Oxford-based bankHometown will be rebranded as TruNorth Bank along with Hometown Financial Group’s other subsidiaries as the parent company prepares to become publicly traded.
Oxford-based bankHometown will be rebranded as TruNorth Bank along with Hometown Financial Group's other subsidiaries as the parent company prepares to become publicly traded.After a unanimous vote by Hometown Financial’s board of trustees, the $6.9-billion firm will reorganize as a stock-holding company, the company announced Monday.Additionally, Hometown Financial is planning to acquire New Hampshire-based Primary Bank, expanding Hometown Financial’s reach into a third state.Primary is based in Bedford, New Hampshire, with four locations in the southern part of the state. Primary was founded in 2015 and held $743.4 million in assets and $11.6 million in net income as of the end of March. Primary Bank, along with bankHometown and bankESB, will be rebranded under the TruNorth Bank name.With Hometown Financial’s reorganization, its bankESB and bankHometown subsidies will cease to exist, with TruNorth becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of a newly formed corporation also named Hometown Financial Group.
bankHometown President and CEO Robert Morton will become TruNorth market president for Central Massachusetts and Northeastern Connecticut.
Founded in 1889, bankHometown is the 14th largest bank in Central Massachusetts, with $942.5 million in local deposits and $1.6 billion in total assets as of June 2025, according to filings with the FDIC.The conversion and merger are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2027.Hometown will offer shares to TruNorth Bank depositors and other insiders through a subscription offering, with additional shares being sold to the public if needed. Depositors at Primary will not receive priority rights in the subscription offering. Primary is already publicly traded on the OTC Markets.Hometown's planned post-merger footprints will see it with branches in three states. IMAGE COURTESY OF HOMETOWN FINANCIAL GROUPHometown did not reveal where shares will be traded. The firm said it will file a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at a later date.As part of going public, a charitable foundation will be established by Hometown Financial, with the firm funding it with an amount equal to 4% of the shares sold in the offering.Hometown is based in Easthampton and has acquired eight banks since 2015, including bankHometown in 2016.At the closing of the Primary acquisition, Hometown will grow to 59 TruNorth Bank locations across Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, and northeast Connecticut.Matt Sosik, CEO and chairman at Hometown Financial, told WBJ in March slow growth of the Massachusetts economy and banking’s low-margin nature were two driving forces in recent banking mergers.Washington, D.C.-based law firm Luse Gorman served as legal counsel to Hometown Financial Group, Inc. for the merger, with New York’s Keefe Bruyette and Woods, Inc., A Stifel Company acting as financial adviser. New Hampshire-based Gallagher, Callahan & Gartrell served as legal counsel to Primary Bank for the merger, while New York-based Brean Capital acted as its financial adviser.EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated with information about bankHometown President and CEO Robert Morton's title with the rebranded company.Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.
