Mutual banks

First Mutual Holding has agreed to buy Martinsville First Savings Bank, which will retain its charter, brand and management team.

The New Jersey company will add three branches in the northern part of the state as part of the transaction.

A state judge deciding a dispute between Spencer Savings and an investor said the mutual must get an independent review before switching from a savings association to a savings bank. The ruling may complicate mutuals' efforts to make more business loans.

Eric Luse, who co-founded the Luse Gorman law firm, helped Community Bank Shares of Indiana create the first MHC in the early 1990s.

Kennebec Savings Bank will have $1.3 billion in assets after it absorbs Kennebec Federal Savings and Loan Association of Waterville.

Eastern Bank in Boston could raise as much as $1.7 billion to spend on acquisitions and technology investments that it says will be necessary to respond to customers' increasing preference for digital tools.

Seneca-Cayuga Bancorp's capital levels have fallen steadily since peaking in 2013.

Jonathan Dowst will become president in July and CEO a year later.

A North Carolina group is trying to take regulators' cue to work together. A successful effort could encourage others to follow its lead.

The company will merge Fidelity Savings and Loan and Washington Savings Bank into its own bank.