Laconia Savings changing its name to Bank of NH

LACONIA — The oldest bank in the state is taking a new name today when the Board of Trust Company Incorporation is expected to approve the petition of Laconia Savings Bank to be known henceforth as "Bank of New Hampshire."

Mark Primeau, president and chief executive officer, said yesterday that after a decade of growth, which has taken the bank to the four corners of the state, "it was really time to find a new brand that reflected who we are."

Although new to the bank headquartered in downtown Laconia, the moniker "Bank of New Hampshire" is not altogether new. Originally chartered in 1865, the first Bank of New Hampshire, was a commercial bank headquartered in Manchester. The bank was known for jealously protecting the "of New Hampshire" element of its trade name by persistently denying it to other financial institutions.

The bank weathered the recession of the early 1990s that claimed seven of its competitors and emerged as the second largest bank in the state in 1995 only to disappear in a series of mergers during the next decade. In 1995, the bank merged with Peoples Heritage Financial Group of Portland, Maine, which in turn merged with Banknorth Group, Inc. of Burlington, Vermont in 2000. Five years later TD Bank Financial Group of Toronto and Banknorth Group became TD Banknorth, which abandoned the rights to the name "Bank of New Hampshire."

Meanwhile, Laconia Savings Bank began to expand under the direction of then president and chief executive officer Bruce Clow. Nine branches in the northern and western reaches of the state were acquired from Fleet Bank in 1999 and soon afterwards brnches were opened in Concord, Bedford and Dover. In 2008, offices in Antrim and Hillsborough were purchased from Ocean Bank. And this year branches in Manchester and Rochester were added to bring the stable to 21 offices.

With assets of $1.1-billion and deposits of $876-million, the bank is largest state-chartered bank in the state.

"Laconia Savings Bank suggests a small savings bank," Primeau said. "We are not a small savings bank."

Primeau explained that the new name was chosen after much research and consideration, which included a survey of some 600 people. "We chose a name to identify us with the entire state, that stands for a bank committed to New Hampshire." He said that the bank contributed more than $2-million to a variety of charitable organizations and civic projects during the past two years.

Insisting that only the name of the bank will change, Primeau said that "we're not going to grow outside the state, we're not going to merge with anyone, we're not going to acquire anyone and we're not going convert from mutual to stock ownership. This is just a brand change." The bank will keep it's distinctive burgundy color and its signature slogan "New Hampshire's local bank."

The bank has begun informing its customers of the change of name. Once the name change is approved the process of renaming everything — the website, signage, stationary and marketing materials — will begin. In the meantime, the existing website will remain in operation.

The bank will remain headquartered in Laconia, where more than a third of its more than 300 employees work, including 76 at the operations center, nearly twice as many as when it opened in 1997. "As we continue to grow," Primeau said, "our headquarters staff will expand. This is a win-win for the bank and the city."

The change of name is not the first. The bank was originally chartered by the Legislature as Provident Institution of Savings at Meredith Bridge in 1831, when Franklin Pierce, who became the 14th president, signed the charter as Speaker of the House. In 1869, after Laconia was incorporated, it became Laconia Savings Bank. Unlike its new namesake, the bank will retain all rights to prior name.