Sharing results from our Annual Meeting

Last week, Chairman Pasquale Maiorino, Esq. welcomed Androscoggin Bank's Board of Directors, Corporators and employees to our 142nd Annual Meeting, held at the Ramada Inn and Conference Center in Lewiston.

Our President and CEO, Paul H. Andersen, reported that at year-end, Androscoggin Bank’s 2011 profit was the third highest in company history. Net income was more than $3.8 million and exceeded 2010 by more than $600,000. The Bank’s total assets grew by $14.2 million to $707.1 million.

And we have much to look forward to this year, as well.

Androscoggin Bank’s 2012 strategic goals encompass four pillars of excellence: People, Quality, Client, and Performance. We are continuing to embrace innovative new technology solutions to better serve customers, and adapting a “dialogue banking” concept. Beginning in February 2012, the Minot Avenue, Auburn, ME branch will undergo a renovation. Also, to further enhance the customer experience, Androscoggin Bank is working to introduce new mobile banking solutions in Q1 2012.

In 2011, Androscoggin Bank maintained its commitment to the community donating nearly $190,000 to organizations across the State of Maine. We are proud to continue this tradition in 2012, and look forward to making a positive impact in our community.

Here's to a great year ahead!

Androscoggin Bank: More Local Town Governments and School Districts Are Choosing Us

Recently, we announced a growing number of local towns and school districts are taking advantage of our government and municipal services offerings. This is news we're very proud to share. In the past four months alone, six new entities in Maine have moved their business to Androscoggin Bank, including the Town of Harpswell, the Town of Topsham, the Town of Sumner, MSAD17 Oxford Hills School District, Regional School Unit (RSU) 73 Spruce Mountain Schools (Jay-Livermore), and the County of Oxford. In addition to these newest customers, Androscoggin Bank also recently added the Town of West Bath, Town of Phippsburg and Town of Arundel to our growing customer base.

Androscoggin Bank can insure deposits with FDIC coverage up to $157 million per customer if the need is there, and our suite of municipal services products includes online banking, night deposit, lock box banking, and AndroPay, an online payment system which allows residents and taxpayers to pay fees and taxes online. Together these offerings are designed to allow municipal customers to rest easy, knowing their finances are liquid, safe and easy to access while also earning competitive rates. We won't dwell on the many reasons these towns and districts have opted to move their business to us, but we will say this: Welcome aboard!

For more information on Androscoggin Bank Municipal Services, please visit www.androgov.com or call toll-free at 1-800-966-9172.

Helping People is Why She Does It: Getting to Know Androscoggin Bank’s Giselle St. Amand

For our employee spotlight this month, we chatted with Giselle St. Amand, a retail manager at our Turner Street branch in Auburn. Giselle’s been part of the Androscoggin family even before she started working for us herself; her mother is a business and government services officer who started out as part of our retail team.

Please share your title and a brief description of your role at Androscoggin Bank: As Retail Manager, I oversee the sales effort and day-to-day operations of our Turner St. branch.



How long have you been employed with the bank? It’s been four and a half years now.

What’s one thing about you that we’d be surprised to learn? That this is actually my second go-around with Androscoggin Bank. I started as a teller in the Brunswick office while still in high school. I worked my way through high school and college with Androscoggin Bank and then came back four and a half years ago as the Assistant Manager at our Main Office.

What’s your favorite part of your job? I love to help the individuals I come across every day. Whether it is a loan customer who is now able to purchase an engagement ring for his girlfriend for Christmas, or an elderly customer who has been awake all night because she is unable to balance her checkbook, or even an employee who realizes that banking has become more than a job and it has actually turned into a career. These little moments may not seem like a lot but to me they are the reason I do my job.

Banker with an Appetite for Learning…and Pasta! Getting to Know Androscoggin Bank’s Georgia Nieto

The local teams at each of our branches are a key part of what makes our Bank a success – they’re committed to making your time well spent every time you step foot in one of our locations. For our employee spotlight this month, we invited Georgia Nieto, Lead Teller at our Brunswick location, to tell us a little bit about herself.


Please share your title and a brief description of your role at Androscoggin Bank: In June I was promoted to Lead Teller; I'm in charge of overseeing the teller line and making sure we are following procedures. Essentially, I’m one of the go-to people at the Maine Street Brunswick branch and work closely with the Customer Service Manager to support other key branch initiatives.

How long have you been employed with the bank? I started as a teller at Androscoggin Bank about two and a half years ago, in 2009.

What’s one thing about you that we’d be surprised to learn? I love to cook, especially anything that includes pasta as the main ingredient. I also recently returned to school to pursue a Masters degree in Business Administration, which I’m excited about.

What’s your favorite part of your job? Helping my fellow employees be successful, and helping our customers make sure they have products they really do need.

3 Reasons to Put Your Money In a Community Bank

Financial services and banks have been the topic of a national dialogue recently. The media attention, blogs, posts and other consumer feedback has been very enlightening for us. In particular, a lot of people are starting to re-acquaint themselves with community banks. It started over a year ago with Huffington Post publisher Arianna Huffington urging people to use community banks and continues now with parts of the Occupy Wall Street movement and a recent “Bank Transfer Day” on Facebook urging people to move their accounts from the “big banks” to community banks and credit unions.

