BOARD OF BANK INCORPORATION
Hearings
There are no public hearings scheduled for the month of January 2001.
DIVISION OF BANKS
Decisions
555 Credit Union, Canton and Rockland Federal Credit Union ("Rockland Federal"), Rockland - permission to merge 555 Credit Union with and into Rockland Federal under the charter, by-laws and name of Rockland Federal Credit Union. The main office of Rockland Federal would remain the main office of the continuing credit union and the sole banking office of 555 Credit Union would be retained as a branch office - approved December 26, 2000.
Berkshire Bank, Pittsfield - permission to close a branch office located at 75 Cheshire Road at the Allendale Shopping Center, Pittsfield - approved December 14, 2000.
Brockton Credit Union, Brockton - permission to establish a branch office at 295 Bedford Street, Bridgewater - approved December 18, 2000.
Citizens Bank of Massachusetts, Boston - permission to establish a branch office at 474-552 Washington Street, Boston - approved December 12, 2000.
Citizens Bank of Massachusetts, Boston - permission to close a branch office located at 205 Tremont Street, Boston - approved December 21, 2000.
Commerce Bank & Trust Company, Worcester - permission to establish a branch office at 53 Auburn Street, Drury Square, Auburn - approved December 14, 2000.
Gas & Electric Employees Credit Union ("Gas & Electric"), Melrose and Cape Cod Gas Employees Federal Credit Union ("Cape Cod Gas"), South Yarmouth - permission to merge Cape Cod Gas with and into Gas & Electric under the charter, by-laws and name of Gas & Electric Employees Credit Union. As part of this transaction, the by-laws of Gas & Electric would be amended to change membership eligibility - merger approved December 4, 2000; by-law amendment approved December 11, 2000.
Norwood Co-operative Bank, Norwood - permission to close a branch office located at 11 Vanderbilt Avenue, Norwood - approved December 8, 2000.
Tremont Credit Union, Boston - permission to amend its by-laws to expand membership eligibility to now include (1) Employees of the Academy of the Pacific Rim, Hyde Park; (2) Employees of The Olive Group, Charlestown; (3) Employees of Peets Coffee & Tea; (4) Employees of Elron Telesoft, Inc., Burlington; (5) Employees of Health Watch, Inc., Medford; (6) Employees of The Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Boston; and (7) Students and Alumnae of Simmons College, Boston - approved December 26, 2000.
United Co-operative Bank, West Springfield - permission to relocate a branch office from 1954 Wilbraham Road, Springfield to 1930 Wilbraham Road, Springfield - approved December 21, 2000.
Applications Pending
Boston Bank of Commerce (The) ("the Bank"), Boston, Massachusetts and Founders National Bank of Los Angeles ("Founders"), Los Angeles, California- permission to merge Founders with and into the Bank under the charter, by-laws and name of The Boston Bank of Commerce. The main office of the Bank would remain the main office of the continuing institution and all of the banking offices of Founders would be retained as branch offices. Comment period ended November 24, 2000.
City of Boston Credit Union, Boston - permission to establish a branch office at 53-55 Tolman Street, Dorchester. Comment period ends January 16, 2001.
First Essex Bank, FSB ("Bank"), Lawrence - permission to convert to a state-chartered savings bank under the name First Essex Bank. The main office of the Bank will remain at 296 Essex Street, Lawrence. Comment period ended December 21, 2000.
General Electric River Works Employees Credit Union (the "Credit Union"), Lynn - permission to amend its by-laws to (1) expand membership eligibility to now include those who live, work or worship in Essex County or reside within twenty-five miles of the main office of the Credit Union, as well as other changes which include, but are not limited to, various relationships with General Electric Company, as specified in the proposed by-law; and (2) change the name of the Credit Union to West Lynn Credit Union. Comment periods ended June 22, 2000.
Industrial Credit Union, Boston - permission to relocate its main office from 126 State Street, Boston to One Liberty Square, Boston. Comment period ends January 10, 2001.
