations very seriously and eagerly respond to new ones, it comes with a heavy administrative bur- den," Roche says. "Adding more staff to comply with new regulations adds to the cost of doing business." The cost means that banks of all sizes look for efficiencies and economies of scale, often leading to bank mergers and/or expansions. "The business environment in Northern New England may be more familiar to bankers in Maine, so expanding into New Hampshire and Vermont is perhaps a more comfortable fit than expanding into Boston and Massachusetts," he says. Just as some Maine banks are expanding beyond the border, some banks that are headquartered out of state have expanded into Maine in recent years. "Banks, wherever they're located, are looking to expand their customer base while concurrently striving for operating efficiencies to keep the cost of doing business as low as possible," he says. Jim Roche This union will increase our size and scale, and bolster our presence in New Hampshire, which we believe will drive profitability and shareholder value. — Simon Griffiths Camden National Bank

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