First Ipswich Bancorp in Massachusetts plans to sell its 10-story office building in downtown Boston and use the proceeds to increase lending.
The $300 million-asset company said Monday that it would continue to occupy space and operate a branch in the 22,625-square-foot building under a long-term lease agreement.
The real estate firm CB Richard Ellis is managing the sale.
Taking advantage of strong property values, more and more banking companies are selling their facilities to real estate investors and leasing back the space. Russell G. Cole, First Ipswich's president and chief executive, said in a news release that selling the building is a "logical next step in our ongoing strategic plan."
First Ipswich "believes that a sale/leaseback arrangement is consistent with good business practices," he said. Quite simply, it allows us to put our money into loans to our customers and not tie it up in real estate."
In the first half of this year First Ipswich earned $519,000, compared with a net loss of $832,000 a year earlier.
