Merger Completion

On May 1, Hoosac Financial Services, Inc., North Adams, MA, renamed itself MountainOne Financial Partners, MHC and acquired Williamstown MHC, Williamstown, MA, thereby acquiring Williamstown Savings Bank, Williamstown, MA. On the same date, Williamstown MHC became a mutual bank holding company through the acquisition of Williamstown Savings Bank. As of June 30, 2001, Hoosac Financial Services had total deposits of $181.5 million and ranked 113th among all commercial banking and thrift institutions in Massachusetts. As of the same date, Williamstown Savings Bank had total deposits of $100.5 million and ranked 154th. (Internal Notice, 5/3/02)

Bank Opening

On May 8, Leader Bank, NA, Arlington, MA, a full-service national member bank opened for business. (Internal Notice, 5/8/02)

Branch Closing

On May 17, East Boston Savings Bank, East Boston, MA, closed its Shaw's Supermarket branch located at 246 Border Street, East Boston, MA. (Internal Notice, 5/22/02)

Branch Openings

On April 29, Cape Cod Bank , Trust, NA, Hyannis, MA, opened a branch located at 3206 Main Street, Barnstable, MA. On the same date, Enterprise Bank , Trust Company, Lowell, MA, opened a branch located at 430-448 Gorham Street, Lowell, MA. On the same date, Century Bank , Trust Company, Somerville, MA, opened a branch located at 24 Federal Street, Boston, MA. Also, Cape Cod Co-operative Bank, Yarmouthport, MA, opened a branch located at 31 Attucks Lane, Hyannis, MA.

On May 6, Rockland Trust Company, Rockland, MA, opened its Belmont Street branch located at 100 Belmont Street, Brockton, MA. (Internal Notice, 5/2; 5/16/02)

FRB Boston Approves Proposal

On May 2, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston approved the proposal by South Coastal Holdings MHC, Inc., Rockland, MA, to become a mutual bank holding company through the acquisition of South Coastal Bank, Rockland, MA. (Actions by the Board, 5/4; Internal Notice, 5/3/02)

MA DOB Approves Proposals

On April 25, the Massachusetts Division of Banks (MA DOB) approved the proposal by MountainOne Financial Partners, MHC (formerly named Hoosac Financial Services, Inc., North Adams, MA) to become a bank holding company for Hoosac Bank, North Adams, MA, and Williamstown Savings Bank, Williamstown, MA. On April 25, the MA DOB approved the proposal by South Coastal Bank, Rockland, MA, to establish a mutual savings bank, South Coastal Interim Bank, and a stock savings bank in conjunction with its multi-step reorganization into a mutual holding company, South Coastal Holdings MHC, Inc. (State of MA DOB Notice, 4/31/02)

RBSG in Nonbanking Activity

On April 30, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, PLC, Edinburgh, Scotland, made an indirect investment in Digital Signature Trust Company, Salt Lake City, UT (DSTC). DSTC acts as a certification authority and repository for certificates used to verify digital signatures that are used to conduct online financial transactions. (Internal Notice, 5/3/02)

KeyCorp in Nonbanking Activity On May 6, KeyCorp, Cleveland, OH, signed a definitive agreement to acquire "substantially all" of the mortgage loan and real estate business of Conning Asset Management Co., Hartford, CT. Conning's mortgage loan and real estate business originates, services, and securitizes multi-family, retail, industrial, and office property mortgage loans for pension fund and life insurance company investors. The company's St. Louis office currently services approximately $4 billion in commercial loans. Conning originates loans out of offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. The deal is expected to be completed by mid-July. The transaction is not subject to regulatory approval. (SNL Bank , Thrift Weekly, 5/20/02)

FleetBoston to Sell Education Services Unit On May 17, business processing and information technology company Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. signed a definitive deal to acquire the education services unit of FleetBoston Financial Corp, Boston, MA, for $410 million. The unit, AFSA Data Corp, services a portfolio of 8.1 million student loans worth approximately $85 billion. AFSA, Long Beach, CA, which has more than 3,500 employees nationwide, also provides business process outsourcing services to federal, state, and municipal governments, including Medicare, Medicaid, children's health insurance programs, and welfare-to-work programs. The deal is expected to close in June. In April, FleetBoston said it planned to shift its focus to its core businesses, a move that included a decision to sell AFSA as well as its investment bank, Robertson Stephens. (SNL Bank , Thrift Weekly, 5/20/02)

NY Bank Merger Completed On May 9, Atlantic Bank of New York, New York, NY, acquired Yonkers Financial Corp, Yonkers, NY, in a cash deal worth approximately $67.3 million. Pursuant to the agreement, Yonkers shareholders are to receive $29 for each share of common stock they own.

