Cohabitation Strategy: Mass. Bank Puts Branch in VFW Hall

Fidelity Bank in Worcester, Mass., has long billed itself as a community-minded institution. So when Fidelity's chief executive, Ed Manzi, went scouting for a new location for the lender's Millbury branch, he decided to put money where his company's mouth is.

The $562 million-asset Fidelity struck a deal with the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Millbury, whose community hall needed repairs. In exchange for a 99-year lease on the VFW building, Fidelity would agree to share the property and provide Post 3329 with a $2 million infusion of capital. Today, the front of the building bustles with bank customers while Boy Scout troops and local charities make use of the VFW space in the back.

"It was natural fit for a community bank like us to try to do a deal where both parties would come out on top," Manzi said in a press release.

The branch, which opened this summer, takes its connection to veterans seriously. Fidelity donates $10 to a wounded warriors group for each new checking account opened in Millbury.

"The partnership has strengthened a really important community organization," Manzi said in the release. "A lot of places have mission statements that are just words on paper. We have a mission statement of using our hearts and heads to help our clients and the community. The VFW project is clear evidence that we live the values we espouse. It means a lot to us to show we really do care."

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