OXFORD, Mass. and MILLBURY, Mass., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Matthew S. Sosik, President and CEO of bankHometown, and Robert J. Morton, President and CEO of Millbury Savings Bank, announced today that the banks have signed an agreement to merge operations under the bankHometown name. The combined bank will have approximately $1 billion in assets and 15 branch offices located throughout central Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut.

“We are excited to welcome Millbury Savings Bank’s customers, employees and communities to the bankHometown family,” said Matthew S. Sosik, President and CEO of bankHometown. “This merger will expand our presence into the Worcester and Millbury markets and will add a team of talented bankers to bankHometown.”

“Merging with bankHometown allows us to provide our customers with increased lending capacity, an extended branch and ATM network, and an expanded offering of products and services,” said Robert J. Morton, President and CEO of Millbury Savings Bank. “At the same time, and even more importantly, our customers will see the same familiar faces every day.”

There will be no staff reductions or branch closures resulting from the merger. The impact to customers is expected to be minimal as both banks share the same core processor.

After the closing, Morton will lead the combined bank as its President and CEO. In addition, Morton and five members of the Millbury Savings Bank board of trustees will join the bankHometown board of directors. bankHometown is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hometown Financial Group. Morton and one other Millbury Savings Bank board member will join the Hometown Financial Group board of directors. bankHometown will remain headquartered in Oxford. As part of the Hometown Financial Group family of banks, which includes bankESB, bankHometown, and Pilgrim Bank, the combined bank will benefit from the shared resources of a larger institution while operating independently in its own market area.

“We have a proven track record of success with our operating model,” Sosik said. “Banks under our Hometown Financial Group umbrella benefit from access to highly-skilled executives and support teams. This allows the bankers at each of our subsidiary banks to focus their efforts on growing market share and providing best in class banking products, services and solutions to customers,” he said. Following the merger with Millbury Savings Bank, Hometown Financial Group will have approximately $3 billion in consolidated assets and 32 branch offices operating across Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut. Following the merger, Sosik will continue in his role as President and CEO of both bankESB and Hometown Financial Group.

The merger agreement has been unanimously approved by the boards of bankHometown and Millbury Savings Bank. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019, subject to the receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Customer deposits will continue to be fully insured through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Share Insurance Fund (SIF).

The merger with Millbury Savings Bank will mark the third transaction that will close in 2019 for Hometown Financial Group. On January 31^st, the Company closed on its acquisition of Pilgrim Bancshares, Inc. This was followed by the announcement on February 6^th of the merger of Abington Bank and Pilgrim Bank. The closing of that transaction is expected in the second quarter of 2019 and will result in the formation of a $600 million bank with six branches operating in eastern Massachusetts.

Luse Gorman, PC served as legal counsel to bankHometown and Bowditch and Dewey, PC served as legal counsel to Millbury Savings Bank.

About Hometown Financial Group, Inc.
Hometown Financial Group, Inc. is currently a $2.4 billion multi-bank holding company headquartered in Easthampton, Massachusetts, and is the parent company of bankESB, bankHometown, and Pilgrim Bank. All three banks offer a complete line of commercial, business and consumer products and services to customers through its 27 branches located throughout Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut. For more information on Hometown Financial Group, please visit www.bankhfg.com.

bankESB was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in Easthampton, Massachusetts. bankESB operates 11 branches located throughout western Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.bankesb.com.

bankHometown was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Oxford, Massachusetts. bankHometown has 13 branches located throughout central Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut. For more information, please visit www.hometowncoop.com.

Pilgrim Bank was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Cohasset, Massachusetts. Pilgrim Bank has 3 branches in eastern Massachusetts and has entered into an agreement to merge with Abington Bank later this year. For more information, please visit www.bankpilgrim.com.

About Millbury Savings Bank
Millbury Savings Bank was founded in 1854 and is a state-chartered mutual savings bank headquartered in Millbury, Massachusetts, with $228 million in assets and branches in Millbury and Worcester. For more information, please visit www.millburysavings.com.

For more information, please contact:

Hometown Financial Group, Inc.
Dena M. Hall
EVP and Chief Marketing Officer
(413) 779-2215

Millbury Savings Bank
Robert J. Morton
President and CEO
(508) 865-5811

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SOURCE Hometown Financial Group, Inc.