BANGOR, Maine — Bangor Savings Bank on Monday reported a net income of $22.37 million for the 2015 fiscal year, which ended March 31.
That’s up 9.22 percent from the prior fiscal year and marks the 14th consecutive year of earnings growth for the Bangor-based community bank.
“This has been a remarkable year for Bangor Saving Bank, and I am thankful for the Maine people and businesses who continue to place their trust in us,” said President and CEO Bob Montgomery-Rice.
Overall, the bank reported $601.17 million in loan production and more than 28,000 new core deposit accounts, including 3,000 in small-business accounts.
Total assets were nearly $3.16 billion, up 3.98 percent from the prior year’s $3.03 billion. That included a 4.12 percent increase in net loans, which climbed from $2.03 billion to $2.11 billion, according to the bank’s consolidated summary balance sheets.
The bank provided more than $203 million in home loans, $138 million in consumer loans and $260 million in business loans during the 2015 fiscal year, Montgomery-Rice said.
The financial growth came as the bank continued to expand its presence in southern Maine, opening a branch in Ogunquit, which marks the bank’s sixth branch in York County.
It also comes as the bank moves forward with a number of new products and programs. In 2014, the bank added a mobile deposit feature to its mobile app.
Additionally, the bank has started a training program to hire recent college graduates and train them as bank executives within two years. The program will have four participants this year and is expected to grow in the future as the bank looks to replace retiring employees.
The bank has also launched a living-wage program that ensures all of its more than 720 employees earn at least $12 per hour, bank officials said. The program projects to increase that minimum to $14 per hour within three years, they said.
Meanwhile, Bangor Savings Bank and the Bangor Savings Bank Foundation collectively gave nearly $1.5 million in nonprofit donations, sponsorships and grants during fiscal 2015.
Bank officials attributed the earnings growth and long-term stability to good customer service, local responsiveness and the bank’s ability to evolve in response to new technologies, new regulations and customer preferences.
That comment came after the J.D. Power 2015 Retail Banking Satisfaction Study recently ranking Bangor Savings Bank “Highest Customer Satisfaction with Retail Banking in the New England Region.”
Follow Evan Belanger on Twitter at @evanbelanger.