For a century and a quarter, Chelsea Provident Cooperative Bank has maintained a prominent presence on Broadway, the city’s most bustling thoroughfare. The institution traces its origins to September 25, 1885, when it was established as the Provident Cooperative Bank. According to Joseph Vinard, the bank’s president and chief executive officer, the milestone will be marked with celebrations featuring various events and daily drawings starting Monday at the bank’s location. A formal cake-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Friday (Sept. 24) at 2 p.m. Depositors will have access to a promotional six-month certificate of deposit offering 1.25 percent interest. The bank’s leadership—Vinard, his team, and the board of directors—takes considerable pride in Chelsea Provident Cooperative’s distinction as both the city’s longest-operating bank and its oldest continuously operating business. While acknowledging this rich heritage spanning three centuries (the 19th, 20th, and 21st), the institution is not dwelling on past achievements. Instead, forward-thinking plans are underway, with Vinard and the board preparing to unveil a significant announcement. “We are hopefully days away from officially changing the name of the bank to Chelsea Bank,” said Vinard. “The reason is not for anything other than Cooperative is a confusing term for people – and there are no other banks that are based solely in Chelsea, so we felt that having the name, Chelsea Bank, would be a good way to honor the community and to honor the bank.” As a mutual, state-chartered financial institution, Chelsea Provident Cooperative Bank operates under a structure where every depositor holds shareholder status and voting rights at the annual meeting. When asked to explain how the bank, with $49.1 million in assets, has weathered 125 years of profound industry transformation—during which many competitors have merged or closed—Vinard offered his perspective. “Primarily, our bank has remained true to its community and its original charter which was to service the local community,” said Vinard. “We didn’t get caught up in the risky lending that a lot of the financial institutions have got caught up in – not just this past round, but in prior years. We didn’t go out and do things that were beyond our scope.” The bank has remained committed to its core identity as a small, full-service community bank, Vinard explained. “Primarily what we do is we make mortgages to homeowners in the local community. We offer low-cost, mininum balance checking and savings accounts, online banking, telephone banking, and debit cards. We accept deposits from local depositors and we manage that money like it were our own. No depositor of this cooperative bank or any cooperative bank has ever lost a penny because we are not only FDIC-insured but we fully insured by the Share Insurance Fund (SIF) for all amounts over $250,000.” Vinard oversees a multilingual workforce of 19 employees, 15 working full-time. The board of directors is led by chair James Carabineris and includes Janice Sikorski, who recently retired following 44 years at the bank; entrepreneur Sergio Jaramillo; retired veterinarian E. Turner Lewis; certified public accountant Susan Gallant; and businessman James Hill. As the 11th president of Chelsea Community Provident Bank, Vinard joins a lineage of distinguished leaders, among them Irene Grzybinski, who previously led the city’s oldest bank. Ms. Grzybinski, recognized as the state’s first female bank president, passed away last year. The 125-year record speaks to consistent banking excellence, yet Vinard remains keenly aware of the competitive landscape. “It’s a very competitive business,” said Vinard. “It’s hard when you have global banks and you’re competing with multi-national corporations, but we feel we can do it better.”
Chelsea Provident Cooperative celebrates 125th anniversary
