Florence Bank Holyoke Branch Manager Shadia Coley and others celebrate at the ribbon-cutting event for the new branch at 1490 Northampton St.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet
HOLYOKE — Elected officials, staff members and residents gathered outside the new Florence Bank Holyoke branch at 1490 Northampton St. on Aug. 20 to celebrate the bank’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The opening represents the bank’s 13th branch overall and fourth in Hampden County.
Florence Bank President and CEO Matt Garrity was joined by bank leaders, employees and board members, Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, state Sen. John Velis, state Rep. Patricia Duffy, City Council President Tessa Murphy-Romboletti and representatives from the architects and builders at the ceremony.
“The Holyoke branch represents a new chapter in our 153-year history, and we look forward to supporting the people, the organizations and businesses in the Paper City,” Garrity stated. “From a strategic perspective, opening a branch in Holyoke allows us to expand our presence in Hampden County and enhances our retail banking footprint in the valley.”
Shadia Coley will serve as branch manager for the new location. Coley has over 10 years of banking experience and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s in business administration with a concentration in finance, both from Southern New Hampshire University.
In addition to managing Florence Bank’s newest branch, she will oversee business development, community outreach, engagement and customer service.
The new 2,500-square-foot branch has a lobby, traditional teller stations, a drive-up window, a drive-up ATM and a night deposit box. In addition to the team of retail banking specialists, there will be offices for a small business lender and a Spanish-speaking mortgage loan originator.
Florence Bank has nearly 6,700 customers living in Hampden County, including 1,100 business customers and over 1,200 Holyoke customers. Garrity said the bank looks forward to deepening its impact in the region.
Velis, like many other speakers, highlighted the importance of Florence Bank as a community bank.
“This is a bank, no doubt about it. But this is a community bank. [These] folks are investing in the community, and that is absolutely paramount today,” Velis expressed. “We need more institutions like this who do things beyond the business, and you folks pass that in every shape, form or fashion.”
To commemorate the opening of the new Holyoke branch and to reaffirm the bank’s commitment to Holyoke, Garrity presented six local organizations with $5,000 each. Those organizations included The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holyoke, Girls Inc. of the Valley, The Greater Holyoke YMCA, Nueva Esperanza, The Care Center and Providence Ministries.
“To us, being a community bank is more than just having a branch in the community. It’s stepping up, it’s pitching in, and it’s meeting the needs of the valley communities we serve,” Garrity said. “That’s been our mission since 1873, and that’s not going to change. I want to thank all of these organizations for changing the lives of people in Holyoke and everything they’re doing in our community.”
In his remarks, Garcia talked about the impact the bank has had and will continue to have on the city.
“We appreciate [them] coming into our city and the work that [they] do in these communities across Western Massachusetts, contributing to the fabric of the commonwealth,” Garcia said. “We’re very fortunate to have a compassionate bank in partnership with us who believes in that work and continues to do that work.”
