News

Claremont Savings Bank's Commercial Lending team was recently awarded the "Loan Participation of the Year" award from the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority (NHBFA). The award was given at this year's Granite State Awards held on October 11, 2023. The Bank partnered with NHBFA to provide financing to Montshire Packing, a meat processing facility located in North Haverhill, New Hampshire.

“I am grateful to Claremont Savings Bank and the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority for helping us purchase the PT Farm meat processing facility. Both the Bank and NHBFA were easy to work with and extremely responsive in putting together financing that made this transaction happen quickly. This enabled us to retain jobs in North Haverhill and to continue to provide a vital service to local farms,” said Mark Boyden from Montshire Packing.

Jim Lynch, the Bank’s Senior Commercial Lender, stated that “our team takes pride in being responsive to the needs of local businesses, and while we never expect any recognition, it was an honor to be recognized by NHBFA, who was a great partner to work with on this transaction”.

NH BFA Executive Director James Key-Wallace shared “We extend our deep appreciation to Claremont Savings Bank for their hard work empowering New Hampshire businesses. The Granite State Awards proudly recognizes Jim Lynch and his team's pivotal contribution in fostering job creation and economic prosperity within our community. Their efforts were exceptional and the award is well-deserved.” 

This is the third consecutive year that the NHBFA has recognized exceptional lenders in New Hampshire. They celebrated the dedication and achievements of five exceptional lenders in New Hampshire who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to leverage BFA programs, facilitating loans that have been instrumental in driving success for local businesses.

June 28, 2023 - Claremont Savings Bank Names David Finnerty As New President and CEO

Heather Minkler, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Claremont Savings Bank, announced the selection of David Finnerty, currently Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Guilford Savings Bank, as the Bank’s new President and Chief Executive Officer.  Mr. Finnerty succeeds Reginald E. Greene, Jr., who retired after seven years at the Bank. 

“We are thrilled that Dave has agreed to lead the Bank.  He brings great energy and a commitment to community banking and mutuality.  With his strong background in operations and payments, he will help complete our upcoming technology upgrade later this summer and open up new opportunities for us.” said Ms. Minkler.

Mr. Finnerty is a graduate of Norwich University and has an MBA from the University of New Haven.  He has served in the U.S. Marine Corp. Reserves and the Connecticut Army National Guard and has served overseas in the Philippines and Afghanistan.

“I’m excited to join such a well-capitalized, 116-year-old community institution.  I look forward to working closely with the Board of Trustees and the staff to continue the strong tradition of community banking”, said Mr. Finnerty. 

May 1, 2023 - Claremont Savings Bank Announces Two New Corporators at 2023 Annual Meeting

Claremont Savings Bank held its 117th Annual Meeting on April 4, 2023.  At the business portion of the meeting, two new Corporators were elected:

Greg Soho – Greg is Co-owner/CFO of Granite Air Center, LLC.  Granite Air Center is a full-service Fixed Base Operation providing aircraft fueling and ground support, aircraft maintenance, and short- and long-term hangar storage at the Lebanon Municipal Airport in West Lebanon, NH.  Greg holds a BBA in General Business and Finance from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (1988) and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (2002).  He lives in Windsor, Vermont.

Jon S. Liland –Jon is an attorney and a shareholder at the law firm of Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green PA, and the head of their White River Junction office.  Jon is a graduate of Boston College Law School and Cornell University, and lives in Hartland, Vermont.

President and CEO, Reggie Greene said “we are thrilled to welcome Greg and Jon as Corporators of Claremont Savings Bank.  Both Greg and Jon have experience in business, finance and law that will help the Bank as we evolve, and their work and connections in the Upper Valley will help us grow our market share.  We are excited about the progress we’ve made since opening a full-service branch in West Lebanon last year”.

Following the business portion of the meeting, Mr. Greene and Lynn Smith, Chief Financial Officer, presented the Bank’s 2022 results, expectations for 2023, and the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank along with the responses by the Federal Reserve and FDIC.

On April 5, 2023 at the Claremont Savings Bank Board meeting, Heather Minkler was elected Chair of the Board and Kathleen Hubert was elected as Vice Chair of the Board. Mr. Greene thanked Steven Monette for his years of service as the Chair of the Board.

February 7, 2023 - Increase in "Grandparent Scams" Targeting New Hampshire's Older Adult Residents

Claremont Savings Bank has been informed by the Attorney General’s office that there is a scam alert for New Hampshire residents, especially its older adult population, concerning a recent increase in scammers perpetrating the "Grandparent Scam."

