Two Massachusetts banks struck a deal to combine their holding companies in a bid for scale and efficiency.
Holyoke-based PeoplesBancorp MHC, parent of PeoplesBank, and Worcester-based SSB Community Bancorp MHC, the holding company for Cornerstone Bank, said they would merge in a transaction slated to close in the first quarter of 2025. Financial terms were not disclosed in a press release announcing the deal on Thursday.
The combination "will create more financial backing for each of our banks, ensuring the kind of sustained strength that our customers have relied on since our founding in 1885," Tom Senecal, chairman and CEO of PeoplesBank, said in the release.
The combined holding company would operate under the PeoplesBancorp moniker and have about $6 billion of assets.
Senecal would remain chairman and CEO, while Cornerstone CEO Todd Tallman would become president of the combined holding company.
"While customers won't see any difference in their day-to-day banking experiences, this merger offers us more scalability and strength that we can build on in the future," Tallman said in the release.
The $4.4 billion-asset PeoplesBank serves western Massachusetts, while the $1.6 billion-asset Cornerstone operates in central Massachusetts.
