SEE IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE END OF THIS REPORT
BOARD OF BANK INCORPORATION
Hearing
January 6, 2011
1 st Floor, Hearing Room 1-E
1000 Washington Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02118-6400
At 1:00 p.m.
Brookline Bancorp, Inc., Brookline - permission to acquire First Ipswich Bancorp, Ipswich. First Ipswich Bancorp is the holding company for First National Bank of Ipswich, Ipswich. Brookline Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Brookline Bank, Brookline. Comment period ends January 11, 2011.
DIVISION OF BANKS
Decisions/Notices
Berkshire Bank, Pittsfield, Massachusetts - permission to establish a branch office at 628 Loudon Road (Route 9), Latham (Colonie), New York - approved December 7, 2010.
Commerce Bank & Trust Company, Worcester - notice to establish a branch office at 451 Lincoln Street, Worcester - non-objection issued December 13, 2010.
Fall River Five Cents Savings Bank, Fall River - permission to relocate a branch office from 178 Elsbree Street, Fall River to 1604 President Avenue, Fall River - approved December 7, 2010.
Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union, Lowell - permission to relocate its main office from 658 Merrimack Street, Lowell to 585 Merrimack Street, Lowell - approved December 17, 2010.
Metro Credit Union, Chelsea - notice to establish a branch office at 4 Paradise Road, Salem - non-objection issued December 3, 2010.
Metro Credit Union, Chelsea - permission to close a branch office located at 260 Humphrey Street, Swampscott - approved December 14, 2010.
Rockland Trust Company, Rockland - permission to relocate a branch office from 400 Washington Street, Braintree to 405 Washington Street, Braintree - approved December 3, 2010.
The Co-operative Bank, Roslindale - permission to relocate a branch office from 1915 Centre Street, West Roxbury to 36 Spring Street, West Roxbury - approved December 3, 2010.
Wemelco Credit Union, Springfield - permission to amend its by-laws to expand the associations which qualify persons for membership. The amendment relative to membership eligibility proposes to add membership for employees at "Electric Companies," "Green Energy Companies" and "Gas, Oil & Propane Companies," as defined in the proposed by-law, located in Hampden and Hampshire Counties - approved December 22, 2010.
Winchester Savings Bank, Winchester - permission to close a branch office located at 278 Washington Street, Winchester - approved December 7, 2010.
Applications/Notices Pending
Crescent Credit Union, Brockton - permission to relocate a branch office from 1095 West Chestnut Street, Brockton to 1300 Belmont Street, Brockton. Comment period ended December 29, 2010.
Harvard University Employees Credit Union, Cambridge - notice to establish a branch office at Building 149, 1st Floor, Charlestown Navy Yard, 149 13th Street, Charlestown. Filed December 23, 2010.
Millbury Savings Bank, Millbury - notice to establish a branch office at 1001 Millbury Street, Worcester. Filed December 21, 2010.
Millbury Savings Bank, Millbury - permission to close a branch office located at Route 146 and Boria Lane, Millbury. Comment period ends January 27, 2011.
Tremont Credit Union, Boston - permission to close a branch office located at 1 Herald Square, Boston. Comment period ends January 3, 2011.
JANUARY 2011 FILING DATE
Complete applications for the December Activity Report must be received by the Division or the Board on or before 5:00 P.M., Friday, January 14, 2011.
COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT DESCRIPTIVE RATINGS AND EVALUATIONS
WHICH BECAME PUBLIC DURING THE MONTH
The following state-chartered banks and credit unions and licensed mortgage lenders have Community Reinvestment Act descriptive ratings and evaluations describing the basis for the rating issued by the Division of Banks. The ratings, as set out in statute, for a bank's or credit union's record of meeting community credit needs are: Outstanding ("O"); High Satisfactory ("HS"); Satisfactory ("S"); Needs to Improve ("NI"); and Substantial Noncompliance ("SNC"). Licensed mortgage lenders are also assigned one of these ratings to describe their record of meeting the mortgage credit needs in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
A consolidated list of all ratings can be found at www.mass.gov/dob.
