Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com October 12, 2015 • Worcester Business Journal 17 A t t o r n e y s & B u s i n e s s A d v i s o r s W W W. D A R R O W E V E R E T T. C O M deal·mak·ers ˈdēlˌmākər/ noun 1. (See DarrowEverett L L P) R H O D E I S L A N D | M A S S A C H U S E T T S | N E W Y O R K In bank mergers, culture trumps strategy W hen Barre Savings Bank President and CEO Guy Boyer went looking for a partner bank to merge with, it was the culture of Fidelity Bank, headquartered in Leominster, that drove his final decision, not figures and numbers. With 146 years of serving the community in and around Barre, it was important to him that a partnering bank have the same outlook and attitude toward its customers and employees as Barre has. Regulatory pressures requiring an ever increasing amount of resources and narrow profit margins had pushed Barre Savings to find a partner while it still had value to bring to the equation, Boyer said. While it is vital to confirm that the numbers work, the overall attitude and culture of the partnering organizations can mean the difference between a smooth merger and one that feels forced. Boyer said part of his goal was to ensure that the bank's community tradition would continue on with the new bank, which will operate under the Fidelity charter. "When you do a merger, there's a possibility you could give up your identity. So from my perspective the most important thing was to find a bank that had an identity that our customers, our employees and the community would feel represented little to no change," he said. "With so many mergers that didn't work there were problems between … the different cultures that didn't align properly." Fidelity Bank Chairman and CEO Edward Manzi Jr. said that culture is often overlooked and not discussed enough when two companies come together. "Every place has a culture. Some of them do it on purpose and some of them do it by default," Manzi said. "It's driven by your values and it's essentially the way you do things. It's the way you treat each other and how you conduct the company … and the long-term focus." For Hometown Bank, based in Oxford, the personal connection and service to customers is something that sets it and other community banks apart, said Joe Klimavich, vice president of communication for the bank. Maintaining this culture is imperative to maintaining customers, according to Klimavich and the other bankers. "Hometown Bank has a recognizable personality, one that's approachable, flexible and involved in the community. It is important that our partners share those characteristics because we are confident that's the way banking should be," Klimavich said. Hometown Bank recently announced a merger of its holding companies with Easthampton Savings Bank. The banks will bring together their assets but continue to operate independently. However, the bank has been involved with more extensive mergers. Hometown Bank merged with Athol- Clinton Cooperative Bank in 2011. Both had been founded in 1889. With such a long history, it was important to bring staff into the fold while also communicating to customers that the culture of the bank was not changing, Klimavich said. "Today's banking customers have a multitude of choices — there's a bank on every corner — so a bank's culture and values are incredibly important if they are going to stand out from the crowd," he said. "Most customers want to bank where they are comfortable, with people they like and trust to look out for their best interests." Absorbing The importance of corporate culture does not diminish when it is not a meeting of equal companies. When BY SAM BONACCI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer New banking partners Edward Manzi Jr., left, of Fidelity, and Guy Boyer of Barre Savings Bank say the two institutions they lead share key values. That facilitated the merger that is underway. >> Continued on Page 18 P H O T O / M A T T V O L P I N I Thank You! Challenge MatCh SponSor – Mary DeFeudis 61 Sever Street Worcester, MA 01609 1.877.523.2537 www.becker.edu SpeCial thankS to the aCCoMModating Staff at the haven Country Club! FOR MAKING THE 23 RD ANNUAL BECKER COLLEGE LLEW EVANS SCHOLARSHIP GOLF TOURNAMENT SUCH A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS! putting ConteSt SponSor Becker College Alumni Association 19 th hole SponSorS – Fallon Health, The Rowden Family, Schwartz Charitable Foundation, Winn Development bbQ lunCh SponSor Arthur "Jay" DiGeronimo & Family golf Cart SponSorS Benefit Development Group, Fidelity Bank, Fletcher Tilton PC beverage Cart SponSor Chartwells Educational Dining Services SCoreboard SponSorS Bowditch & Dewey, Coghlin Electrical Contractors, Inc., Corporators of Becker College, Providence & Worcester Railroad, Seven Hills Foundation, SSC, William J. Masiello Architect, Inc. CourSe ConteSt SponSorS Dr. Robert E. Johnson and Michelle Jones-Johnson, Marsh & McLennan Agency (formerly known as Protector Group), Barry Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Wilson Language Training driving range SponSorS Gerry and Maureen D'Amico, MedStar Ambulance, Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical High School, Morgan Stanley, Quaker Special Risk, Carol Reid '56 tee and green SponSorS Sam Belluardo '38, Dr. Ann Brown '87, Christine Cassidy '15, Cogswell Sprinkler Co., Inc., Becker College Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, Follett Higher Education Group, George Isaac, MacKoul Electric, Inc., Patrick Motors, People's United Bank, Reliant Medical Group, Rollstone Bank and Trust, Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C. tee SponSorS American Printing and Envelope, Bollus Lynch, LLP, HealthAlliance Hospital, Mirick O'Connell, Paul and Veronica Rosa, Provo Financial, Southbridge Savings Bank, UMass Memorial Health Care, WB Mason Thanks to you, we had a sold-out event, raised more than $120K, and increased net proceeds 13% over our 2014 tournament!

• Cover