Provident Bancorp Inc (MHC)'s board has green-lighted a buyback program that allows the company to repurchase up to 625,015 common shares, or roughly 6.6% of its current outstanding shares.

The program will begin no sooner than the termination of the company's regular quarterly trading blackout after the release of its earnings for full year 2016.

The Amesbury, Mass.-based company also received a nonobjection for the buyback from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Repurchases will be made at management's discretion from time to time in open market or private transactions, through block trades, and pursuant to any regulatory-compliant trading plan. The plan may also be terminated or modified at any time for any reason, and the company is not obligated to repurchase any particular number of shares.