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September 28, 2020

Torrington Savings moving further into Hartford County

Photo | Contributed Torrington Savings Bank CEO Lesa Vanotti, with predecessor John Janco Sr.

It’s been more than 40 years since Torrington Savings Bank established its first and only branch in Hartford County, but now the mid-sized mutual wants to add a second.

Torrington Savings, which holds about $692 million in deposits, applied to the state Department of Banking earlier this month seeking permission to establish a branch at 888 Farmington Ave. (Route 6) in Bristol.

It’s the latest in a wave of community bank expansions in the area, following People’s United Bank’s acquisitions of United Bank and Farmington Bank over the past few years, which have led to several dozen branch closures as People’s United sought to squeeze out costs and eliminate overlapping turf in its growing branch network. 

Just last month, eastern Connecticut’s Dime Bank applied to open two branches in Hartford County, which would represent its first ever foray across Connecticut county lines.

Officials at Torrington Savings (TSB) had been analyzing the Hartford-area market for the past four years or so and watched the churn closely, according to President Lesa Vanotti.

Amid the rush of activity, the bank’s management knew they would have to choose their spot wisely. 

“When Farmington Bank sold and the other banks zipped in there really quickly, we said ‘well, maybe that’s not the place for us, because it got really noisy really quick,’ ” recalled Vanotti, who will become TSB’s new CEO later this week, succeeding retiring John Janco Sr.

TSB began looking more seriously at Bristol after the United Bank acquisition was first announced in mid-2019. The fact that some of TSB’s personnel, including a commercial lender and a business development officer, had roots in Bristol also helped seal the deal.

“We really felt there was an opportunity for another community bank in that market,” Vanotti said.

The emergence of COVID-19 this year created some uncertainty. Branch foot traffic is down about 20% over the past six months compared to a year ago at TSB.

The bank decided to forge ahead anyway, acquiring the Route 6 property, which formerly housed a United Bank branch, for $670,000 in late August.

”The vision of branch banking is changing, but we believe there is still value,” Vanotti said.
”When everything is going smoothly, digital [banking] is fantastic, but if there is a complicated matter or a couple is buying a home, people still need the face-to-face interaction from time to time.”

Exterior and interior renovation plans are in the works, and assuming state regulators OK the new branch. Vanotti said she is hoping to open in Bristol by the middle of next year.

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