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Updated: 2 hours ago 2025 Fact Book: Doing Business in Maine

Mascoma Bank: Steadfastly Committed to Benefitting the Community

PHOTO Courtesy of Mascoma Bank Consistency and stability — Clay Adams, Mascoma Bank President & CEO since 2017, with his predecessor, Stephen Christy, President & CEO 1990 to 2017.

Over 125 years ago, a group of like-minded business owners in Lebanon, N.H. had the idea to establish a bank that put people first. They created a financial institution that existed for stakeholders, not shareholders – a bank that would generate capital and wealth as tools to support and protect the local community.

Lebanon was a thriving mill town on the Connecticut River, midway up the state and directly bordering Vermont. Banks existed that served the business sector, but they didn’t focus on the people who lived and worked in what is now known as the Upper Valley. As a mutually owned bank, Mascoma was founded on the principle that capital can be used in a community to create prosperity while also helping people meet challenges. The bank could help people better their lives in simple ways and solve problems before they arose.

Now, as the world adapts to rapidly evolving technologies and business moves at an unprecedented pace, Mascoma Bank’s commitment to customers and community is stronger than ever. Over the decades, Mascoma has widened its reach into Vermont and Maine and now employs more than 400 people across 25 locations in northern New England, providing a wide array of financial services. Those include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, municipal banking, treasury services, and more.

As a mutually owned bank and a Benefit Corporation committed to values-based banking, Mascoma Bank is lifting people, businesses, and communities throughout northern New England.

Breaking New Ground in Maine

Having been active in the banking and business community in Maine for three decades, Todd Bachelder, Mascoma Bank Senior Vice President, knew Mascoma Bank had something different to offer from other banks in the state.

“I joined Mascoma Bank in 2018 to open our Portland office,” said Bachelder. “At that point, Mascoma was the first Benefit Corporation and Certified B Corporation® bank in the state. They had worked on major projects here through Mascoma Community Development – including the Press Hotel – and they had a nimble, entrepreneurial spirit that I knew would set them apart.”

Mascoma Community Development (MCD) was established in 2013 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mascoma Bank, with the primary mission of community development utilizing the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program. The NMTC program allows MCD to direct capital to underserved communities through the financing of high-impact, mission-focused projects nationwide.

Mascoma Bank already had extensive experience supporting major development projects in Maine and the Portland area when its Portland office opened in 2018. Since opening the office, the team has provided financing that has created hundreds of units of housing, provided solar power financing to meet growing electricity needs of companies and municipalities, and also been active in historic tax-credit financing to help preserve Maine’s history. The team in Maine consists of Mainers born and raised, who look to utilize Mascoma Bank as a force for good here in the state.

PHOTO Courtesy of Mascoma Bank
Mascoma Bank volunteers clean up debris on the Maine Island Trail.

What is Values-Based Banking?

When Mascoma Bank team members talk about values-based banking, they are describing an approach to business that involves first identifying a personal or community need and then figuring out how to meet that need in a sustainable way.

Clay Adams, President and CEO at Mascoma Bank, thinks of it this way: “We consider how the decisions we make for the bank affect the communities around us. As a mutually owned bank, we recognize profit as the fuel needed to create prosperity for all stakeholders, including customers, employees, the community, and the larger world.”

These considerations shape Mascoma Bank’s priorities every day. Take housing as an example. The greater Cumberland County area is 80,000 housing units short of what the populace needs. Lack of housing affects individuals, families, school systems, businesses, and nonprofit groups. The bank recognizes that a key foundation of public life is the premise that people can live affordably near their places of employment. When we fail to make that premise a reality, everyone suffers, both individuals and organizations.

Mascoma Bank has funded a variety of projects to fix the challenge of housing in the Portland region. By making housing more abundant and affordable, Mascoma Bank is using its resources to remove barriers so people have a place to live, companies have a larger pool of potential employees, and neighborhoods are designed in ways that diminish negative transportation and environmental impacts.

