Salisbury Bank & Trust takes on Riverside Bank

SALISBURY — Just months after announcing that it would purchase a branch of the Union Savings Bank in the Tri-state region, Salisbury Bancorp (which is the parent company of Salisbury Bank and Trust) has announced that it will merge with New York state’s Riverside Bank.The announcement was made March 19. Regulators as well as shareholders in both banks must approve the merger, which is likely to happen in autumn of this year.“We’re optimistic” about getting the approvals, said Rick Cantele, who is president and CEO of both Salisbury Bancorp and Salisbury Bank and Trust (and a Salisbury resident). “We think it’s a good opportunity for shareholders at both companies.”He said that the recent steady growth of the company is in fact designed to help the bank stay “strong and relevant in today’s challenging banking environment. Narrow margins combined with escalating regulatory and technology costs make it increasingly more difficult for smaller banks to survive. “We’re taking these steps in part to prolong our ability to stay independent. I believe that we can more effectively control our own destiny by being a high-performing bank, and that requires a certain degree of growth.”There are no immediate plans for further expansion, he said. “We will be focused on successfully integrating our new branch in Great Barrington, the Union Savings Bank branch in Sharon, and Riverside Bank. We have a strong culture of service at Salisbury, in fact our primary core value is: service to our customer above all else. Our team takes great pride in the service they provide our customers, and our focus on service will continue to be a top priority.“Our staff in the branches and on the phones will not change as a result of these projects.”Riverside is based in Poughkeepsie and has four branches in Dutchess and Orange counties. Its branches will now go under the name of Riverside Bank, a Division of Salisbury Bank and Trust.Cantele described Riverside as primarily a business bank. When asked if Salisbury Bank and Trust customers can use Riverside’s ATM at no extra cost, he said that the company does not have ATMs. “Our customers will be able to use their branches,” he said, and Riverside customers will be able to use Salisbury Bank and Trust machines at no extra cost.Salisbury Bank and Trust has a total of nine branches in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts, including a new Great Barrington office that will open in May. Cantele said that the two banks have been in discussions for several years about joining forces. Both are community-oriented banks that emphasize customer service. “Our primary core value is service to the customer,” Cantele said. “That will not change as a result of this merger. Our staff in the branches and the back offices will stay the same.”Salisbury Bank employees in theory will now also have more opportunities for career growth, Cantele said.“From a customer standpoint, we will take the best of what Riverside offers in terms of services and products. This will allow us to offer more robust commercial lending products, for example. That will help the small businesses we work with. Riverside customers will have access to our residential mortgage lenders and to our wealth management services.”Cantele said he believes the new partnership will be “accretive to earnings, which will allow us in turn to provide more loans and make more contributions to the communities we serve. We think this will be good for our communities, our customers, our employees and our shareholders.”Salisbury Bancorp will acquire Riverside in exchange for $28 million in stock that will go to the New York bank’s shareholders.In February, Salisbury Bancorp announced that it was purchasing the Sharon branch of Union Savings Bank. He said that sometime in June the Sharon office of Salisbury Bank on Low Street will close; it will move into the Union Savings Bank office, on Main Street across from the shopping plaza, which will become the new Sharon branch office for Salisbury Bank and Trust.Cantele, who is 54 and lives in Salisbury, has worked at Salisbury Bank and Trust for more than 32 years, since June 1981, shortly after his graduation from Fairfield University.