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The Savings Bank
FormerlyWakefield Savings Bank (1989)
Company typeBank
IndustryFinancial services
Founded1869
HeadquartersWakefield, Massachusetts, United States
Number of locations
9 branches (2021)
Key people
Robert J. DiBella, CEO
ProductsSavings; checking; consumer loans; mortgages; credit cards; online banking
Total assetsIncrease US$ 655M[1] (2021)
Number of employees
125 (2021)
SubsidiariesWakefield Bancorp, MHC
Websitetsbawake24.com
A Savings Bank branch in the Greenwood district of Wakefield, Massachusetts, in July 2021, showing the clock tower distinctive of Savings Bank branches.

The Savings Bank (formerly Wakefield Savings Bank) is a state-chartered mutual bank, headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts and founded in 1869. It is one of the oldest banks in the United States.[2] The Savings Bank has over $655 million in assets, and 9 branches, serving residents of Wakefield, Lynnfield, Andover, Methuen, North Reading, and surrounding cities and towns.[1] It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wakefield Bancorp, MHC,[3]

History

Postcard showing the Wakefield Savings Bank building, at the corner of Main and Chestnut Streets. Year of 1895.

The Savings Bank's heritage started in early 1869 with the idea of Cyrus Wakefield, who along with other business leaders, petitioned for a charter to open a savings bank in Wakefield, Massachusetts.[4] Starting with one physical location in 1869, the Bank was chartered as the Wakefield Savings Bank. By 1871, the Wakefield Savings Bank had over $60,000 in deposits and over 500 depositors.[5]

In 1981, The Savings Bank earned national and international recognition[citation needed] with the opening of the first student-operated banking branch in the nation, named the 1st Educational Savings Branch at Wakefield Memorial High School. In 2004, the branch was awarded an honorary certificate of recognition for its efforts in teaching financial education to high school students by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.[6]

In 1985 The Savings Bank became FDIC insured and was assigned the FDIC certification number 90291.[7]

In 1989, the bank's name changed to The Savings Bank to reflect its broader geographic footprint.

In 1997 the Trust Department of the bank was established, and the bank expanded its services to include Wealth Management services.

In 2005, The Savings Bank acquired the First Financial Trust, N.A.

In early 2013, The Savings Bank petitioned the Division of Banks (Division) and the Board of Bank Incorporation (Board) pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws chapters 167A and 167H, for permission to reorganise into a mutual holding company.[8] On April 30, 2013, The Savings Bank reorganised into a mutual holding company, Wakefield Bancorp, MHC with a mid-tier holding company, Wakefield Bancorp, Inc.[9]

In 2019, The Savings Bank celebrated its 150th anniversary.[10]

Services

Community involvement and charitable efforts

In 1997, The Savings Bank purchased, renovated, and restored the Odd Fellows building, one of Wakefield's landmarks, originally built in 1895, that suffered extensive damage in a January 24, 1997 devastating fire.[11][12]

In 1997, The Savings Bank established the Charitable Foundation, Inc. The Foundation supports non-profit organisations whose primary focus is on homeless shelters, family services, the poor, and the elderly.

In 2001, The Savings Bank established the Donald E. Garrant Foundation, Inc. in tribute to the memory of Don Garrant, former President and Chief Executive Officer of The Savings Bank during1980- 1992. The Foundation supports projects in public and private schools, grades K-12, and non-profit organisations that promote financial education in: saving, investing, borrowing and credit, and economics.

Since their founding, The Savings Bank Charitable Foundation and the Donald E. Garrant Foundation together have given back more than $1 million to community efforts.[13]

In 2013, The Savings Bank was rated as "high satisfactory" on the Service Test performance under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), and "satisfactory" on the Lending and Investment Tests performance, by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, for the bank's efforts in providing financial and personal empowerment through innovative and flexible lending programs designed to meet the credit needs of low and moderate-income borrowers, first-time homebuyers, and small businesses.[14] In 2019, The Savings Bank was rated as "satisfactory" by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for its performance under the CRA.[15]

In 2018 and 2019, The Savings Bank provided a temporary home to the Tall Spire pre-school, previously located in Wakefield's First Baptist Church, that suffered extensive damage in an October 24, 2018 fire.[16][17] The bank also collected monetary donations to help support the First Baptist Church.[18]

Recognition and awards

In 2020, The Savings Bank received the Winner #1 Choice award in the category Community Bank / Credit Union in the Wicked Local Reader’s Choice Awards.[19]

In 2006, The Savings Bank was presented with a Friend of Public Education Award by The Massachusetts Association of School Committees, based on nominations from the individual School Committees throughout Massachusetts.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b "US Bank Locations: The Savings Bank". usbanklocations.com. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  2. ^ "America's Oldest Banks". ibanknet.com. 2017-01-01. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  3. ^ "WAKEFIELD BANCORP MHC Financial Reports". ibanknet.com. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  4. ^ Wulff, Jim (2016-11-30). "The Remarkable Mr. Wakefield". wakefieldhistory.org. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  5. ^ "Annual Report of the Commissioner of Savings Banks, Including the Abstracts of Returns from the Savings Institutions in Massachusetts, 1871 - State Library of Massachusetts Electronic Repository" (PDF). core.ac.uk. p. 76. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  6. ^ "Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, Wayne A. Abernathy Presented Honorary Certificate of Recognition - U.S. Department of the Treasury". treasury.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  7. ^ "Find Banks and Credit Unions - Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation". Mass.gov. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  8. ^ "The Savings Bank, Wakefield, Massachusetts - permission to reorganize into a mutual holding company". mass.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  9. ^ "Massachusetts Divisions of Banks 2013 Annual Report" (PDF). mass.gov. p. 16. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  10. ^ "TSB Turns 150 Sunday - The Wakefield Daily Item". localheadlinenews.com. 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  11. ^ "Fires - Wakefield Library". wakefieldlibrary.org. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  12. ^ "Historic Downtown Wakefield Tour". wakefieldhistory.wordpress.com. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  13. ^ "Annual Report 2019 Wakefield Bancorp, MHC" (PDF). tsbawake24.com. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  14. ^ "COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT PERFORMANCE EVALUATION - THE SAVINGS BANK" (PDF). archives.lib.state.ma.us. 2013-03-18. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  15. ^ "The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Divisions of Banks and Board of Bank Incorporation Activity Report". mass.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  16. ^ "In Daylight, Loss Of Wakefield Landmark Is Tough To See". patch.com. 2018-10-24. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  17. ^ "The Savings Bank provides temporary home to Tall Spire". localheadlinenews.com. 2018-11-30. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  18. ^ "Hurd School a possibility for Tall Spire". localheadlinenews.com. 2018-10-30. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  19. ^ "Wakefield Local Services Winner Listings". wickedlocal.com. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  20. ^ "TOWN of WAKEFIELD 195th Annual Report 2006" (PDF). archives.lib.state.ma.us. p. 64. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
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