Affiliated Maine banks announce merger

CAMDEN – The parent company of Camden National Bank and UnitedKingfield Bank has decided to combine the two banks under one name.

In a prepared statement released Thursday, Robert W. Daigle, president and CEO of Camden National Corp., indicated that the two banks will merge and operate as Camden National Bank. The transition is expected to incur one-time costs of less than $500,000 and to be complete by the end of the year.

The move is aimed at shifting some of the banks’ resources from administration to customer service, according to the statement. There will be no job losses or branch closings at either bank and branch personnel and lending staffs will remain the same, the company said. The combined institution will have 27 branches and 28 automated teller machines in Androscoggin, Cumberland, Franklin, Hancock, Knox, Lincoln, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo and York counties.

With the move, Camden National Bank President Gregory Dufour will also become the bank’s CEO while UnitedKingfield President Jeffrey Smith will become the bank’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. Daigle will retain his position as president and CEO of Camden National Corp.

United Bank of Bangor, which Camden National bought in 1995, and Kingfield Savings Bank, which was acquired in 1999, were combined into UnitedKingfield in 2000. Camden National Bank was founded in 1875.