Holyoke,Mass.-based PeoplesBank revised its bylaws in order to make aconversion to stockholder ownership more difficult.

The changesinclude the addition of a requirement for a supermajority vote for a conversionto stockholder ownership, as well as a provision that ensures that members ofmanagement and the board do not get any financial benefits from a conversion.

"PeoplesBankwill stay a mutual bank for the long term," President and CEO ThomasSenecal stated in a July 11 news release.

The bank isa unit of PeoplesBancorpMHC.