Kennebec Savings Bank, Kennebec Federal Savings merger imminent

WATERVILLE — Two central Maine banking institutions with similar names will merge March 5 after years of planning for the move.

Kennebec Savings Bank at 226 Main St. and Kennebec Federal Savings, also known as KFS, with a main office at 70 Main St. downtown and a branch office at 11 Washington St., will become Kennebec Savings Bank when the merger is complete at 5:01 p.m. on March 5, according to Andrew Silsby, president and chief executive officer of Kennebec Savings.

“We will open our doors on Monday, March 8, and the signs on the doors will have changed and the computer conversion will be completed by then and we’ll be operating as one institution from that standpoint,” Silsby said Monday.

With the merger, more than 20 employees of KFS will become employees of Kennebec Savings Bank, bringing the total number of employees at Kennebec Savings to 170, Silsby said. Allan Rancourt, president of KFS, will retire, he said.

“His last day is March 5,” Silsby said. “He worked for the bank for 44 years. Not a lot of people can say they’ve worked at a place for that period of time.”

Rancourt said Monday the merger will add KFS’ capital to Kennebec Savings’ and bring more services to KFS customers.

“So, it’s a win-win all the way,” Rancourt said. “I’m pleased about the merger with Kennebec Savings Bank. It’s a great bank, really well run, a lot of great opportunities for my people, a lot of new products for my customers. I couldn’t be happier that our board chose them to merge.”

In addition to its Waterville branch, Kennebec Savings Bank has locations in Augusta, Farmingdale, Freeport and Winthrop.

Head teller Belinda Greeley works Monday at the drive-thru window at Kennebec Savings Bank in Waterville. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

KFS customers have been apprised along the way of the merger, first announced in June 2020, according to Silsby, who noted it is a bank merger, not an acquisition.

“This is not a cost-cutting measure,” he said. “We don’t have individual stakeholders. A merger is a merger of organizations. It’s not an acquisition, where somebody is profiting.”

As part of the merger, KFS did an evaluation that included Silsby’s giving a presentation to its board, which ultimately selected Kennebec Savings for the merger.

Silsby said KFS customers ask questions from time to time about what the merger will mean, including whether terms of their loans will change. He said those terms will not change.

The merger, he said, will give Kennebec Savings Bank more “scale and bulk,” lifting it from the 11th-largest bank in Maine to eighth largest, according to Silsby’s calculations.

Andrew Silsby, president and chief executive officer of Kennebec Savings Bank. Contributed photo

Silsby said initially, Kennebec Savings had an idea of maintaining its 226 Main St. branch and the two KFS locations, at 70 Main St. and 11 Washington St. As as discussions progressed through the COVID-19 pandemic and the banks were open by appointment only, a potential buyer for 70 Main St. emerged. That caused bank officials to pause and ultimately decide to not maintain KFS’s downtown location, which does not have a drive-thru.

Some employees at 70 Main St. will stay there temporarily, while others will go to Washington or Main streets, Silsby said. KFS employees were given Apple iPads and have been meeting via Zoom with other bank employees, which has worked well during the pandemic, according to Silsby. Both banks use the same company for core banking software, making the conversion easier, he said.

The 70 Main St. office will remain KFS until March 5, Silsby said. While he could not name the potential buyer for the building, he confirmed it is not a bank.

Founded in 1936, Kennebec Federal Savings had its offices at City Hall and then moved to Common Street, according to the bank’s website. In 1975, it moved to its current location at 70 Main St., and in 1986 it doubled in size after buying the Dunham’s Building next door. The bank opened its Washington Street office, off Kennedy Memorial Drive, in 2007.

Kennebec Savings Bank was established in 1870 when then-Gov. Joshua Chamberlain approved and signed into law an act to incorporate it.

In 1995, the bank merged with Waterville Savings and Loan, which employed eight and had been a small, community bank for more than 100 years, according to Silsby. Kennebec Savings built its building at 226 Main St. in 1996, and an addition in 2000.

Silsby, who has been with Kennebec Savings Bank for 28 years, told of his experience with KFS that ultimately led to discussions with Rancourt about a merger with Kennebec Savings.

Kennebec Federal Savings at 70 Main St. in Waterville. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel Buy this Photo

“There’s a little banking rule that there are limitations for bank executives in banking in terms of how much you can borrow from your own institution,” Silsby said, adding that when he bought a second house, he went to KFS.

“I was very, very impressed with how they were able to get everything done, and by the size that they were,” Silsby said. “That was the moment that Allan and I turned up the intensity on our discussions. That really started our conversation in earnest to talk about combining organizations. I was just so impressed with the level of service, the technology that they had.”

Meanwhile, he complimented Rancourt on his 44-year career.

“He’s such a gentleman,” Silsby said. “He is what I call an old-school banker, who is just an absolute gentleman. I have a lot of respect for him.”

Rancourt said KFS over 85 years has supplied hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and mortgages to people in central Maine so they could own homes.

“I’ll miss it terribly,” he said. “I’ll miss the employees. I’ll miss the customers coming in. But 44 years — it’s time for someone else to come to the plate, and I’m so happy it’s Kennebec Savings Bank, because they’re an excellent, excellent community bank.”