Mt. Washington Co-operative Bank, South Boston - permission to establish a branch office at 501 Southampton Street, Andrew Square, South Boston. Comment period ended December 8, 2000.
Provident Bank (The) ("Provident"), Amesbury and The Amesbury Co-operative Bank ("Amesbury"), Amesbury - permission to merge Amesbury with and into Provident under the charter, by-laws and name of The Provident Bank. As part of this transaction, a petition has been filed to close the sole banking office of Amesbury after the merger, if the application is approved. Comment period ended November 20, 2000.
Provident Bank (The), Amesbury - permission to establish a branch office at 66 Storey Avenue, Newburyport. Comment period ends January 18, 2001.
St. Anne's Credit Union of Fall River, Fall River - permission to establish a branch office at 93 Adams Street, Fairhaven. Comment period ends January 5, 2001.
Springfield Mass. Municipal Employees Credit Union, Springfield - permission to amend its by-laws to expand the associations which qualify persons for membership. The amendment relative to membership eligibility would now include individuals who work, reside or attend school in Hampden and Hampshire Counties. Comment period ended December 21, 2000.
Woronoco Savings Bank, Westfield - permission to (1) relocate a branch office from 119 Winsor Street to 431 Center Street, Ludlow; and (2) establish a branch office at 72 Shaker Road, East Longmeadow. Comment periods end January 18, 2001.
JANUARY 2001 FILING DATE
Complete applications for the January Activity Report must be received by the Division or the Board on or before 5:00 P.M., Tuesday, January 16, 2001.
COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT DESCRIPTIVE RATINGS AND EVALUATIONS
WHICH BECAME PUBLIC DURING THE MONTH
The following state-chartered institutions have Community Reinvestment Act Descriptive Ratings and Evaluations describing the basis for the Rating issued by the Division of Banks pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws chapter 167, section 14. The ratings, as set out in the statute, for a bank's record of meeting community credit needs are: Outstanding ("O"); High Satisfactory ("HS"); Satisfactory ("S"); Needs to Improve ("NI"); and Substantial Noncompliance ("SNC").
DATE OF | ||
BANK | RATING | EXAMINATION |
Athol Credit Union, Athol | S | 09/11/00 |
Century Bank and Trust Company, Somerville | S | 07/10/00 |
Haverhill Fire Department Credit Union, Haverhill | O | 10/04/00 |
Horizon Bank & Trust Company, Braintree | S | 09/12/00 |
Ipswich Savings Bank, Ipswich | S | 09/25/00 |
Lenox Savings Bank, Lenox | S | 08/15/00 |
Northern Massachusetts Telephone Workers Credit Union, Lowell | S | 08/21/00 |
Note: The following institution was originally published with the wrong rating. The correct rating is as follows.
Boston Private Bank & Trust Company, Boston | HS | 01/11/00 |
Applications to Sell Insurance
East Cambridge Savings Bank, Cambridge - approved 12/27/00
Bridgewater Savings Bank, Bridgewater - pending
City Savings Bank, Pittsfield - pending
Lowell Five Cents Savings Bank (The), Lowell - pending
radius financial group, inc., Braintree - pending
Savings Bank (The), Wakefield - pending
Miscellaneous
The Division of Bank's high cost mortgage loan regulations, 209 CMR 32.00 et seq. and 209 CMR 42.00 et seq., were filed with the Regulations Division of the Secretary of State on December 8, 2000 and these regulations become effective January 22, 2001.
NEW SERVICE
PLEASE NOTE: The Division of Banks now offers email delivery of its publications, including the Monthly Activity Report. You now have the option of receiving the publication in an email addressed to you instead of by postal mail. Your participation is encouraged. To subscribe, simply send an email to:
dobactivityreport-subscribe@listserv.state.ma.us
If you need assistance or have questions, please contact Bernard N. Waxman at 617.956.1571.
For information relative to current Activity Reports please contact the Consumer Assistance Unit.