Bristol County touts 2009 ‘success’

TAUNTON – Bristol County Savings Bank executives pronounced fiscal 2009 a “successful year” at the bank’s recent annual meeting, noting that assets grew 3 percent to $1.2 billion and retained earnings totaled $166.2 million, or 13.9 percent of assets, at year’s end.
“In what many economists described as the most difficult economic period we have faced since the Great Depression, we’re pleased to report that the bank continued to perform well and make progress in key strategic areas,” E. Dennis Kelly, bank president, said in a statement.
The bank, a subsidiary of privately held Beacon Bancorp, said that its capital position ranks in the top 10 percent for Massachusetts banks with assets of more than $1 billion.
Taunton-based Bristol County Savings, which has a branch in Pawtucket, posted $7.6 million in net income for calendar year 2009 – up 85 percent from $4.1 million in 2008 – according to the bank’s regulatory filings with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
At the annual meeting in March, the bank announced that Jean F. MacCormack, chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, had been elected to the board of directors, and longtime director Charles P. Terry retired.
New corporators elected included: Joseph C. Delgado, president and CEO of Dartmouth Building Supply, for the bank’s Dartmouth market; Linda M. Morad, New Bedford city councilor, for the New Bedford market; Barry J. Amaral, registrar for the Registry of Deeds in Bristol County, for the Taunton/Raynham market.
Paul Lenahan, executive vice president of Anawon Trust – a wealth-management division of Bristol County Savings – noted assets under management rose 6.2 percent year over year.
Don Backlund, CEO of Farrell Backlund Insurance Agency, said it contributed about $6.5 million in noninterest income in its first full year as a subsidiary of Bristol County Savings. The bank took a majority stake in the agency in 2008.
The Bristol County Saving Charitable Foundation reported that requests for assistance increased in 2009, and the foundation provided $822,000 for 148 local organizations.
Bank officials also noted the construction of Bristol County Savings’ first branch in New Bedford. When complete, the 3,500-square-foot office will employ eight.
Bristol County Savings Bank is a full-service financial institution founded in 1846. It has $1.2 billion in assets and 300 employees serving Rhode Island and Bristol County, Mass., from 10 branch offices, two educational branch offices, five lending centers and its headquarters on Broadway in Taunton. Additional information is available at www.bristolcountysavings.com.