"Oracle Financials delivered and supported by COCC is a mega-corporation platform that any bank can use – even banks that use another core processor."

Mark Ingalls, Executive Vice President and CFO, Bridgewater Savings Bank

Bridgewater Savings Bank had grown by 175% in just ten years. The $375M mutual bank located in Raynham, Mass. today delivers commercial banking services, non-deposit investment products, and a trust department as well as CDs and mortgage loans. In 1997, the bank was a traditional savings bank with $136M in assets.  

“As our organization grew, our information requirements grew as well,” said Mark Ingalls, Executive Vice President and CFO at Bridgewater Savings Bank. “We needed a financial management system that would help us examine our performance at every level of our organization and consolidate that information however we wanted. That’s when we heard about Oracle Financials from COCC.” 

Oracle Financials is the accounting system of choice for many of the world’s largest corporations, but they are largely out of reach for community banks. Six years ago, COCC tailored Oracle Financials to the unique needs of Main Street’s financial institutions, and today supports more Oracle Financials clients than any company outside.  The company is the largest provider of Oracle Financial applications in the world outside of Oracle Corporation itself. 

“Oracle Financials delivered and supported by COCC is a mega-corporation platform that any bank can use – even banks that use another core processor,” said Ingalls. “COCC focuses on Oracle’s convenience features, such as ADI, which enables us to access the general ledger via Excel. Because COCC runs the Oracle software at its operations center, we don’t have to worry about maintenance, upgrades and backup. We simply connect to the system via COCC’s secure network.” 

Ingalls is most impressed by the information available through the Oracle system.

“I can report on income and expense at any level in our organization,” he said. “That gives us an enterprise view of our business by tracking performance at the organization, subsidiary and responsibility levels.” 

Bridgewater also saves time as a result of the automation and depth of information available in Oracle Financials from COCC. Entries go directly to the general ledger from automated Excel templates, and drill-down reports can be viewed through Excel as well. Ingalls says the Excel interface reduces errors and eliminates steps, resulting in increased efficiency and information quality. 

“If we have an issue or a question, we can call any of COCC’s 11 customer service representatives,” said Ingalls. “They’re all seasoned bank accountants who know the system thoroughly, understand what I’m looking for, the regulatory environment we’re operate within, and are completely focused on service.”  

Even so, Ingalls weighed all factors carefully before replacing his PC-based accounting system with Oracle Financials from COCC. “It’s always tough for accounting people to make a leap, but we knew that Oracle would deliver the larger view that would help us continue to grow. And no matter how large we grow, Oracle can handle our needs.”  

Ingalls added that COCC’s experience converting 94 institutions gave him further confidence, and release of the company’s daily automated eliminations feature was a definite plus.  

Bridgewater Savings is a mutual savings bank committed to providing professional service and quality products to its customers in Boston’s Metro South area. Founded in 1872, the bank has remained independent and prosperous while experiencing steady asset growth. Sound management, innovative services and conservative operating practices have made Bridgewater Savings one of the safest banks in the United States according to BauerFinancial, a leading independent bank research firm. BauerFinancial has awarded the bank its highest rating – Superior – for 16 consecutive quarters.