Last Tuesday, TD Bank officially cut the ribbon on a new branch in Maverick Square next door to La Sultana Bakery.
The full service branch will provide another banking option for Eastie residents and customers from the surrounding area.
However, TD Bank’s move to Eastie was not accidental and TD’s Retail Market President for Boston Mauro DeCarolis said TD has had its eyes set on the neighborhood for some time.
‘My office at 200 State St. has got this wonderful view of the harbor and East Boston,” said DeCarolis. “So from my office for the last few years, I’ve been able to witness the amazing development in East Boston. So we’re just thrilled that after watching all that development, that now we’re able to be part of the East Boston community and provide our legendary service to this growing and developing community. We waited for the right location and we believe that this location at 36 Maverick Square is the perfect and well positioned within this great community.”
The new branch has been open since March 22 and Td Bank’s East Boston Store Manager Justin Cross said the feedback has been nothing but positive.
“We remain committed to opening stores that are very much in line with what we see with customer demand,” said Cross. “As you know, banking is changing. Customers choose to do the banking in a variety of different ways–whether it’s online, ATM, mobile, or by phone, and the design of this new branch definitely took those considerations. We’ve definitely seen a change in how customers want to do their banking, whether it’s through what we call the “omni-channel” or in the store. So we’re offering full service and advice and this particular location is tellers, an advice center as well a place where we offer full rate products.”
Cross said TD Bank strived to ensure the new branch team would reflect the community in which it served.
“I was extremely committed to making sure that when we were putting together the team we were very strategic and ensuring that we were leveraging the community,” said Cross. “So there were only a very few internal employees that moved over to East Boston and about 75% of new employees were hired externally from East Boston, Revere, and some of the other surrounding communities. This was keeping in line with giving back to the community and creating job opportunities for residents.”
TD Bank recently teamed up with the Celtics to create a new STEM afterschool learning room at the Salesian Boys & Girls Club and plans to continue similar efforts throughout the neighborhood.
“I think that’s what sets us apart at the end of the day,” said Cross. “Giving back to our communities is something that we take a lot of pride in.”
DeCarolis added that Cross has done an amazing job of reaching out to the community and using TD Garden collateral to engage the community and to bring them into the fold.
“Despite the fact that we officially opened on March 22, our feet have really been planted in East Boston since the end of November and early December,” said Cross. “Our first event was sponsoring the holiday tree lighting in Maverick. Since then I’ve been able to focus a lot of my time cultivating relationships with some of the biggest nonprofit partners in East Boston, including BCYF on Paris Street. I’ve been fortunate enough to join the board over at East Boston Main Street. I’ve been working with the Salesian Boys & Girls Club. We have connections with the YMCA. So there’s just been a lot of engagement throughout the community.”
Now that the bank is up and running Cross said he would like to specifically focus on financial literacy programs in the community.
“What I have promised and what I’m going to devote my time to is starting, over the next month, is creating financial literacy classes and courses that I’m going to be able to offer to residents of East Boston, primarily with youth ages 6 to 18,” said Cross. “But there’s also some other facets that we’re going to be working to accommodate. For example, the East Boston Social Centers has a large elderly population so we’re going to be focusing on fraud and elderly exploitation.”
In the end Cross said the response from the community has been nothing but positive.
“I think one of the most rewarding things is having individuals come up to you and thank you for coming to the community,” said Cross. “They’ve been dealing with TD through our neighboring locations, and to have us in their backyard they are nothing but thrilled from local business owners to residents. Usually the grand opening is such a big day and the momentum seems to slow down afterwards but I must say I have not seen a decrease in the excitement and the energy from the people walking by the store since the day we opened. Every day we engage with the community outside of the store and we take it upon ourselves to bring the energy inside the bank out to the streets.”