A special message
from our President and CEO, Bob Montgomery-Rice on our achievements and financial highlights for FY24.
2024 Annual Report
Keeping Our Promise
Our Promise
Bangor Savings Bank has been meeting the financial needs of New Englanders for over 172 years by living our promise: to remain true to the mission of our founders and deliver our You Matter More promise to help our employees, customers, and communities prosper.
A promise is personal. A promise binds us together and keeps us strong.
By focusing on our fundamental promise to our employees, customers, and communities that they matter more, we were able to meet the many challenges this past year and keep doing all the things we do best:
We kept helping people buy homes …
We kept lending to businesses …
We kept innovating to make banking better …
We kept our industry-leading team motivated and engaged …
We kept giving back to our communities!
Keeping a promise is something to be proud of. Despite the economic landscape of the last year, we kept our promises to those we serve, making us stronger and well-positioned for continued growth and success.
A Letter from the President & CEO and the Chair of the Board
"To our employees, customers, and communities, it’s the consistency of being there in good times and the uncertain times that matter."
Bob Montgomery-Rice
Dear Corporators, Customers, Employees, and Friends,
This past year, Bangor Savings Bank continued to uphold its legacy of resilience and commitment, drawing from its 172 years of navigating change. As a mutual bank, our strength lies in prioritizing our shared promise to our employees, customers, and communities—that’s why You Matter More.
Our creative and collaborative culture paired with a passion for innovating on behalf of our customers, enables us to be flexible and adapt to the needs of those we serve while maintaining a long-term outlook. This steadfast approach has helped us to grow in all the ways that are truly valuable, such as adding and deepening relationships, strengthening our team, and always doing what’s right.
While our earnings may not reflect historical year-over-year increases, the Bank achieved many successes. The Bank maintained sound credit quality while remaining an industry leader in credit quality metrics, and proactively navigated the challenges of rapid rate increases felt by all financial institutions across the nation. Furthermore, we expanded our offerings by launching a new suite of credit cards and introduced Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), which has diversified our deposit base. Additionally, we have extended our reach with new branches in Bar Harbor and Kennebunk, Maine.
We continued to invest in our communities through the Bank's corporate giving, The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation, and significant employee-led volunteerism, helping our communities thrive.
As we reflect on the last fiscal year, we are grateful and appreciative for our exceptional employees who deliver on Our Promise, and for our customers and communities who trust in us year after year.
Sincerely,
Gena R. Canning, Chair of the Board & Robert S. Montgomery-Rice, President and Chief Executive Officer
Business Banking Solutions
Bangor Savings Bank has long been an advocate and partner for Northern New England businesses, supporting small businesses, visionary entrepreneurs, and large commercial customers. We remain committed to offering industry-leading solutions and service to meet the needs of our customers.
Business and banking have never been more entwined than they are today. We are committed to being there for our customers and providing the products and services needed to run a successful business. As a bank driven by innovation and collaboration, Bangor Savings Bank has long offered businesses access to much more than just financing. Our business customers have access to modern payment systems, payroll and HR solutions, and more.
As one of Maine’s top Small Business Administration lenders, we have experience working with the SBA, Finance Authority of Maine (FAME), New Hampshire’s Business Finance Authority, Rural Development, and other agencies and guarantee programs. Additionally, we support businesses of all sizes with financing for sustainable growth and success.
everblue® Business Rewards Plus Mastercard
Launched in June 2023, our business credit card empowers business owners, managers, and employees with streamlined card management processes delivered in an intuitive mobile and online experience.
From maximizing cash flow and increasing automation to managing fraud and risk, Corporate Services offer a range of innovative tools to improve business efficiencies.
Buoy Local® connects participating businesses in Maine and New Hampshire with consumers, helping to keep dollars in our local economy. With the Bank’s debit card now seamlessly integrated with the Buoy Local® program, it makes earning rewards while shopping effortless for our customers.
Payroll & HR SolutionsBangor Payroll® offers seamless, efficient, and secure payroll, timekeeping, and HR solutions, with tailored solutions for small startups to growing mid-size companies to larger businesses operating across multiple states.