As a result of the merger, Yonkers unit Yonkers Savings and Loan Association FA has been merged into Atlantic Bank. The deal will give it approximately $2.5 billion in assets and 21 full-service branch offices. The merger was approved by the Federal Depository Insurance Corp and the New York State Banking Department on May 3. (SNL Bank , Thrift Weekly, 5/6; 5/13/02)

Bank of NY in Nonbanking Activity On May 6, Bank of New York Co., New York, NY, acquired investment adviser Gannett Welsh , Kotler Inc., Boston, MA. Gannett Welsh , Kotler manages more than $5 billion in assets for high net-worth individuals and small-to-midsize institutions.

On May 20, BNY ESI , Co., New York, NY, a subsidiary of Bank of New York Co., New York, NY, signed a definitive agreement to acquire institutional trading firm Francis P. Maglio , Co. A member of the New York Stock Exchange, FPM , Co. is a direct-access brokerage firm for listed securities and will become part of Bank of New York's brokerage and clearing services division. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. (SNL Bank , Thrift Weekly, 5/13; 5/28/02)

Banknorth to Acquire NY Insurance Company On May 16, Banknorth Group Inc., Portland, ME, signed a letter of intent to acquire Community Insurance Agencies, South Glens Falls, NY, in a move to provide insurance products and services in upstate New York. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year. The transaction will help expand the premium volume of insurance unit Banknorth Insurance Group, which saw premiums of $400 million in 2001. In 2001, Community Insurance had annual premium volume of $24 million and generated $4.2 million in revenues, operating with 57 employees out of seven locations, primarily in the Adirondack mountains. (SNL Bank , Thrift Weekly, 5/20/02)

OTS Seeks to Curb Abusive Lending On April 26, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) announced it is seeking to curb predatory mortgage lending practices by eliminating certain regulations that preempt state law under the Alternative Mortgage Transaction Parity Act (AMTPA). Specifically, the OTS has proposed removing its prepayment and late-fee rules that preempt state law, because predatory lending by state-chartered institutions has been on the rise. The AMTPA was created in 1982 to grant qualified state-chartered housing creditors parity with federally chartered lenders, eliminating the discriminatory impact of state laws by allowing the institutions to operate under federal regulatory standards in making alternative mortgages. At the time, 26 states had laws on the books fettering state-chartered institutions from making such mortgage loans with nonstandard payment features such as variable rates, balloon payments, or call features. However, nearly all states that had dilatory lending laws on their books have since dropped them. (SNL Bank , Thrift Weekly, 4/29/02)

Mortgage Lenders Given More Time to Meet New Fed Data Rule On May 3, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (Fed) said that it would allow mortgage lenders another year before making them collect additional data aimed at identifying predatory or discriminatory lending. The new measures - which were pushed to January 1, 2004, from January 1, 2003 - are part of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and would require data on the pricing of 10% to 15% of all new mortgages. The data are meant to help regulators' ability to see discriminatory or predatory loans. Banks said they needed more time to prepare to collect the data. (SNL Bank , Thrift Weekly, 5/6/02)

Fed Opposes Increasing Deposit Insurance Ceiling On April 23, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said his agency opposes raising the ceiling of federal deposit insurance coverage above its current level of $100,000. Appearing before the Senate Banking Committee, Greenspan said the Fed supports all of the recommendations for the reform of deposit insurance that the FDIC proposed in the spring of 2001, with the exception of the increase of the deposit insurance ceiling. The Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act, which passed the House by a vote of 408-18 on May 22, calls for many of the FDIC's recommendations and includes raising the deposit insurance coverage limit to $130,000 from $100,000 and indexing future coverage limits to inflation. The bill would also combine the FDIC's bank and savings association insurance funds, eliminate the 23-basis-point "rate cliff" that is triggered when the reserve ratio falls below 1.25%, index future coverage to inflation, double the coverage limits on certain IRAs and 401(k)s, and increase coverage on municipal deposits. The Fed chairman believes that increased coverage would not measurably add to the stability of the banking system from either a depositor or depository institution perspective and stated in his prepared testimony that "raising the ceiling now would extend the safety net, increase the government subsidy to banking, expand moral hazard, and reduce the incentive for market discipline, without providing any real evident public benefits." (SNL Bank , Thrift Weekly, 4/29; 5/28/02)

Items in Bank Notes focused on developments affecting banking structure in New England. They were condensed from daily newspapers and press releases from federal and state financial regulatory agencies. Their reproduction does not imply our endorsement of the accuracy, opinions or policies reflected in the subject matter.Items in Bank Notes focused on developments affecting banking structure in New England. They were condensed from daily newspapers and press releases from federal and state financial regulatory agencies. Their reproduction does not imply our endorsement of the accuracy, opinions or policies reflected in the subject matter.