Institution for Savings
Institution for Savings is a 205-year-old mutual savings bank in Newburyport, Massachusetts, serving consumers, small businesses, and nonprofits across the North Shore with deposits, residential and commercial lending, and proprietary financial-education programs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1820
- HeadquartersNewburyport, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Institution for Savings does
Institution for Savings is a mutual savings bank founded in 1820 and headquartered in Newburyport, Massachusetts, operating 14+ branch locations across the North Shore of eastern Massachusetts. The bank serves individual consumers, small-to-medium businesses, and nonprofit organizations with a full suite of deposit products (checking, savings, money market, CDs, IRAs), residential mortgages, commercial loans, and electronic banking services. It operates under a mutual ownership structure through IFS 1820 Bancorp – Mutual Holding Company, meaning it is owned by its depositors rather than external shareholders. As of 2025, the bank reported $5.5 billion in total assets, net income of $49 million, return on assets of 0.91%, and total capital of $668 million (over 12% of assets). All deposits are insured by both FDIC and the Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF).
The bank's product suite spans personal and business banking, supported by an unusually extensive community financial-education program — Credit for Life Fair (16th annual edition in 2026), Be A Smart Saver for elementary schools, Get Smart About Credit for high-school seniors, and a First-Time Homebuyer Program with closing-cost credits for CHAPA-certified course completion. The Institution for Savings Charitable Foundation, established in 1997, contributed over $2.3 million to local nonprofits in 2025 and $753,000 in Q1 2026 alone to 125+ organizations, with cumulative giving exceeding $6.5 million over the past three years. The #Giving for Good employee volunteer program provides 10 paid hours per employee annually for community service. The technology stack is traditional community-banking infrastructure: online banking (my.ifs.bank), iOS/Android mobile app, 24-hour telephone banking (1-800-437-6703), and third-party integrations including ProfitStars SmartPay for loan payments and Box for secure file sharing. The website is built on JHA/Banno.
Revenue is generated through net interest income from residential, commercial, and consumer lending offset by interest paid on deposits, plus fee-based banking services including overdraft, ATM, and wire transfer fees. Distribution is community-led: physical branches anchor the model, augmented by a 8+ person residential lending team with bilingual (English/Spanish) capability, a commercial lending team, online account opening (openaccount.ifs.bank), and aggressive employer-brand marketing supported by 18 consecutive years on the Boston Globe's Top Places to Work list (2008–2025) and 10 consecutive years on Boston Business Journal's Best Places to Work.
Institution for Savings firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Institution for Savings
- Legal name
- Institution for Savings
- Website
- https://institutionforsavings.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1820
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Institution for Savings is a 205-year-old mutual savings bank in Newburyport, Massachusetts, serving consumers, small businesses, and nonprofits across the North Shore with deposits, residential and commercial lending, and proprietary financial-education programs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Institution for Savings industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Banking
- NAICS
- Savings Institutions and Other Depository Credit Intermediation (522180), Depository Credit Intermediation (5221), Commercial Banking (52211)
- SIC
- Savings Institutions, Not Federally Chartered (6036)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Mutual Savings Banks & Mutual Thrifts (FSABAEAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- SME Deposits & Business Accounts (Operating, Savings, CDs) (FSABABAC)
Keywords
Where Institution for Savings is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Newburyport
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices14 records
Markets served
Institution for Savings business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Net Interest Income: Interest income from residential loans, commercial loans, and consumer loans offset by interest paid on deposits including checking, savings, money market, and CDs.
- Fee-based Banking Services: Revenue from overdraft fees, ATM fees, wire transfer fees, and other banking service charges.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | 12-Month and 24-Month CDs: 4.05% APY |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels8 records
Institution for Savings product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Institution for Savings is a mutual savings bank offering deposit products (checking, savings, money market, CDs and IRAs), residential mortgage loans, commercial loans, electronic/mobile banking, and card services for personal and business customers across eastern Massachusetts. The bank operates a 14+ branch network on the North Shore and complements its products with financial literacy programs, a charitable foundation, and community engagement initiatives.
Product overview
Institution for Savings is a community bank offering a unified portfolio of personal and business banking products centered around deposits, lending, and electronic banking services. The core product suite includes personal checking, savings, money market, CDs & IRAs, residential loans, and card services for consumers; and business checking, savings, money market, commercial loans, and electronic banking for commercial customers. Supporting the core banking products are value-added modules including a Knowledge Bank financial education hub, the Credit for Life Fair program, First-Time Homebuyer Program, #Giving for Good employee volunteer initiative, and a Charitable Foundation. The bank also provides supplementary tools like calculators and 24-hour telephone banking.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Credit for Life Fair: Interactive financial literacy event for high school students simulating adult budgeting and financial decision-making.
- Be a Smart Saver
- Get Smart About Credit
- #Giving for Good
Products and services
- Personal Checking
Quantifiable outcome
- Return on assets of 0.91% with net income of $49 million in 2025
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Institution for Savings
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Institution for Savings technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Institution for Savings partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Massachusetts Bankers Association (and 200+ community banks)coreCollaboration of Massachusetts banks including Institution for Savings, Cape Cod 5, Rockland Trust, HarborOne Bank, BayCoast Bank, Country Bank, Westfield Bank, The Savings Bank, North Easton Savings Bank, and Liberty Bank. Jointly developed creditforlife.org platform with nonprofit FitMoney for financial literacy education used by tens of thousands of students.
