Issue link: http://southshoremagazine.uberflip.com/i/1034327
19 TheSouthShoreMagazine.com The merger of South Shore Bank with Braintree Cooperative Bank has resulted in a banking experience that combines the latest high-tech conveniences with the personal, local feel that residents love about the South Shore. Combined under the name South Shore Bank, these trusted financial institutions have taken community banking to a whole new level. The banks merged almost a year ago, and the result has been a tremendous success: a bank with 16 branches that effectively meets the modern, fast-paced needs of its clients while keeping an amenable, service-oriented culture. Both banks have far-reaching roots in the South Shore. South Shore Bank started in 1833—before light bulbs were even invented and when America still had only 13 states. It has served clients through the Civil War, World Wars, the Great Depression, the Great Recession and every other major world event of the past two centuries. Braintree Cooperative Bank was established in 1889 by the people as a savings and loan institution. It flourished into a community bank with three locations, serving generations of incredibly loyal clients for 128 years. Over the past couple of years, then South Shore Bank President and CEO Jim Dunphy and Braintree Cooperative Bank President and CEO Paul Pecci, having developed a mutual respect for each other, had spent a great deal of time discussing the changes and challenges that were affecting local community banks and they identified a common goal: helping smaller banks survive while at the same time preserving their model and maintaining their dedication to residents of the South Shore. "Here on the South Shore, we are really blessed with a group of small community bankers who are very open to helping each other," says Pecci. They meet at conferences to discuss how to handle problems, share resources and remain viable and relevant. Eventually, Pecci and Dunphy's friendship fostered the concept of a collaboration. In October 2017, Braintree Cooperative Bank and South Shore Bank came together as one. Dunphy is at the helm as CEO of South Shore Bank and Pecci is its President. They say that bringing the two banks together made sense for a variety of reasons. First, keeping up with the latest banking regulations and ever-advancing technology is very costly. "It's very hard for a small bank to cover that increasing overhead," says Dunphy. Combining resources gives South Shore Bank the ability to offer the latest innovative banking conveniences to its clients, while ensuring that the technology is safe and secure. The enhancement of business banking products and services is another reason for the merger. From commercial real estate loans, to equipment financing, to merger and acquisition guidance and financing, South Shore Bank not only has the funds to lend but the expertise to guide business owners in the process. Its cash management services team is top-notch, personalizing each product and service to a client's individual need instead of delivering a "one shoe fits all" approach. South Shore Bank offers services like remote deposit processing, lockbox services, positive pay, wire and ACH capabilities, as well as corporate credit cards and debit cards. Preserving a banking institution that has longevity in the area and local ties to its customer base is also an important concern. "Affiliations like this are good for the community," says Dunphy. "We certainly don't want to see communities losing their local banks." This consolidation of local community banks and the shared-service concept is essential to the preservation of smaller banks: "It's based on community effort and helping each other survive," says Pecci. Merging two banks who have a myriad of systems and totally different client bases poses plenty of challenges, but the people at Braintree Cooperative Bank and South Shore Bank did a beautiful job minimizing any negative fallout. The result has been that clients are now getting a suite of new products and services that a larger bank can offer, without losing that personable, hometown feel. Pecci's main concern was the effect of the transition on the clients: "I wanted it to be handled so well and efficiently that if there was to be any change in customer service, it would only be for the better." In order to make the merger as painless as possible, the banks set up anonymous sites where employees and clients could give feedback along the way. Both banks checked on progress from beginning to By Erica Ford, photography by Susanne Malloy South Shore Bank: A Bank for the Benefit of the Community