CRANSTON – Domestic Bank has been sold to a group of private and individual investors, bank officials said Monday. Financial terms were not disclosed.
In a joint statement, the nine-branch bank and the investment group said there would be a “seamless transition” to the new ownership, with all branches remaining open and no job losses expected. The investment group said they planned to add to Domestic’s executive and support staff in the coming months.
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“We look forward to building a bright future for Domestic Bank and to working diligently to assure that we effectively serve the needs of our customers and of the entire community,” said Nicholas W. Lazares, who is leading the investment group. “We will bring additional capital and resources to this very solid institution so that it may grow and provide the highest level of service to present and future customers.”
Lazares, a former chairman and CEO of Atlantic Bank & Trust (now Capital Crossing Bank) in Boston, will take over as chairman and CEO once the deal is finalized. An attorney, Lazares recently formed a private-equity company, Federal One Holdings LLC, to buy up troubled lenders.
Dean Holt, who has served as Domestic’s president and CEO since November 2008, will remain president and become chief operating officer, the statement said.
The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of next year, must be approved by the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision.
Closely held Domestic – which had $241.21 million in total assets as of Sept. 30, according to regulatory filings – made news last year when it agreed to pay $1.8 million in penalties for the lending practices of a mortgage subsidiary that federal regulators described as “unsafe and unsound, deceptive [and] inconsistent.”
Nathaniel B. Baker, Domestic’s founder, chairman, president and CEO, retired at the time the penalties were announced. He remained on the bank’s board of directors until he stepped down in September.
Additional information is available at domesticbank.com.
