Mascoma Bank, Androscoggin Bank to form ClearNorth holding company

Mascoma Bank’s Claremont branch at 137-139 Broad Street would keep its name, its board and its daily customer-facing routines under a new ClearNorth Financial Mutual Holding Company, a structure the banks said is meant to preserve local control rather than trigger an acquisition.

Mascoma Bank announced May 11 that it planned to combine its parent company with Androscoggin Bank under the single mutual holding company. The two institutions said each bank will continue to operate with its own name, brand, charter and board of directors, a detail that matters to Sullivan County customers who depend on the Claremont office for deposits, loans and in-person service.

Clay Adams, Mascoma Bank’s president and chief executive officer, will serve as chief executive officer of the new holding company. Neil Kiely, Androscoggin Bank’s chief executive, will serve as president. Both men will keep their current roles at their respective banks, which the companies said will remain rooted in their own communities.

For Upper Valley customers, the clearest local anchor remains the Claremont branch, which Mascoma lists at 137-139 Broad Street, Claremont, NH 03743. Lobby and drive-up service run Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Saturday drive-up hours from 9 a.m. to noon. Mascoma says the branch has served Sullivan County for more than 42 years, giving the announcement unusual weight in a market where branch continuity still shapes how residents and small businesses bank.

Mascoma describes itself as a $2.99 billion mutual bank with 28 branches and 2 loan offices throughout Northern New England. Androscoggin says it is a $1.8 billion community bank with 10 branches in Maine. The banks framed the combination as a way to gain scale, resilience and room for continued investment in community banking, technology and customer experience without abandoning the mutual model that has defined both institutions for generations.

Those histories run deep. Mascoma says it was formed in 1899 by a group of local, civic-minded people, while Androscoggin says it was founded in 1870. Mascoma is a Benefit Corporation, and Androscoggin is a Certified B Corp, another sign that both banks are positioning the deal around community benefit as much as size.

Regulatory review still stands between the announcement and any final structure change. For now, the message to Claremont customers is straightforward: the bank name at 137-139 Broad Street stays the same, and the bigger change would happen behind the scenes, in the capital structure that supports local lending.