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Pictured left to right (front row): J. Christopher Collins, Timothy Murray, Christopher Oddleifson, Edward Augustus, Margaret McCarthy, Shana Hazen, Joseph Petty, Roberta Sousa, Gerard Nadeau and Robert Cozzone. (Back row) Michael Crawford, Patrick Myron, Edward Seksay, and David Smith.
Rockland Trust opened its first retail branch in Worcester this week, and more branches could follow.
The new branch at 301 Grove St. in the Trolley Yard development is part of Rockland Trust’s expansion into the Worcester market and along the MetroWest corridor. The bank opened a commercial lending and investment office in 2018 at 100 Front Street.
“We’re incredibly proud to bring Rockland Trust’s exceptional retail banking services to new customers in Worcester at a time of tremendous growth for the city,” Margaret McCarthy, Rockland Trust’s senior vice president and director of retail administration said in a statement. “We are fully invested in this community and look forward to supporting the remarkable institutions that make Worcester a special place for many to live, work, and visit.”
Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty, City Manager Ed Augustus, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce President Tim Murray joined Rockland Trust executives for the branch’s grand opening celebration on March 2.
During Rockland Trust’s fourth quarter earnings call in January, COO Robert Cozzone said two more branches could open in 2020.
“There are a number of meaningful initiatives in the city itself that we expect to drive additional growth in addition to what they’ve already seen in the last couple of years, so we’re really excited about this opportunity,” Cozzone said during call. “And the key there was finding the right people, and we’ve been fortunate to find a number of Worcester-based individuals with a long history of being successful in that market.”
Shana Hazen is branch manager at the new site and has a team of four relationship bankers. Hazen joined Rockland Trust in the summer of 2019 with nearly two decades of banking experience, including working as a branch manager for Commerce Bank in Worcester from 2003 to 2019.
The new branch has two 24-hour ATMs with live video teller services, providing customers with additional hours of service (7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays). Rockland Trust has also opened eight ATMs in Worcester County: three in Worcester and others in Whitinsville, Sturbridge, Auburn, Shrewsbury and Clinton.
To commemorate the opening of the new branch, Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation made two $5,000 donations to The Family Health Center of Worcester and Veterans Inc.
