SANFORD – There is a new name and a new look coming to a familiar institution.

The bank that has been known as Sanford Institution for Savings since 1933, and for the last 10 or 12 years simply as SIS, will be known as Partners Bank of New England – or Partners Bank – starting on July 1.

It is a change designed to reflect the bank’s personal approach, and comes following two years of research and focus groups.

Bank President Blaine Boudreau said the new name and logo – but  sporting the same familiar slogan “the bank that listens” – was rolled out to corporators on March 27.

“Renaming the bank will help us to continue our legacy throughout our markets,” he said.

There has been no buyout, and no merger, he said. The mutual savings bank, with nearly $600 million in assets, is headquartered in Sanford, where about 65 of its 130 employees work, and plans to  remain headquartered in Maine’s newest city.

The name change, or re-branding as the practice is called, has been two years in the making, said Boudreau, but goes back a bit further. SIS, as Sanford Institution for Savings eventually became called, has three locations in the city and others inland in York County and began expanding toward the coast several years ago. There are branches in Wells and in York, and six years ago the bank made the commitment to expand to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. While the new branch in the granite state had success with loans, deposits were not a robust as they could have been, he said.

The name was not familiar to people in the seacoast region of New Hampshire. SIS didn’t have the word ‘bank’ in its name. Boudreau and members of the board of directors,  who ultimately approved the new name,  wondered if there was an issue with the brand identity. They engaged an agency to explore the matter, conducted a focus group and learned some interesting information along the way – that the SIS name didn’t resonate in Sanford as well as they’d thought, and less so outside of the city.

“We digested that for a year,” said Boudreau. A second focus group helped identify possible names.

There were many possibilities.

“We looked at hundreds of names,” said Vice President of Marketing Deb Mullen.

There were also three non- negotiable requirements: The new name had to have the word “bank” included. The new name had to be relatively short, and it had to be portable as the bank grew – as it will soon, to Rye, New Hampshire. Bank officials hope to open a new branch there by the end of the year.

“Our new name will give us a stronger identity as we expand into new markets and continue to develop mutual goals and long-term relationships with our customers and communities,” said Boudreau.

He said the bank will continue to focus on customer service, offer competitive products and give back to the communities it serves. The bank is increasing its donations and economic development budget to 10 percent of its net income, described as a 67 percent increase over previous years.

With its new name and brand identity, Partners Bank will launch a new and improved website and online/mobile banking platform, he said.

Folks with accounts can continue to use the checks they have. Their account numbers and the bank routing umber will stay the same, as will online log-ins.

“Locally, some won’t understand, but for the growth of the bank,  it is  important to keep up with the times, and the name change should better help identify the bank as a whole in all the communities its in,” said Sanford Springvale Chamber of Commerce President Richard Stanley.  “I think the change is fresh, identifies the bank today and will be a good thing for everybody going forward.  And if they do well, Sanford will do well.”

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or twells@journaltribune.com.

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.