In a "Grandparent Scam," a scammer calls or e-mails a victim posing as one of the victim's relatives, typically a grandchild. The scammer posing as the relative then claims to be in trouble, often saying he or she has been arrested by law enforcement in another state or country. The scammer may also pose as a member of law enforcement and claim to have arrested or detained the victim's relative. The scammer will instruct the victim to not tell anyone, sometimes threatening that the victim is under a "gag order" to not speak about the incident. A gag order is a court order prohibiting public disclosure or discussion of information related to a case.

“At Claremont Savings Bank we are very concerned that scammers are increasing their attempts to gain access to bank account information, through criminal methods,” said Carol Vivian, Senior Vice President of Retail Banking at Claremont Savings Bank. “We encourage consumers to review the details of this Grandparent Scam, and other types with their trusted local bankers. Look out for your friends and family members who may be a target of these financial attacks. At Claremont Savings Bank we want you to know that we are taking a proactive approach to protecting your hard-earned money. We are a trusted resource and can provide advice, if you have received an email or phone call that, doesn’t seem legitimate,” continued Vivian.

In recent weeks, several New Hampshire residents have reported to both local law enforcement agencies and the New Hampshire Consumer Protection Bureau, through its consumer hotline, that they have received these calls from scammers. At least one of these incidents resulted in substantial monetary loss to the victim, who was told that a family member was in legal trouble. Another would-be victim was addressed by the scammers by a unique name only the family knows, lending credibility to the scammer's call. Residents have reported the scammers have arranged to pick up cash directly from the residents' homes.

The Attorney General reminds New Hampshire residents that legitimate law enforcement officials will never:

• Issue a "gag order" regarding the release of a relative over the telephone or by e-mail;
• Demand immediate payment over the telephone or by e-mail by wire transfer or in-person payment of cash or other valuables in exchange for the release of a relative; or
• Ask for your personal identifying information in exchange for the release of a relative.

The Attorney General urges New Hampshire residents to be vigilant. Anyone receiving one of these calls should take the following steps:

• Do not engage with the caller;
• Hang up immediately;
• Do not provide money or personal information, including home address;
• Contact the family member in question directly, at a known VALID number;
• Call someone you trust for an opinion about the call you just received;
• Contact your local police department immediately, especially if you have lost money or other valuables, or made arrangements for the pick-up of money or valuables from your own home; and
• Report the scam to the Office of the Attorney General – Consumer Protection Hotline
  1-888-468-4454
  E-mail: [email protected]
  www.doj.nh.gov/consumer/complaints

Anyone with knowledge that a vulnerable adult has been scammed or financially exploited should also contact the New Hampshire Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services, at 1-800-949-0470.

February 1, 2023 - Effective February 11, 2023 Saturday Drive-up at our West Lebanon branch will no longer be available

There will no longer be Saturday hours at the West Lebanon branch of CSB. Drive-up ATM will still be available 24/7. 

We greatly apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We encourage you to visit one of our other convenient locations. 

January 6, 2023 - Effective February 6, 2023 the Lobby at Washington Street with be permanently closing

As a community bank, we strive to make thoughtful decisions to ensure we’ll be here for our customers for another 100+ years. Effective February 6, 2023 our Washington Street lobby, including walk-up ATM, will be closing permanently. Drive-up teller and drive-up ATM will remain available. 

Services that will be discontinued at Washington Street.  

• Deposit Account opening and maintenance (except debit card issuance) 
• Consumer Lending 
• Notary Services 
• Medallion Signatures 
• Coin Machine 
• Safe Deposit Boxes
• Business Coin Orders 
• Night Drop 
• Walk-up Cash Dispenser

We greatly apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We encourage you to visit one of our other convenient locations for lobby needs. 

June 22, 2022 - NH Bankers Association: New Chair, Officers and Directors Elected at Annual Meeting

The New Hampshire Bankers Association (NH Bankers) elected Officers and Directors for the coming fiscal year during its Annual Meeting held on June 17, 2022. The meeting was well attended, with over 100 members of the New Hampshire Banking industry featuring Governor Sununu as the keynote speaker.

Kristy Merrill, President of NH Bankers said, “I am deeply grateful to our Chair, Reggie Greene, and our board for their support and leadership during the past year.  With their steady guidance we were able to effectively advocate to help defeat the proposal for bankers to report to the IRS on customers with transactions over $10,000 and the proposal of a State Bank to hold cannabis proceeds from the State. Working closely with our board, we also hosted our first industry-wide Month of Service and continue to serve as a key resource  for all our bank members on issues ranging from regulatory developments to helping attract talent to the industry.” 

