First Federal Savings to merge into Community Bank
The First Federal Savings Bank branch office on Route 40 in South Union Township will become a Community Bank branch when the banks' holding companies, FedFirst Financial Corp. and CB Financial Services Inc., merge later this year.
This photo shows an artist's rendering of how the sign in front of First Federal Savings Bank on Route 40 in South Union Township will appear when it becomes Community Bank following a merger between FedFirst Financial Corp. and CB Financial Services Inc. later this year.
Pictured are Marian Garstecki (left), branch loan officer at the First Federal Savings Bank branch office in South Union Township, and Hank Dunham, vice president and market manager of First Federal's Fayette County market. Garstecki and Dunham will lead local efforts during the bank's merger with the Carmichaels-based Community Bank.
Two area branch offices for First Federal Savings Bank will be affected when the bank merges with a Greene County bank later this year.
First Federal offices in South Union Township and Perryopolis are set to become Community Bank branches at the completion of a merger between the banks’ parent companies, FedFirst Financial Corp. and CB Financial Services Inc., respectively.
“As we combine with Community Bank and take on that name and brand, we feel it will be very distinctive in the market,” said Patrick O’Brien, FedFirst Financial president and CEO. “It will really tell the story of who we are.”
The two holding companies in April signed a definitive merger agreement under which FedFirst will merge “with and into” CB Financial in a cash and stock transaction valued at about $54.5 million.
O’Brien will serve as the merged entity’s chief operating officer, while current Community Bank president and CEO Barron “Pat” McCune Jr. will lead CB Financial.
O’Brien said the two banks are confident the merger will be positive for the Uniontown market because of the additional products and services the combined bank will have to offer, as well as its greater financial strength.
“When we combine, it will be almost $900 million in asset size,” said O’Brien. “In today’s market in banking, that’s not huge. But in our minds, it’s a great size to be able to really serve our customers well. It will double our lending capacity to any one customer. Just by virtue of that size increase, we’re able to lend more to individual customers.”
At the South Union Township branch office on Route 40, efforts will be led by vice president and market manager Hank Dunham and branch loan officer Marian Garstecki, both of whom have served at the branch for nearly 40 years.
“(Dunham and Garstecki) are our people on the ground here in Fayette County,” O’Brien said. “They’re just immersed in this community. They’ve helped hundreds of consumers and commercial customers with their banking needs.”
First Federal, which was founded in Monessen in 1922, expanded to Uniontown in 1975, and later to Perryopolis in the early 1980s.
“I’ve lived (in Fayette County) all my life,” said Dunham. “Most of my customers are friends of mine, so I’m very comfortable and I enjoy offering the products and services to those friends.
“The new merger is going to be a great thing for those customers. We’re combining two really good community banks into one excellent community bank that is going to offer better products and services.”
The seven-branch First Federal Savings Bank, headquartered in Monessen, operates branches in Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
The Carmichaels-based Community Bank operates 11 branches in Greene, Washington and Allegheny counties.
When it comes to operations, O’Brien places a strong emphasis on the word “community.”
“We’re not like the larger banks in the market. We pride ourselves in being immersed in the communities that we serve,” he said. “We know that the company prospers through our customers doing business with us and by giving back to the community of our time and our resources.
“We don’t do that because we’re obligated to. We do that because it’s the right thing to do and it’s the way community banking is done.”
First Federal ranks seventh in deposit market share among 10 banks in Fayette County, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. figures from June 2013.
“To move up that scale is important to us,” said O’Brien. “We will do our best to earn that through great service and follow-through on all that we do.”
Community Bank’s market share in Greene County of nearly 30 percent ranks second out of five banks.
Both banks stand to gain in the merger services that only its counterpart currently possesses. FedFirst Financial currently operates an insurance arm, Exchange Underwriters, while CB Financial runs a wealth management arm through Janney Montgomery Scott.
According to O’Brien, the 18 branches between the two banks will be condensed to 16 once the entities are merged. First Federal and Community Banks branches in both Washington and Peters Township will be consolidated due to their close proximity to one another.
O’Brien said staff at all First Federal Savings branches will remain intact, but the bank could possibly lose some of its support staff.
“We’re still working on how that’s all going to work out,” he said. “A reality of it is some efficiencies have to be gained. We don’t anticipate it to be significant.”
The merged CB Financial Services will become a publicly traded company. O’Brien said for the 2.3 million outstanding shares of FedFirst Financial (traded as FFCO), shareholders will have the option of receiving $23 a share in cash or 1.159 shares of CB Financial Services (CBFV) in stock.
The company’s executives will sit in Washington, while its 12-member board of directors — eight from CB Financial and four from FedFirst Financial — will meet in Waynesburg.
Dunham will continue to head the Fayette market from the South Union Township branch office.
“All four of those markets — Greene, Washington, Westmoreland and certainly Fayette — are very important parts of our (overall) market,” O’Brien said.
“We try to have key leadership sitting in all of our markets to make sure that they’re properly served and (that) we continue to stay immersed in those markets with what we give back to those areas.”
The merger is expected to be finalized sometime in October or November.