Hingham Institution Expanding Beyond Boston

Hingham Institution for Savings in Massachusetts (HIFS) will soon have an island outpost.

The $1.2 billion-asset thrift plans to open a branch on Nantucket this summer, the Boston Business Journal reported in its online edition on Thursday.

Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, Nantucket Bank, Sovereign Bank and Bank of America (BAC) already have branches on the island, a 19th-century whaling port that has become a draw for the affluent.

Though the branch would be Hingham's seventh overall and first outside of Boston's south shore, Robert Gaughen, the thrift's chief executive, told the publication that Hingham had financed a number of second homes on Nantucket.

"There's a substantial amount of market share that can be picked up from Sovereign and Bank of America," he said. "Cape Cod Five does a good job, but I think there's room for two community banks out there."

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