NBT completes First Hampshire merger

NORWICH — NBT Bank, N.A. wrapped up its merger with New Hampshire–based Hampshire First Bank on Friday, making Hampshire First a division of NBT Bank.

The five banking centers operated by Hampshire First Bank in Manchester, Londonderry, Nashua, Keene, and Portsmouth, N.H. will continue to do business under the Hampshire First name.

NBT announced last November it would acquire Hampshire First, with $273 million in assets, in a $45 million deal.

“Through our partnership with NBT our team of local banking professionals will continue to apply our local knowledge and decision-making skills to serve the needs of our customers and communities in southern New Hampshire,” Regional President James Dunphy said in a release.

Dunphy is Hampshire First’s founding president and CEO.

“We have also gained access to the resources of a larger organization, giving us the ability to provide expanded services to our customers,” he said.

NBT Bank now offers banking, asset-management, and business services at 137 banking locations in five states. NBT Bank has 97 locations in upstate New York, northwestern Vermont, and western Massachusetts. NBT’s Pennstar Bank division operates 35 locations in northeastern Pennsylvania. The new Hampshire First Bank division has five locations in southern New Hampshire.

Parent company NBT Bancorp, Inc. (www.nbtbancorp.com), headquartered in Norwich, has assets of $5.8 billion.

Hampshire First Bank (www.hampshirefirst.com) was organized in 2006 as a state-chartered bank and opened its first location in Nashua that November.

Contact DeLore at tdelore@tgbbj.com