Soon the transition will be complete. Last year, Lake Sunapee Bank was acquired by Bar Harbor Bank & Trust of Maine. Recently, the company has filed for building permits to put up new signs at Lake Sunapee Bank locations around the Upper Valley. The new ones will replace the current ones that still show the old name but as a division of Bar Harbor.

Originally, Bar Harbor Chief Executive Curtis Simard said Lake Sunapee would keep its brand after the acquisition. However, customer surveys said the signage and other materials that contained both names were confusing. So the decision was made to consolidate the brand under the Bar Harbor name.

Since the banks’ computer systems were merged a year ago, the name change will not cause any disruptions to the electronic banking. Also, in spite of the loss of many Lake Sunapee employees, including the unexpected departure of former executive William McIver halfway through a three-year contract, Joseph said Bar Harbor is not concerned that the change from a local to an out-of-state name will lead to the loss of customers.