Norwich-based Dime Bank has begun its expansion into Greater Hartford with branches in Glastonbury and Manchester.

The bank held ribbon-cutting events for both branches on the same day earlier this month. Until now, the nearest Dime Bank locations to the Hartford Metro was in Colchester. Dime Bank has

“The community banking options here in Manchester and the Greater Hartford area are very, very limited so we took the opportunity to look around and say, ‘Geeze, we want to give consumers a choice,'” bank President and CEO Nicholas Caplanson said at the opening of the Manchester branch.

The bank hopes to offer a “personalized touch” to business customers, he said, to set itself apart from larger competitors like Bridgeport-based People’s United Bank and national lenders like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America.

The branches both offer limited in-person services by appointment only due to COVID-19 concerns.

Both the number of players in the Greater Hartford market and the number of branches in the area have both decreased in recent years People’s United bought United Bank and Farmington Bank in recent years and closed 18 branches in the area in 2019. With Waterbury-based Webster Bank’s plans to close five Hartford-area branches in the coming year, the number of bank branches in the area is set to decline further.

Bank of America currently holds 47.66 percent of deposits in Greater Hartford, followed by People’s United at 13 percent and Webster Bank at 9.92 percent, according to the FDIC.

Dime Bank had $988 million in assets as of Sept. 30, FDIC data shows, a number that grew by 12.56 percent over Sept. 30, 2019 thanks in large part due to a significant increase in cash on hand and securities.