BURLINGTON, Vt., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Chittenden Corporation (NYSE: CHZ) announced today that it has completed its
acquisition of Granite State Bankshares, Inc., a $1.1 billion commercial bank
headquartered in Keene, New Hampshire.
In announcing the acquisition, Paul A. Perrault, Chittenden's Chairman,
President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are extremely pleased to
welcome Granite into the Chittenden group and to significantly expand our
presence in the southern New Hampshire market, which is now the fourth largest
market share in the state. We feel that Granite's franchise is an excellent
bridge between our existing Vermont and New Hampshire operations, while
significantly strengthening our presence in a variety of markets, including
Portsmouth."
Charles W. Smith, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Granite State
Bankshares, Inc., commented, "We believe our shareholders have received a fair
price and that this is a good transaction for our customers and employees.
Granite has accomplished a great deal as an organization and has operated at a
high level of performance. We have known the management group at Chittenden
for a number of years and we are pleased to be joining an institution that has
demonstrated such a strong understanding of local community banking. This
transaction accelerates our ability to provide a wider range of services to
our market, such as asset management and trust, as well as a variety of
business banking services."
Granite State Bankshares, Inc., had total assets of $1.1 billion, deposits
of $761 million, and $91 million of stockholders' equity at December 31, 2002.
Granite had $610 million in loans, of which $222 million were commercial
loans, and $336 million were residential real estate loans. Granite presently
operates nineteen banking offices in Hillsborough, Cheshire, Rockingham,
Strafford and Merrimack counties in New Hampshire.
Chittenden is a bank holding company headquartered in Burlington, Vermont,
with pro forma total assets of $6.1 billion at December 31, 2002. Its
subsidiary banks are Chittenden Bank, The Bank of Western Massachusetts,
Flagship Bank and Trust Company, Maine Bank & Trust, Ocean National Bank and
Granite Bank. Chittenden Bank also operates under the name Mortgage Service
Center, and it owns The Chittenden Insurance Group and Chittenden Securities,
Inc. The Company offers a broad range of financial products and services,
including deposit accounts and services; consumer, commercial, and public
sector loans; insurance; brokerage; and investment and trust services to
individuals, businesses, and the public sector.
This press release contains certain forward looking statements with
respect to Chittenden Corporation and its business following the consummation
of the merger that are subject to various factors which could cause actual
results to differ materially from such projections or estimates. Factors,
which may cause actual results to differ from forward-looking statements, are
described in Chittenden's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Chittenden does not undertake or intend to update any forward-looking
statements.
SOURCE Chittenden Corporation
back to top
