New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares, Inc. Announces Private Placement Of Subordinated Notes

New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares, Inc. NHTB, the holding company for Lake Sunapee Bank, fsb (the "Bank"), today announced that it has placed $17.0 million in subordinated notes with certain accredited investors. The subordinated notes, which are intended to qualify as Tier 2 Capital for regulatory purposes, may be redeemed at par, on or after November 1, 2019, and are due on November 1, 2024. The notes pay interest at a fixed rate of 6.75% per annum. Stephen R. Theroux, President and Chief Executive Officer said, "In the current interest rate environment, subordinated debt is the lowest cost form of regulatory capital available with which we could redeem a portion of our outstanding preferred securities issued under the U.S. Treasury's Small Business Lending Fund Program. We intend to use the majority of the proceeds of this issue to redeem a portion of the preferred securities on or about November 19, 2014." Griffin Financial Group LLC served as placement agent for the subordinated debt issuance.