Provident Bancorp Raises $102M in Second-Step Conversion


Provident Bancorp Inc. has completed its conversion to a stock company, raising more than $100 million in the process to help it grow specialized commercial lending and other initiatives.

The holding company for Amesbury, Massachusetts-based The Provident Bank converted from a mutual to a stock holding company on Wednesday, Oct. 16. The company raised $102 million in additional capital and sold 10,212,397 shares in the subscription and community offering, according to a spokesperson from The Provident Bank.

The bank maintains branches in Bedford, Exeter, Portsmouth and Seabrook.

The stock began trading on Oct. 17 on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the trading symbol PVBC. In 2015, Provident offered 4.2 million shares of common stock in a partial IPO.

Provident Bancorp also reported third quarter earnings last week. Net income for the three months ending Sept. 30, 2019, was $3.5 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, compared to $2.1 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, for the three months ending Sept. 30, 2018. Net income for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2019, was $8.3 million, or $0.88 per diluted share, compared to $6.5 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2018.

“I am extremely pleased with the third-quarter results. Year-to-date net loan growth of $91 million, a strong net interest margin of 4.44 percent, and an efficiency ratio of 53.40 percent resulted in our 1.32 percent return on assets results this quarter, the highest we’ve seen since going partially public in 2015,” David Mansfield, CEO of The Provident Bank, said in a statement. “The capital raised through the offering will allow the bank to continue executing its growth strategy in both specialized commercial lending and deposit initiatives. We are proud of our quarterly and year-to-date results, as they reflect the success of our strategic execution. We look forward to building upon this success.”