Provident Bank Growing and Investing in NH

Since moving into the NH market three years ago, Massachusetts-based The Provident Bank has been steadily growing and investing in economic development efforts here.

Headquartered and chartered in Amesbury, Mass., The Provident Bank has five NH branches as well as a 10,000-square-foot corporate office in Portsmouth that houses the executive team. The bank has 130 employees, more than 70 of whom live in NH.

“The majority of growth has been in New Hampshire, and the majority of loans are New Hampshire-based now,” says CEO Dave Mansfield, who took the helm in 2013 and further expanded the bank’s footprint in the Granite State.

While the bank’s initial growth in NH was along the Seacoast, the bank’s new area of focus is the Greater Manchester area. The Provident Bank, a commercial bank focused on small- and medium-sized business clients, saw an opportunity in NH after Centrix Bank, a Bedford-based commercial bank, was acquired by Massachusetts-based Eastern Bank. “We do concierge banking. We go to the business owners,” Mansfield says, adding, “Many business owners don’t come to the bank at all.”

Like most banks, The Provident Bank supports local nonprofits, with a primary focus on economic development. “The idea is if we can strengthen opportunities for small-to-medium-sized businesses, the economy as a whole benefits,” Mansfield says.

That includes investing in programs and partnerships that help businesses expand into the export market. The Provident Bank is partnering with the NH Department of Resources and Economic Development to fund an educational series for businesses on exporting. The bank also helps finance the Export Expansion Fund, which provides the U.S. Department of Commerce’s U.S. Commercial Service programs on trade counseling, business matchmaking services and market intelligence in more than 75 global markets.  

To help address NH’s workforce shortage, The Provident Bank is among the partners working with the Manchester Community College to launch a new regional advanced manufacturing center at the Manchester campus. Additionally, the bank is part of GoNHJobs, a business and education partnership that funds workforce training and certificate programs, of which Mansfield sees a need. Visit theprovidentbank.com for more information.