A copy of an individual CRA evaluation is available directly from the bank, credit union, or mortgage lender which is required by law to make the material available upon request, or from the Division's web site.
| Bank/Credit Union | Rating | Date of Examination |
|---|---|---|
Equitable Co-operative Bank, Lynn | S | 08/16/10 |
St. Mary's Credit Union, Marlborough | HS | 08/23/10 |
| Mortgage Lender | Rating | Date of Examination |
|---|---|---|
Greenpark Mortgage Corp. | S | 05/20/10 |
APPLICATIONS TO SELL INSURANCE
Athol Savings Bank - approved December 2, 2010
Belmont Savings Bank - approved December 2, 2010
Cambridge Savings Bank - approved December 2, 2010
Leominster Credit Union - pending
Southbridge Savings Bank - approved December 2, 2010
CHECK CASHER LICENSES
Decisions
Wal-Mart Stores East, LP d/b/a Wal-Mart Stores, Bentonville, Arkansas - permission to operate a check casher office at 25 Tobias Boland Way, Worcester - approved December 15, 2010.
Applications Pending
Bennington Convenience Store, Inc. d/b/a Sava's Market, East Boston - permission to operate a check casher office at 150 Bennington Street, East Boston. Comment period ended June 18, 2009.
Braz Transfers, Inc., Somerville - permission to operate a check casher office at 377 Somerville, Ave., Somerville. Comment period ended September 24, 2009.
Currency Exchange International Corp., Orlando, Florida - permission to operate a check casher office at 100 Huntington Avenue, Level 2, Center Court, Boston, Massachusetts. Comment period ended December 13, 2010.
Maruti Convenience, LLC, Fitchburg - permission to operate a check casher office at 288 South Street, Fitchburg. Comment period ended December 21, 2010.
St. James Checking, Inc., Springfield - permission to operate a check casher office at 70 Main Street, Greenfield. Comment period ended September 7, 2010.
BANK AND CREDIT UNION APPLICATION PROCESS TIMING
As a general rule, applications by banks and credit unions other than those that are subject to a review period set out in statute are intended to be processed and completed within the monthly cycle for which the bank and credit union applies. That review period for such processing is approximately 45 days or less from the date the application is filed with the Division. A decision on the application is generally issued within 5 business days after the review period is completed. The decision then will be reported on the monthly Activity Report for the month in which the decision was issued. The timing of the overall review process including the issuance of a decision and the listing on the monthly Activity Report will be dependent on the applicant's compliance with all statutory, regulatory and administrative requirements. Applications before the Massachusetts Board of Bank Incorporation are subject to separate timing schedules as set out in the applications of the Board.
IMPORTANT NOTICE ON CHANGE IN APPLICATION PROCESS
The Division of Banks has an ongoing initiative to reduce paperwork. Among other things, the application process is being changed. All applications filed with the Division and the Board of Bank Incorporation, except those filed electronically pursuant to FDICconnect shall now consist of one printed copy as well as a submission in an electronic media format preferably a compact disk or USB drive. Banks and credit unions, as well as counsel for such institutions, are advised to submit ONLY the information requested in the application. Accordingly, the submission should not include, among other things, entire Annual Reports, entire public CRA Statements, copies of applications to the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the National Credit Union Administration. Additionally, please be advised that certain comparative analyses on deposit and loan overlap among other materials in corporate transactions are being reduced in conjunction with the revised applications.
Only one hardcopy and a submission in an electronic media format (e.g., a compact disk or USB drive) will be accepted for purposes of filing an application. Any additional materials submitted will, at the discretion of the Division, either be returned at the Petitioner's expense or destroyed. A petitioner is responsible for the actions of its counsel or consultant.
All applications are being reviewed and amended to reflect this new policy. As always, the Division or the Board reserves the right to request supplemental material to be filed on any application or particular question. Petitioners and their counsel must adjust their own internal filing procedures to reflect these significant changes by the Division.
All Board of Bank Incorporation applications are covered by this policy.
Division applications that are covered by this policy are all bank and credit union merger, acquisition and membership by-law change applications, as well as all bank and credit union branch office and main office related applications except for notices to establish branch offices. Also covered are all bank applications (e.g. mutual holding company reorganizations) filed in connection with a transaction before the Board of Bank Incorporation.
Applications that are not covered by this policy are letter applications by banks and credit unions to the Division that do not appear on the Activity Report. Also not covered by this policy are bank and credit union notices to establish branch offices.
PLEASE NOTE: All publications of the Division of Banks are now delivered electronically. 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 .