As fellow bankers we recognize and appreciate the vital role large banks play in the economy and the communities they serve. As a community bank, however, we welcome any opportunity to meet and serve our friends, colleagues and communities. And while it’s unfortunate somewhat that consumer frustration is what’s driving interest in community banks, we will take the opportunity to share some pretty good reasons to bank local:

1. You’re not just a number to us. Just ask your grandma or parents who probably bank at a community bank, when they walk in community bankers know their names. One of the main reasons to bank local is we know our customers…well. Our staff and management live in the communities we serve. If you have a complaint, our “letters to the President” really DO go to the President of the Bank. And it’s more than likely that you will get a call from him, too.

2. We help support and grow the local economy. Your FDIC insured deposits at a community bank is lent out to people in our service area, lending to local companies who invest and expand creating local jobs. Community banks play an integral role in the development, investment and support of businesses in this community. As a community bank, we have the privilege of seeing our work create jobs for people in our communities. And like any business or “for-profit” entity, community banks pay taxes that support community infrastructure, human services and education.

3. We care about your community…because it’s our community, too. Just this year Androscoggin Bank will give well over $100,000 to local non-profit organizations to support a variety causes including arts, youth-at-risk, economic development and education. Visit bankoncommunity.com to learn more about the organizations we support and how we are continuing our commitment to giving—even in the most difficult times.

At community banks, we do what it takes to get the job done. And if the recent OWS demonstrations and news stories are enabling more people to consider the benefits of a community bank when making an informed decision about their money, then perhaps I should be dusting off my L.L. Bean tent…

An accountant with a green thumb: Getting to Know Androscoggin Bank’s Kristen Bartlett

We love getting to know our customers – and want you to get to know us, too. This month for our employee spotlight, we interviewed Kristen Bartlett, who works in the accounting department in our main office in Lewiston.

Please share your title and a brief description of your role at Androscoggin Bank: I’m a Senior Accountant, so my role involves preparing a lot of the quarterly regulatory reports that we submit to the Fed. I also prepare our monthly financials and help keep the Bank’s affairs in order.

How long have you been employed with the bank? I have been at Androscoggin Bank for about three years now, and I love it.

What’s one thing about you that we’d be surprised to learn? I have a flock of twelve laying hens and tend a substantial vegetable garden each year. Prior to jumping into the accounting world, I actually spent several years as a year-round Greenhouse Manager in Virginia. Since I also hold a degree in English, you could say I am very well-rounded – which certainly helps when it comes to preparing reports and working with others here at the Bank.

What’s your favorite part of your job? My favorite part of working in the accounting department is getting to see the whole picture of how our Bank functions. We get to analyze everything from our deposits and loans to the investments we make and the money we keep at the Federal Reserve. It is fascinating to see how everything is interrelated and works together to keep our institution strong.

3 Things You (And We) Need to Know about Mobile Banking

We’ve posted before about the rise in mobile banking, and we’re in the process of launching new mobile options for our customers. But beyond simply making our site and services more mobile-friendly, there are a number of considerations that we (the Bank) have to take into account…and other tips that you (the consumer) should keep in mind, too. This past spring, I attended the 5th Annual Mobile Banking and Emerging Applications Summit hosted by American Banker. The attendees were a unique combination of banks, credit unions, software developers and core technology systems, and it was a great opportunity for all of us to learn from each other and share observations – so ultimately, we can better serve you in this increasingly mobile age.

While there were plenty of lessons learned, cautionary tales and exciting tips shared, three pieces of advice that stuck out to us, which banks should be thinking about, are these:

1. Forget the mouse. The touch screen is quickly becoming the common, “normal”
   way people are online banking on their smartphones and iPads/tablets. This means that as we design mobile applications and sites, we need to make sure they’re sleek and intuitive and easy – not just shrunk down, re-formatted versions of our traditional websites.


2. Unlike in years past when people identified with one bank, mobile bank customers can and will work easily with multiple financial institutions. This means it’s up to us to keep our promises and offer all the services consumers are looking for, and make sure we do so in a way that keeps those customers coming back because we’ve actually helped make their lives easier.


3. There’ll be a big shift in the way people think about banking, from “storing money safely” to “conveniently and efficiently moving money 24/7.” This is a core reason why mobile usage is rising in the first place. People have to be able to instantly and efficiently check balances, transfer funds and complete transactions from wherever they are – without having to guess or scratch their heads.

Of course, as banks learn and adapt, there are things that we need to make sure we’re helping our customers with, too. As a consumer, please remember these three tips for protecting yourself:

1. Change your mobile passwords regularly – the nature of mobile devices and tablets are that they’re easily transportable (stolen, left behind) and often used by multiple people. So better to be safe than sorry.


2. Set up MobileMe (for iPhone users), or the equivalent ability to wipe your device remotely if lost. Again, it’s just a question of taking precautions.


3. Don’t bank on open WIFI networks, which aren’t secure and can leave you more exposed to fraud and/or identity theft. Use the carrier network (it is more secure), or a password encrypted network to handle your business.

Of course, if there are other tips you think banks should be thinking about, or questions you have about mobile banking, please leave them in the comments.