- FitMoney (nonprofit)coreNonprofit partner in developing creditforlife.org website and Credit for Life Money Modules for student financial education.
- Merrimack Valley Housing PartnershipminorFirst-time Homebuyer Education provider offering online courses and live Zoom classes. Institution for Savings provides additional closing cost credit for course completion.
- Gloucester Housing AuthorityminorFirst-time Homebuyer Education provider. Institution for Savings provides additional closing cost credit for course completion.
- Lawrence Community WorksminorFirst-time Homebuyer Education provider. Institution for Savings provides additional closing cost credit for course completion.
- Massachusetts Office of Economic EmpowermentminorDivision of Massachusetts Treasurer's Office providing Financial Education Innovation Fund Grant for Lynn Credit for Life Fairs ($6,900 grant in 2024).
- Salem State UniversityminorHost venue partner for annual Credit for Life Fair at O'Keefe Sports Complex. President John Keenan participates in events.
- Lynn Public SchoolsminorEducational partnership for Credit for Life Fairs at Lynn Classical, Lynn English High Schools, Lynn Vocational Technical Institute, Frederick Douglass Collegiate Academy, and Fecteau-Leary.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Institution for Savings competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Berkshire Hills Bancorp (Berkshire Bank): Larger regional bank serving Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and New York with broader commercial, wealth, and insurance lines. Overlaps with IFS on consumer deposits and residential lending in western and central MA, but operates at materially greater scale and geographic breadth.
Direct peers
- Rockland Trust: Independent Mutual (Rockland Trust) is the largest community bank headquartered in eastern Massachusetts with a similar mutual heritage, full-service consumer/commercial banking, and residential mortgage focus. Named in IFS's creditforlife.org partnership, it directly competes for the same North Shore / greater Boston deposit and SMB lending pool.
- Cambridge Savings Bank: Massachusetts mutual savings bank with consumer, mortgage, and business banking across greater Boston and surrounding towns. Comparable mutual structure, deposit-led funding model, and product set.
- Salem Five: Mutual savings bank headquartered in Salem, MA with deep North Shore branch coverage, residential mortgages, and business banking. Most geographically overlapping direct competitor, operating in many of the same towns as Institution for Savings.
- HarborOne Bank: Massachusetts community bank with consumer, commercial, and residential lending plus a large retail branch footprint. Listed alongside IFS as a creditforlife.org co-developer; competes in overlapping eastern MA markets for deposits and small-business lending.
- BayCoast Bank: Massachusetts community bank serving the South Coast region with personal, business, and mortgage banking. Listed as a creditforlife.org co-developer alongside IFS, indicating similar commitment to community financial education and comparable community-bank profile.
- Hingham Institution for Savings: Massachusetts mutual savings bank with similar mutual structure, residential mortgage focus, conservative underwriting culture, and exceptional capital ratios. Closely analogous community-bank operating model and historically strong ROA profile.
- Brookline Bank: Massachusetts savings bank offering consumer, mortgage, and commercial banking across the greater Boston area. Comparable deposit-and-lending community banking model with overlapping target customers in eastern MA.
- East Boston Savings Bank: Mutual savings bank serving greater Boston and eastern Massachusetts with deposit products, mortgage, and commercial lending — directly comparable mutual model, geographic overlap, and product mix to Institution for Savings.
- Cape Cod 5: A Massachusetts-based mutual savings bank offering personal and business banking, mortgages, and wealth services across Cape Cod and eastern MA. Co-developer with IFS of the creditforlife.org financial literacy platform, making it a near-direct peer in customer base and product set.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Institution for Savings social profiles
Digital presenceInstitution for Savings compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Institution for Savings financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Institution for Savings leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Institution for Savings funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Institution for Savings M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Institution for Savings
What does Institution for Savings do?
Institution for Savings is a mutual savings bank offering deposit products (checking, savings, money market, CDs and IRAs), residential mortgage loans, commercial loans, electronic/mobile banking, and card services for personal and business customers across eastern Massachusetts. The bank operates a 14+ branch network on the North Shore and complements its products with financial literacy programs, a charitable foundation, and community engagement initiatives.
Is Institution for Savings a public or private company?
Institution for Savings is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Institution for Savings founded?
Institution for Savings was founded in 1820. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Institution for Savings based?
Institution for Savings is headquartered in Newburyport, United States, in the North America region.
How does Institution for Savings make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Net Interest Income is the primary driver. The others are fee-based Banking Services.
Who are Institution for Savings's main competitors?
Berkshire Hills Bancorp (Berkshire Bank) is listed as a broad incumbent. Direct peers are Rockland Trust, Cambridge Savings Bank, Salem Five, HarborOne Bank, BayCoast Bank, Hingham Institution for Savings, Brookline Bank, East Boston Savings Bank and Cape Cod 5.
Does Institution for Savings have an API?
No public API is recorded for Institution for Savings.
What industry is Institution for Savings in?
Institution for Savings's product category is Community Banking. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSABAEAD, Mutual Savings Banks & Mutual Thrifts, with a secondary code of FSABABAC, SME Deposits & Business Accounts (Operating, Savings, CDs). Its NAICS code is 522180 and its SIC code is 6036.