Our Story

The very first savings account opened at the bank, appropriately bearing Account No. 1, was established under the name of “Old Ladies Home Fund”. The initial deposit to this account was in the amount of $101 and the original “savings deposit book” is in the possession of the bank.

The bank’s first published financial statement was as of the close of business May 26, 1906. This statement showed Resources (Assets) of $221,164, Deposits of $136,341, Capital Stock of $75,000, and Undivided Profits of $3,924. From these humble beginnings, the bank set its course.

In March 1922, the bank more than doubled its physical size by constructing a 25’ by 60’ addition to the original building on what was previously the adjacent vacant lot. This new addition, which was designed by a Scranton architect and built by a Wilkes-Barre company, had a 47’ front of white granite with large, arched windows, and transformed the structure into a formal bank building.

The next several decades were challenging times. Our country experienced a great depression, followed by a slow rebuilding process. We endured another world war and survived its consequences. There were other conflicts and crises, with good times and bad. Throughout this period, the bank persevered. During these years, vigilant and dedicated officers and employees conducted the business of the bank with its simplistic, philosophic, and cultural outlook of good citizenship.

With the passage of time came the growth of the institution as well as several renovations of the bank’s Main Street building. By 1983, it was apparent that the overall business activity of the bank had outgrown its physical limits and there was no room to expand, since the bank was literally sandwiched between Wayne Bank and Honesdale National Bank. As such, a decision was made that year to construct and establish new corporate headquarters on the property previously occupied by the Hotel Allen at the corner of Church and Ninth Streets, Honesdale, PA. The first building constructed on this new site in 1984 was a combination walk-up and drive-through banking facility. In 1985, the main portion of the new headquarters was constructed, and this full-service facility was officially opened. At the same time, the building, which was the first corporate headquarters, was sold to Honesdale National Bank.

In 1986, the corporate name was officially changed from Honesdale Dime Bank to The Dime Bank. In that same year, the bank established its first branch office, which operated from leased facilities in the building at the corner of Main Avenue and River Street in Hawley, PA. A short time later, in 1987, The Dime Bank purchased its first IBM computer system and brought in-house all the data processing operations of its banking functions.

Then, in 1988, the bank moved its Hawley Office to its current location at 309 Main Avenue. This building, which was formerly the site of the Hawley Department Store, was renovated to become a full-service branch facility complete with drive-through banking and ATM.

The 1990’s was a busy decade for The Dime Bank. In 1991, the bank was granted limited trust powers by both the PA Department of Banking and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. With these powers, the bank began offering mutual funds to customers as an additional service and as an extension of investment alternatives beyond traditional bank deposit accounts. In 1992, the bank’s holding company, Dimeco, Inc., was created. During the 1990’s branching activity also continued. In 1995, the bank opened a third community branch in Damascus, PA and a fourth was opened in Greentown, PA in 1996.

With growth in all areas of the bank came the need for additional space to house numerous operational functions. In October 1998, all non-direct customer contact departments, including the Board of Directors’ meeting room, were moved out of the main office and branches, and were re-located to our new Operations Center in the building located at 120 Sunrise Avenue, Honesdale, PA. The bank was approved for full trust powers in 1999 and it was at that time that a formal Trust Department was established to serve the trust, estate planning, and financial investment services needs of customers.

The year 2000 saw extensive remodeling in both the Honesdale and Hawley offices to better serve customer needs, create additional offices, and provide more private settings from which to conduct business.

On September 11, 2001, all of America changed as a result of the horrific terrorist attacks that took place in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. In an effort to respond to this outrage and at the same time, instill confidence in the underlying strength of the United States and its banking industry, an open letter from the bank to the public was published in various newspapers throughout the bank’s market area.

In 2002, in order to accommodate the needs of an ever-expanding customer base, both the Greentown Office and the Operations Center were remodeled and expanded.

2003 was a year of continued growth. In July of that year, a new Investments and Financial Services Department was opened in the Honesdale main branch, to provide a full array of securities and insurance products and services.

