Katahdin Trust to Close Three Aroostook County Bank Branches

In what's being called a "reduction of branch footprint," Katahdin Trust Company has announced that, on January 31, 2017, they will close branch offices in Easton, Limestone and Washburn and will modify days of operation in Island Falls and Oakfield. 

“We understand the impact this will have on our employees and customers. It was a very difficult decision and one we did not take lightly,” said Jon J. Prescott, President and CEO of Katahdin Trust. “The way customers do their banking has changed as more turn to the use of online and mobile banking tools for their daily banking needs. Although the Bank remains financially strong, we are seeing a decrease in the traditional face-to-face transactions inside the branch.”

Employees will be able to apply for open positions within the Bank. Prescott says customers will not experience any changes to their accounts and can visit any Katahdin Trust branch for in-person transactions.

Prescott added, “We are confident that with our neighboring Katahdin Trust branches in the area, along with our many alternative banking services, we will continue to be able to serve our customers well.”

The first Katahdin branch opened in Patten on March 7, 1918. The Island Falls location opened in 1921. In 1976, the bank expanded to Oakfield, then to Houlton in 1987 and Presque Isle in 1991, and then Mars Hill, Caribou and a new operations center in Houlton in the mid 1990's. In 2000, Katahdin acquired eight Aroostook County branches of Peoples Heritage Bank (now TD Bank) in Mars Hill, Easton, Eagle Lake, Fort Fairfield, Limestone, Van Buren, Ashland, and Washburn. In 2007, Katahdin Trust acquired Maine Financial Group of Scarborough. In 2008, a second commercial loan office was opened in Bangor. Branches opened in Bangor and Hampden between 2010 and 2012. Most recently, Katahdin Trust opened its third branch in the St. John Valley, at 79 West Main Street in Fort Kent.

Katahdin expects to release more details before January. The 98-year-old company will retain 16 physical branches statewide. 12 of the branches, including the Patten location in northern Penobscot County, will continue serving customers in the Aroostook County area.