Guilford Savings Bank plans to open 7th branch by 2021

Guilford Savings Bank is expanding its branch network at a time when many businesses are struggling to survive.

The bank hopes to open a seventh branch in January 2021 with an office at the intersection of Washington and Blakeslee avenues in North Haven. Guilford Savings officials celebrated the start of construction on the single-story, 2,000square-foot branch with a groundbreaking on Wednesday.

The bank’s existing branches are in Old Saybrook, Madison, North Madison, Guilford and Branford.

Timothy Geelan, Guilford Savings’ president and chief executive officer, said the expansion is a logical move for the bank, since “we have been meeting the needs of customers statewide for some time.”

“On the Interstate 91 corridor ... we see the possibilities of this region and seek to be partners with the residents and businesses of all

sizes,” Geelan said in a statement.

Kyle Eagleson, Guilford Savings’ chief financial officer and first executive vice president, said the bank’s research indicated that North Haven consumer and commercial banking customers

have limited community banking options. A community bank typically is a smaller, locally owned bank whose business focus is on the needs of the businesses and families where the financial institution has its branches and offices.

“Community banking is vital for all aspects of a local economy — from first-time mortgages to small-business

development,” Eagleson said in a statement. “It is a locallymanaged financial institution that has the greatest impact on residents and entrepreneurs.”

The bank was established in 1875 with a $17,000 investment and a single branch on the Guilford Town Green.