Naugatuck Savings Bank to Get New Name

For five generations, it's been known as Naugatuck Savings Bank. Now the community bank that started here in 1870 will have a new name: ion Bank.

The company announced Monday during a news conference that the name change will take effect in the fall pending all customary legal and regulatory approvals.

Charles J. Boulier III, the bank's president and CEO, said in a news release that the bank's new name "better reflects its evolution from a small community bank, or thrift, to a broader and more comprehensive financial institution that offers a wider array of services, such as investment services, and that also serves business and commercial customers, as well as individuals and families.

"While we are proud of our heritage as a small savings bank and remain committed to the local communities we have been serving for the past 143 years, the bank has evolved into something more than a traditional thrift," he said. "That growth and evolution is what our new name is intended to reflect."

He said the name change will have virtually no impact on customers. Account numbers will not be changed and debit cards and checks issued under the Naugatuck Savings Bank brand will continue to be viable, the news release states. As those cards expire and the checks run out, customers will be reissued new cards and checks with the ion Bank brand image, Boulier said.

He also said there will be no disruption to normal business operations and hours at any of the bank's offices during the transition to the new brand.

The bank has 19 branches in 13 towns and offers deposit services, residential and commercial mortgages, business banking and online banking. The bank has 245 employees and assets in excess of $948 million.

The bank's other properties - Nutmeg Financial Group and Southerland Insurance - will change its names to ion Financial Group and ion Insurance.

"The reason for that is we're a full service financial service company, and we'd like to market all under one name so our customers know we're a full service financial service company," Boulier said.

The bank, which conducted market research to gauge the success of the NSB brand, believes the new name will provide greater brand recognition in markets beyond the the Naugatuck Valley, Boulier said. He said the company's online customer base is growing rapidly and the new name change can help the bank grow on the Internet.

"That's the way of the world these days," he said.

Market research has determined there is some confusion in the general public as to the Naugatuck Savings Bank identity and services it provides, Boulier said. He hopes the new name will eliminate some of that confusion.

He said the ion name literally puts the letter 'i' first in banking, "effectively symbolizing the bank's customer-first philosophy."

Boulier said the bank is a mutual institution that cannot be sold, and that no changes to the management team or staff are being contemplated.

On the bank's website, NSB states that being a community bank "means that community comes first." The name change does not signify any attempts to disassociate the bank from Naugatuck, Boulier said. On the contrary, he said, the bank remains committed to Naugatuck and discussed the bank's philanthropic efforts through its foundation, which gives 10 percent of net profits to local charities, and its commitment to the United Way of Beacon Falls and Naugatuck as one of its top donors.  

"We are definitely proud of our heritage, and we are continually committed to our community here in Naugatuck," Boulier said.