One such project is the Sandpiper Residences in Brunswick. In 2025, Mascoma Bank celebrated with David Holman of Holman Holmes the opening of a 63-apartment development in a walkable neighborhood, featuring a fitness center, rooftop lounge and deck, and office space. Plus, the project incorporates LED lighting, high-efficiency appliances, and a state-of-the-art VRF heating and cooling system to reduce the building’s environmental impact. A crucial part of the project was the 13 affordable units made possible through tax increment financing, which means part of the taxes paid on the property gets allocated back into the project to make these units affordable.

This commitment to community is further evident in Mascoma’s membership in the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), a network of independent banks and banking cooperatives with a shared mission to use finance to deliver sustainable economic, social, and environmental development. Founded in 2009, GABV comprises 70 financial institutions operating in over 45 countries across Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America, North America, and Europe.

Mascoma Bank is thrilled to join this legion of like-minded financial institutions working toward a better future for all.

“When banks work together toward shared goals, we have the opportunity to make a far greater impact on our local communities and the world at large,” said Andrew Cook, Senior Vice President and Maine Market Manager “It’s the obvious next step for Mascoma. We understand our economic interdependence and responsibility to current and future generations, and we take that responsibility very seriously.”

PHOTO Courtesy of Mascoma Bank
Mascoma Bank supports Maine individuals and families through donations to local nonprofit groups, including Tedford Housing.

Committed to Your Future

Kelly Dorsey, Senior Vice President and Treasury & Business Services Manager, describes Mascoma Bank’s role as a Benefit Corporation this way: “More than 125 years ago, community leaders and businesspeople came together in the Upper Valley and built a bank for the community, and now that’s what we’re doing in Maine. All new clients we seek to work with are bricks in our foundation.” She goes on to explain, “As the bank grows and is more profitable, we can return more money to the community. This is one of the most meaningful parts of being with a bank dedicated to making a difference.”

Mascoma team members are committed not only to their work in the office but also to their work in the community – volunteering and participating is an integral piece of bank culture and one the organization supports by offering paid time for volunteer efforts.

“Our team members understand that Mascoma is truly focused on its communities,” Cook said. “We are all about providing support where we can, whether that’s financial, practical, or simply showing up.”

From the Maine Heart Association board to United Way of Southern Maine, Mascoma Bank is dedicated to being part of the solutions that make our region and its people strong.

Since 2020, in addition to sponsoring events, Mascoma Bank and the Mascoma Bank Foundation have donated almost $400,000 to organizations in Maine. Mascoma team members are also well known for giving their time as volunteers to the following organizations, as well as many more:

  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine
  • Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center
  • Healthy Homeworks
  • Cumberland North Yarmouth Little League
  • Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce
  • Greater Portland Council of Governments
  • Maine Bankers Association
  • Maine Medical Center
  • Maine Health

Longevity of Experience

“The brainpower in this organization is extremely impressive,” said Cook. “Our team has the breadth of knowledge and experience to meet challenges with integrity and acumen. We adapt to a changing financial landscape with flexibility and rigorous standards. And everyone at the bank recognizes that our employees are our greatest asset.”

Today’s team members continue that tradition by bringing their considerable experience and expertise to work every day. From the New Markets Tax Credit program to Treasury Services to commercial lending, the bank is working to better the lives of businesses, nonprofits, municipalities, and individuals here in Maine.

Mascoma Bank – constantly renewing its promises to the community for more than a century.

PHOTO Courtesy of Mascoma Bank
Members of the Mascoma team (from left to right): Todd Bachelder, Amberlynn Esperanza, Andrew Cook, Kelly Dorsey, Ryan Bishop, Paula Watson, and Garrett White.

Mascoma Bank

48 Free St., Suite 200, Portland, ME 04101

Sector: Financial institution

President and CEO: Clay Adams

Maine Market Manager: Andrew Cook

Founded: 1899

Maine employees: 10

mascoma.bank/maine

Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender