Washington Trust opens Mass. office

WESTERLY – Washington Trust Bancorp, parent of the Washington Trust Co., doesn’t have a bank branch in Massachusetts, but its presence in the Bay State just got a little more prominent.
Washington Trust, Rhode Island’s largest independent bank, recently opened a new mortgage lending office in Sharon, Mass. Washington Trust’s wealth management arm, Weston Financial Group, is headquartered in Wellesley, Mass.
“This is a great time for Washington Trust to expand into the greater Boston area with a residential mortgage office,” said Stephen M. Bessette, executive vice president of retail lending. “The residential real estate market is showing signs of recovery and consumers are turning to community banks, like Washington Trust, for traditional mortgage options, trusted advice and personal service.”
The Washington Trust Home Loan Center will be staffed by 10 to originate fixed and variable rate mortgages, jumbo loans and reverse mortages, Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Administration loans, as well as home equity loans and lines of credit.
For the first seven months of 2009, Washington Trust was the third largest mortgage originator in Rhode Island, according to real estate research firm the Warren Group, overtaking Sovereign Bank and Bank of America compared with the same period in 2008.
Washington Trust is one of Rhode Island’s top mortgage lenders and was the No. 1 reverse mortgage lender in Rhode Island, for the period of July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2009, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development.
Washington Trust Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: WASH) is the parent of The Washington Trust Co., a Rhode Island-chartered bank founded in 1800 that has offices in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and southeastern Connecticut. Additional information is available at www.WashTrust.com.