Citizens~Union Savings Bank will become BayCoast Bank in January 2012

It may not have exactly been the best kept secret in the SouthCoast region, but the name change for Citizens~Union Savings Bank is now official. The "guess the bank's new name" contest is now officially over, and all the clues are in. Citizens~Union Savings Bank will become BayCoast Bank in January 2012. For Citizens~Union Savings Bank, the name change has been an opportunity to re-brand and re-shape its presence in the South Coast community following the merger that brought the four-branch Bank of Fall River under their umbrella. In advertisements that began in August, the message has been "Joining together to create the bank that's just right for you." Even though bank officials declined to publicly identify the new name, as their contest continued week to week, many area residents guessed the correct answer. The bank received thousands of entries to its "guess our new name" contest which was launched in August, and CEO Nicholas Christ acknowledges that more than 12,000 entries have correctly identified the bank's new name.He says that the new name will better reflect the geographic region that the bank serves. In the first step of the process, the Bank of Fall River branches that became part of Citizens~Union through the merger will change its name to Citizens~Union Savings Bank. Now, as the data integration and all other elements of the merger near completion, the next phase will be set in motion. In January, all Citizens~Union branch signs will sport the new name and logo. Part of the objective of re-naming the bank is also to eliminate some of the market confusion between banks with similar names. "Our new name will clearly establish us in this market and help us promote the bank and this region that we call home," he said. Christ said that the bank's advertising and marketing materials which have featured a "fill in the blank" section over a period of eight weeks, has been great for community involvement. "We have all had fun with this process, particularly involving the public," Christ said. He emphasized, however, that while bank officials are very excited about the new name, he wants people to understand that this is a name change and not an acquisition by another entity. "This is still the same bank that has served this region for many years," he said. "In our industry, sometimes when people see a name change, they think acquisition. We are not merging with a larger entity or selling the bank. We will be the same bank, with the same people, but a different name."