Read More here

April 20, 2022 - New Trustee and Three New Corporators at 2022 Annual Meeting

The Bank is pleased to announce a new Trustee. 

Sera Gray – Chief Information Officer – Red River 

Ms. Gray is responsible for implementing applications and processes to ensure efficient and compliant operations. She has been with Red River since 2005 when she joined the Accounting and Finance Unit. In 2008, she took on the role of Corporate Project Manager and worked to expand the Business Operations division. In her seventeen years with Red River, Sera has supported the company’s aggressive growth through business intelligence and insights, quality management, partner integrations and M&A integration initiatives. She holds a B.A. in International Business from Elizabethtown College.

“We are delighted to welcome Sera to our Board of Trustees,” said Reggie Greene, Claremont Savings Bank President and CEO.  “Banks are delivering products and services through more and more sophisticated technology.  Sera brings years of experience as a technology executive and she will help management and the board evaluate our strategy.  She has a strong background in finance and has ties to both Claremont and the Upper Valley,” continued Greene.

Additionally, the Bank announces three new Corporators.

Andre Lafreniere – Partner – Claremont Custom Framing – Claremont, NH

Chris Eldredge – McCrillis & Eldredge Insurance – Sunapee, NH

Ian Kipperman – Senior Accountant – Gallagher, Flynn & Company – Lebanon, NH

“We also welcome three new Corporators,” said Reggie Greene.  “Andy is a Claremont entrepreneur active in community issues.  Chris has close ties to Newport and knowledge of business and insurance issues.  Ian’s work in public accounting and his location in Lebanon will help us to expand our presence in the Upper Valley market,” continued Greene.

Claremont Savings Bank celebrates the retirement of long-time Board member, Frank Reed. Mr. Reed served on the Board of Trustees for 35 years. The Trustees and staff are grateful for Mr. Reed’s service to Claremont Savings Bank for those many years. 

March 31, 2022 - Washington Street Branch Drive-up is Reopening 4/4/22

The branch drive-up will be reopening for normal business hours beginning April 4, 2022. The lobby will remain closed for walk-in service at this time. If you have a Safe Deposit Box at Washington Street, please call us at 800-992-0316 Option 4 to schedule an appointment.  Thank you for your understanding during these past months. 

January 27, 2022 - Security Changes to our Website begin 2/14/22 (.com to .bank)

We’re excited to announce that on 02/14/22 we’ll transition over to Claremontsavings.bank from our claremontsavings.com domain to provide you an even more secure banking experience.

On that day, all visits to claremontsavings.com will be automatically redirected to claremontsavings.bank and all emails will be forwarded from our claremontsavings.com addresses to our new claremontsavings.bank addresses.

While website redirection and email forwarding from claremontsavings.com will remain in place for the foreseeable future, you should take a moment after our launch on February 14th to update your bookmark(s) to our site and any email addresses in your address book.

Our new .bank domain helps to prevent phishing attacks against our employees, customers, and vendors by providing a visual identification cue for our emails and websites. Going forward, you should authenticate our emails and website simply by looking for the “.bank ” (rather than .com) at the end of our email addresses and at the end of our URL. If it’s not .bank, it’s not us.

You can learn more about .bank security here: https://www.register.bank/customerFAQ

The security of your assets and information continues to be our top priority, we love being your bank, knowing the needs of the community and our customers, while ensuring you have the security you would expect from a much bigger bank.

 

Why .BANK? It provides assurance to customers that our website is authentic. It is similar to seeing a .gov web address for a government website, or .edu for education websites. It verifies the website’s legitimacy. Banking has remained one of the most phished industries for more than a decade and having a .bank domain prevents phishing and spoofing attacks that lead to identity theft and financial fraud.

What is .BANK? .bank replaces open domains, like .com, which can be purchased by anyone. It was created and is managed by banking and security experts, to provide a trusted home on the internet for banks to securely and effectively communicate with customers. Since its launch in 2015, thousands of banks have registered .bank  domains and are now using them.

Why is .BANK safer? All .bank domains are required to meet robust security and technology standards and practices, and only verified members of the banking industry can obtain a .bank domain. This verification process helps to prevent lookalike domains from spoofing bank websites to steal customers’ information and make it easy for anyone to immediately identify legitimate bank emails and websites.