From small to large businesses, our merchant program offers reliable and secure processing solutions tailored to your business needs with local support from a dedicated team of experts.
We offer tailored business deposit solutions designed to meet the unique needs of your business. Our business deposit accounts provide a secure and convenient way to manage your cash flow.
Our Wealth Management team provides tailored financial strategies for businesses, matching risk tolerance and liquidity needs.
Wealth Management Products: NOT FDIC INSURED | NO BANK GUARANTEE | MAY LOSE VALUE
Paul White Company
"Bangor Savings Bank isn’t just our bank, they’re our strategic partner. They push us to think about the big picture and the future in ways we probably wouldn’t have on our own. The way they work with us is unique — something we’ve never experienced with any other bank."
Paul White
Paul White Company | Portland, Maine
Personal Banking Solutions
Guided by our fundamental You Matter More promise to our customers, we continued helping people buy homes and deliver the best personal banking products and services to customers across Northern New England.
It’s that kind of consistency that has earned us Maine State Housing Authority’s top lender for the 16th consecutive year, the USDA Rural Development top lender of the year, and continues to win the trust of a growing number of customers who know they can depend on us to keep our promise to be there for them, whenever and wherever they need us.
Because we believe banking is a relationship, we’re in it with our customers every step of the way, with personal service focused on each person’s unique circumstances and goals at every stage of their financial journey.
In 2023, as we have throughout our 172-year history as a community bank, we continued helping individuals with their personal borrowing needs, including home ownership.
With a focus on creating lasting prosperity, Bangor Wealth Management delivers expertise and personal care to build solid retirement and trust & estate planning strategies for individuals and families.
Wealth Management Products: NOT FDIC INSURED | NO BANK GUARANTEE | MAY LOSE VALUE
Our everblue® Credit Card suite embodies our commitment to personalized financial solutions to meet customers where they are in their financial journey, with card options, including rewards, lower rate, credit-building, and business cards.
We continue to strengthen our You Matter More promise by continually innovating to make online and mobile banking as efficient and accessible as possible, with easy-to-use tools that put customers in control.
By integrating the Buoy Local® program with the Bank’s debit card, customers can now earn reward points when shopping at participating locally-owned businesses in Maine and New Hampshire while supporting their communities.
With a range of personal checking and savings accounts for consumers of all ages and financial situations, Bangor Savings Bank is dedicated to helping customers find solutions tailored to their life and needs.
Butterfield Family
"Chris, our lender, was a huge part of making our dream of owning a home become a reality. I don’t think that we would have been able to do it without him. You could just tell it was more than a job for him."
Shane & Alexis Butterfield
Homeowners | Newcastle, Maine
Community Investment
Bangor Savings Bank reaffirmed its deep-rooted commitment to community stewardship in fiscal year 2024. With contributions exceeding $3.5 million, including sponsorships, donations, and grants, we continued to champion causes that matter most to the communities we serve in Northern New England. But our impact goes beyond dollars. Our employees devoted over 11,000 volunteer hours to various community initiatives, demonstrating our ongoing dedication to making a positive difference. We believe in not just being a bank for the community, but an active and engaged partner in its growth and success.
Immigrant Welcome Center
"There’s such a need for people coming over to the country for the first time, especially if there’s any sort of language barrier. Bangor Savings Bank … really went above and beyond to make sure the financial literacy class was tailored to our needs and the needs of the people we work with."
Grace Reynolds
Immigrant Welcome Center | Portland, Maine
FY24 Foundation Grants Awarded by Areas of Giving
Community Matters
Community development lending has never been more critical to the health and vitality of our communities. Bangor Savings Bank remains committed to investing in its communities, with 57 new community development loans totaling more than $69 million dollars last year, $25 million of which went towards 14 affordable housing projects.
In the past year, Bangor Savings Bank also sponsored 10 Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Program applications, two of which received a total of $2 million to aid developers in navigating challenging market conditions. We also supported a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit fund that benefited three affordable housing projects in Maine and New Hampshire. By continuing to focus our efforts on local projects that will provide the greatest return for our communities, we will continue to make a meaningful impact in the years ahead.
NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire
"It’s great to have a partner like Bangor Savings Bank. We greatly appreciate the relationship we have with the folks that work at the bank. We also appreciate their commitment to our organization by providing volunteers that serve on our committees and help us in the community."
Robert Tourigny
NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire | Manchester, New Hampshire
Financial Performance & Growth
For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, Bangor Savings Bank earned net income of $15.3 million, down significantly from the prior year. Substantially higher interest rates and a decrease in customer deposits pushed interest expense up more quickly than our assets could reprice at today’s higher yields. We expect this trend to reverse and earnings to begin climbing during the second half of the upcoming year. Fortunately, our core non-interest business lines delivered strong year over year results, while our branches were successful in opening over 33,000 new core deposit accounts, including nearly 6,000 new business accounts.
The Company’s assets decreased by 2.6% from the prior year to $7.2 billion, primarily driven by intentional runoff in the investment portfolio and more targeted loan production. Within Bangor Wealth Management and Bangor Wealth Management of New Hampshire, due to successful new business efforts and strong financial markets, client assets increased by over $300 million, or 13.0%, to $2.7 billion.
The number of business clients using the Company’s payroll services grew to 4,700, and customers processed more than $1.3 billion in sales volume using the Company’s merchant services.
Total loan production during the year was $1.1 billion, bringing the cumulative loan production over the last five years to just over $9 billion. Net portfolio balances grew by 2.8% to $4.8 billion at fiscal year-end.
Due to significantly higher interest rates and low housing inventory, total residential mortgage loan production of $450 million was more than 40% lower than the prior year. However, secondary market demand improved, as well as revenue from wealth management and payroll services, which were primary drivers for non-interest income increasing 3.2%, to $74.2 million.
The Company continued its focus on maintaining sound credit quality while working proactively with our noncurrent borrowers. By year-end, nonperforming loans represented just 0.09% of the loan portfolio while our national peer group reported 0.51%. Recoveries exceeded current year charge-offs by nearly $500 thousand for the fiscal year.
With the pandemic-era deposit surge receding and fiscal stimulus ending, customer deposits and repurchase agreements decreased $400 million, or 6.8%, bringing balances down to $5.5 billion at year-end. The reduction in deposits was offset by growth in more expensive brokered deposits and borrowings.
Capital levels continued to be strong, with total capital increasing by $24 million, or 6.0%, to $416 million and retained earnings growing by 2.3% to $626 million. The Company continues to be categorized as well capitalized by our regulators, with total capital (relative to risk-weighted assets) exceeding that threshold by $94 million at fiscal year-end.
With a sound balance sheet, thoughtful loan production, and healthy core business operations, the Company remains well positioned for continued investments in customer experience that will drive sustained profitability and growth.
Nonperforming loans references loans that are 90 days or more past due or are in nonaccrual status. The national peer ratios are based on the Uniform Bank Performance Report peer group, assigned by the FFIEC for comparability, which comprises 133 community banks with assets greater than $1 billion.
View Our Consolidated Financial Statements
You Matter More
Because we truly believe in the people of New England, we will invest our time and our resources to help you. At Bangor Savings Bank, you matter more. Your ideas matter to us. Your business matters to us. Your well-being matters to us. Simply put, you matter to us. It’s why we’re committed to giving you the banking solutions you need to achieve your goals. It’s why we invest in our communities and our employees. We support New England and its people because we believe it is an exceptional place to live and work.
Learn How We Are Keeping Our Promise
to our employees, customers, and communities.
Corporate Structure, Governance, & Leadership | Bangor Bancorp, MHC
View all the members of our Board, Leadership Committee, and more.
Conscious Business
Learn about the work we do to support our stakeholders and our shared economy.
Locations
Visit any of our 69 branches across Maine and New Hampshire.
2024 Awards & Accolades
Best Customer Satisfaction for Retail Banking in New England for the 7th Year in a Row. For J.D. Power 2024 award information, visit jdpower.com/awards.
2023 Best Places to Work in Maine
2023 Best Companies to Work For in New Hampshire
Forbes 2024 World's Best Banks