Randolph Savings Bank in Randolph, Mass., will not merge with Bristol County Savings Bank in Taunton, Mass., after all, according to a report Monday.
Boston Business Journal reported that Randolph Savings' governing board has overwhelmingly rejected the deal the two mutual thrifts announced on Oct. 18. The board said it favored keeping the $380 million-asset Randolph Savings independent.
Ronald Grant, Randolph Savings' chief executive officer when the prospective merger was announced, has left the company, the report added. Richard Boonisar, a Randolph Savings director, was named interim CEO.
A key factor in Mr. Grant's decision to initiate talks with $1 billion-asset Bristol County Savings was that he planned to retire next year and his intended successor had died unexpectedly, according to local newspaper reports last month.
Because both are mutual savings banks owned by their depositors, no money would have changed hands in the deal. Their assets would have been pooled.
