Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 9, 2026 | Worcester Business Journal 13 You know your business inside and out; we know business banking inside and out. Local businesses like yours count on us to help them manage their cash position and grow—because it's what we know, you know? WE HAVE THE KNOW-HOW TO KNOW HOW BUSINESS WORKS. Member FDIC Member DIF Scan to learn more. BANKING & FINANCE F O C U S Organic growth While not ruling out future M&A activity, Webster Five CEO and Pres- ident Brian Westerlind is focused on internal operations and strengthening its presence in Central Mass. Webster Five has grown its local deposits from $569 million in 2017 to $1 billion in 2025. "Keeping that internal culture has been very important to us," Westerlind said. "A good part of our identity is Central Massachusetts and Worcester County. It's important that to us in any partnership that we would consider, that's still the focus." Middlesex Savings Bank has also seen a large amount of organic growth. e Natick-based bank is the third largest in Central Massachusetts by local deposits, according to informa- tion compiled by the WBJ Research Department, trailing only Bank of America and TD Bank. It's grown its local deposits from $2.93 billion in 2019 to $3.9 billion in 2025. "We place emphasis on not only great service but also being a place where customers can come in for sound advice and assistance," CEO Neshe said. "Over the 190 years that we've been in business, this approach has worked well for us and continues to be the core of our strategy." My main bank hasn't merged After the merger of Berkshire Bank's and Brookline Bank's parent companies, the former announced in February it rebranded as Beacon Bank. The news came as Central Massachusetts has seen a number of its financial institutions combine in just the past three months. In January, Marlborough-based Digital Federal Credit Union and California-based First Tech Federal Credit Union finalized their merger, Littleton-based Hanscom Federal Credit Union announced plans to merge with Alden Credit Union in Chicopee, and at the very end of 2025, Cornerstone Bank and Athol Savings Bank completed their merger. When polled online, just over half of WBJ readers said their companies' main financial institutions haven't been part of any M&A activity in the past five years. Has your business' main financial institution been part of a merger or acquisition in the last five years? No 51% Yes 49% Bank M&A reasoning Leaders of financial institutions who describe themselves as an active acquirer or open to acquisitions say geography and deposit bases are the main reasons to merge. Percentage Reason of respondents Geographic expansion 41% Adding a low-cost deposit base 41% Scale to drive technology and other investments 38% Customer acquisition 19% Talent acquisition 14% New business lines/revenue opportunities 14% Cost savings 12% Pressures on profitability tied to the economic environment 12% Loan portfolio diversification 8% Note: Bank Director surveyed 188 independent directors, CEOs, CFOs, and other senior executives of U.S. banks with less than $100 billion in assets. Source: BankDirector's 2026 Bank M&A Survey W

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