Founded more than a century ago, Presence Bank, Coatesville’s last remaining bank, has been acquired by Norwood Financial Corp. in a $54.9 million deal, writes Jeff Blumenthal for the Philadelphia Business Journal.
A subsidiary of PB Bankshares, Presence Bank is now part of Norwood’s Wayne Bank, with 15 branches in northeastern Pennsylvania and 12 in New York. The deal, which was announced in July, closed this week.
Through the merger, Norwood entered Chester and Lancaster counties, where Presence maintains two branches apiece. The combined company has $2.9 billion in total assets.
Presence Bank traces its origins to 1919, when it was founded as Coatesville Federal Savings and Loan. Located on Route 30, it was for decades a privately held community bank and served as the only link in Chester County’s only city to its steel town history.
The bank became a mutual savings institution in 1991, adopting the name Coatesville Savings Bank, then changed to Prosper Bank in 2020, before finally becoming Presence Bank in 2021 while preparing to go public.
According to Janak Amin, CEO of PB Bankshares, the deal will increase the products and services accessible to Presence retail customers.
Read more about Presence Bank being acquired by Norwood Financial Corp. in the Philadelphia Business Journal.
_______