Pike County development continued with the increased influx of people from neighboring states. To best serve these new homeowners, on December 29, 2004, The Dime Bank opened the doors of its fifth community branch located on Route 739, in Dingmans Ferry, PA.

The Dime Bank continued to grow our customer base and our methods of providing unsurpassed service. With increased digital banking products and expanding regulatory requirements, our support staff also grew to provide the best banking experience for our customers. On December 17, 2008, our sixth branch was opened in the Lake Region of Hawley, located at 99 Welwood Avenue. Our Investments and Financial Services Department, now named Dime Wealth Management, moved its offices from Honesdale to this new location.

The Dime Bank Lake Region branch was purposely built larger than previous branches to accommodate our continued expansion. In December 2017, the second floor of this building was furnished with offices and a new board room to accommodate our executives and our accounting, finance, and commercial lending functions which moved out of the Operations Center to this larger location.

As time progressed, The Dime Bank wanted to better serve customers in our neighboring county, Lackawanna. We added our seventh branch in Carbondale at 157 Brooklyn Street on August 29, 2013. Carbondale shares similar demographics to the areas we were already serving, and we felt this additional branch would fit in nicely with our business model.

The spring of 2020 changed the lives of everyone with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Dime Bank staff stepped up to service our customers. We implemented Covid protocols to keep everyone healthy and safe. As an essential organization, our doors remained open as much as possible, and when lobby service could not be performed, we created better drive-up procedures to assist our customers to reduce face-to-face contact and possible virus transmission. We also rolled out more robust online and mobile banking platforms to allow our customers the convenience of banking from home.

During this time, many businesses financially suffered as activity and sales slowed or came to a grinding halt. To assist business owners, The Dime Bank worked with the Small Business Administration to facilitate the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Over the course of the program, we assisted almost 1,000 businesses with $136 million in loans.

As life regained a sense of normalcy, The Dime Bank assessed expansion opportunities to continue our growth trends. 2022 was a remarkably busy year. Our Greentown facility needed many repairs, and the decision was made to build a new facility to best serve our customers. On March 14, 2022, the Greentown branch was relocated to 1566 Route 507. Taking advantage of the new space, a new design and service structure was incorporated into this new facility. The universal banker model enables us to assist customers with all their needs, rather than having to pass customers to a coworker. We can each be our customers’ total financial partner.

With increasing customers in Lackawanna County, The Dime Bank’s eighth branch opened on July 18, 2022, in the Marketplace at Steamtown at 300 Lackawanna Avenue, Scranton, PA. We are very fortunate to have been involved in several revitalization projects in the greater Scranton downtown area, and this location seemed to be a perfect fit for us to assist with the expanding financial needs in the community.

With branch expansion, our support staff also continued to grow to meet the rising changes in technology, information security, and regulatory obligations. We outgrew our space at the Operations Center and our lease was coming due. After analysis, the most fiscally advantageous route to meet our growing needs was to renovate a property owned by The Dime Bank at 1055 Texas Palmyra Highway, Honesdale, PA. Management decided the best use of the space was to make it a multi-purpose facility.

Our Support Center (formerly Operations Center) is now located in this facility along with our customer care team offering customers telephone assistance with a live, knowledgeable staff member. The Dime Bank is committed to enhancing our communities by supporting our aspiring entrepreneurs and business customers with an Entrepreneurial Center located at this facility. The Dime Bank Entrepreneurial Center offers customers a comfortable and secure environment with a variety of technological resources. Space can be reserved at www.thedimebank.com/entrepreneurial-center.

Additionally, our ninth branch was opened on September 20, 2022, in this facility. The Dime Bank Indian Orchard branch gives existing customers one more convenient location to conduct banking business, and new customers in this region a chance to experience trusted, dependable banking.

As we have done throughout our history, The Dime Bank will continue its philanthropic support of community and nonprofit programs to further enrich the quality of life for all in the region. The Dime Bank wants to be an integral part of the Northeast and our continued expansion demonstrates our firm commitment to the area’s future and our unwavering assurance to the community through our investment in our facilities. We look forward to serving the financial needs of all and building a strong partnership for years to come.