Danversbank in Massachusetts plans to convert from a mutual to a stock holding company.
The $1.3 billion-asset unit of Danvers Bancorp Inc. filed an application Tuesday with the Massachusetts Division of Banks to sell stock to depositors and others in a public offering. The bank expects regulatory approval to begin the offering in the fourth quarter.
The capital raised would help Danversbank grow, Kevin Bottomley, its president and chief executive officer, said in a press release.
"We believe that becoming a publicly traded company will help us remain competitive in what has always been a highly competitive market," Mr. Bottomley said.
Over the past decade the 157-year-old Danversbank has gone from $220 million of assets and five branches, all in Essex County, to more than $1 billion of assets and 13 branches in Essex, Middlesex, and Suffolk counties. Though most of the growth has been organic, Danversbank bought Revere Federal Savings Bank in 2001 and BankMalden in February.
