People's Switching Charters

People's Mutual Holdings and its subsidiary People's Bank, both of Bridgeport, Conn., plan to switch from their respective state charters to become a federally chartered mutual holding company and a federal savings bank, respectively.The change stems partly from the thrift's expansion of its mortgage lending business into the neighboring states of New York and Massachusetts. People's said that when it entered those states last year, it had to conform to their laws as well as Connecticut's. "This was an expensive and lengthy process that negatively affected our speed to market," People's said. "It will not be the case under the FSB charter." People's Bank can be found on the Web at https://www.peoples.com.