Franklin Savings Bank to close branch in downtown Laconia

LACONIA — Franklin Savings Bank will be closing its Laconia office located at 11 Veterans Square in the historic railroad station. The last day business may be conducted at the office will be Friday, Sept. 29.

The decision to close the Laconia office was reached only after careful consideration of the continued feasibility of this office. The decision to close this location is primarily an economic decision based on rising costs and a continued decline in the number of “in-branch” transactions due largely in part to the popularity of alternative banking channels, such as online and mobile banking. In addition, the space for the Laconia office posed significant challenges over the years, including a lack of drive-up access, poor visibility, and inadequate space to provide mortgage, commercial and investment banking services.

“The decision to close our Laconia office was not taken lightly, and was reached only after careful consideration of the continued feasibility of this location,” commented Ron Magoon, president and CEO. “This branch consolidation is solely the result of a process we go through regularly to analyze our physical branch network. As an independent community bank, we work diligently to meet the needs of our customers and our community, while maintaining a level of financial performance that allows for growth in capital.”

When Franklin Savings Bank initially entered the Laconia market, the intention was to lease space in the historic railroad station for a period of time until the bank could identify a suitable location to construct a full-service branch. In fact, shortly after opening the Laconia office the bank identified a site just 1.9 miles away in Gilford where it built a full-service office featuring three drive-up lanes, a drive-up ATM, along with an array of banking services. Although the Gilford office was less than 2 miles away, the bank decided to keep the Laconia office as a matter of convenience to those in the downtown area for a period of time.

Customer accounts will be reassigned to the Gilford office; however, customers may visit any of Franklin Savings Bank’s full-service offices located in Boscawen, Bristol, Franklin, Gilford and Tilton. Additionally, the bank offers other banking channels to include online banking, mobile banking, ATMs, telephone banking and cash management services.

Magoon continued, “We appreciate our customers’ patience through this transition and look forward to continuing to service them at our full-service office in Gilford. We want everyone to know that we remain committed to serving the needs of our customers and communities as we have proudly done for 148 years. Our strength and stability position us well to continue to do so well into the future.”

The Laconia staff will remain with the bank and will be provided with opportunities in other locations and areas of the organization.

Franklin Savings Bank is currently building a new full-service office in Merrimack which will be its eighth office. The new location is scheduled to open in September.