Recent Market Developments	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012
Recent Market Developments [Abstract]
Recent Market Developments	Note 2. Recent Market Developments The financial services industry continues to face unprecedented challenges in the aftermath of the recent national and global economic crisis. Since June 2009, the US economy has been recovering from the most severe recession and financial crisis since the Great Depression. There have been some improvements in private sector employment, industrial production and US exports; nevertheless, the pace of economic recovery has been extremely slow. The housing markets continue to be depressed. Financial markets have improved since the depths of the crisis, but are still unsettled and volatile. Investors have pulled back from risky assets. Lower equity prices and wider spreads on corporate bonds and other debt instruments and greater pressures on financial institutions have resulted. At the same time, heightened demand for safe assets has put downward pressure on yields. There is continued concern about the US economic outlook and the potential effects of the continued crisis in the European financial markets. On July 21, 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act became law. The Act was intended to address many issues arising in the recent financial crisis and is exceedingly broad in scope affecting many aspects of bank and financial market regulation. The Act requires, or permits by implementing regulation, enhanced prudential standards for banks and bank holding companies inclusive of capital, leverage, liquidity, concentration and exposure measures. In addition, traditional bank regulatory principles such as restrictions on transactions with affiliates and insiders were enhanced. The Act also contains reforms of consumer mortgage lending practices and creates a Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection which is granted broad authority over consumer financial practices of banks and others. It is expected as the specific new or incremental requirements applicable to the Company become effective that the costs and difficulties of remaining compliant with all such requirements will increase. The Act broadens the base for FDIC assessments to average consolidated assets less tangible equity of financial institutions and also permanently raises the current standard maximum FDIC deposit insurance amount to $250,000. The Act extends unlimited deposit insurance on non-interest bearing transaction accounts through December 31, 2012. On September 29, 2009, the FDIC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) that would require insured institutions to prepay their estimated quarterly risk-based assessments for the fourth quarter of 2009 and for all of 2010, 2011 and 2012. The FDIC Board voted to adopt a uniform three-basis point increase in assessment rates effective on January 1, 2011, and extend the restoration period from seven to eight years. This rule was finalized on November 2, 2009. As a result, the Company is carrying a prepaid asset of $4.3 million as of December 31, 2011. The Company’s quarterly risk-based deposit insurance assessments will be paid from this amount until the amount is exhausted or until December 30, 2014, when any amount remaining would be returned to the Company. On September 30, 2011, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue issued a Draft Directive prohibiting a corporation from pledging more than 50 percent of security corporation stock it owns to secure a borrowing, effective for tax years beginning on or after October, 2012. Century Bank currently utilizes the stock of two of its security corporations to secure Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston (“FHLBB”) advances. Should this draft directive have become effective, Century Bank would have had fewer assets available to secure FHLBB advances, or would have had a higher tax rate if it chose to utilize security corporations to a lesser extent. On April 6, 2012, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue issued an updated Draft Directive allowing a corporation to pledge up to 100% of security corporation stock it owns to secure a borrowing. This revised Draft Directive would allow Century Bank to continue to utilize existing assets to secure FHLBB advances without pledging limitations.

Recent Market Developments

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Recent Market Developments [Abstract]

Note 2. Recent Market Developments

The financial services industry continues to face unprecedented challenges in the aftermath of the recent national and global economic crisis. Since June 2009, the US economy has been recovering from the most severe recession and financial crisis since the Great Depression. There have been some improvements in private sector employment, industrial production and US exports; nevertheless, the pace of economic recovery has been extremely slow. The housing markets continue to be depressed. Financial markets have improved since the depths of the crisis, but are still unsettled and volatile. Investors have pulled back from risky assets. Lower equity prices and wider spreads on corporate bonds and other debt instruments and greater pressures on financial institutions have resulted. At the same time, heightened demand for safe assets has put downward pressure on yields. There is continued concern about the US economic outlook and the potential effects of the continued crisis in the European financial markets.

On July 21, 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act became law. The Act was intended to address many issues arising in the recent financial crisis and is exceedingly broad in scope affecting many aspects of bank and financial market regulation. The Act requires, or permits by implementing regulation, enhanced prudential standards for banks and bank holding companies inclusive of capital, leverage, liquidity, concentration and exposure measures. In addition, traditional bank regulatory principles such as restrictions on transactions with affiliates and insiders were enhanced. The Act also contains reforms of consumer mortgage lending practices and creates a Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection which is granted broad authority over consumer financial practices of banks and others. It is expected as the specific new or incremental requirements applicable to the Company become effective that the costs and difficulties of remaining compliant with all such requirements will increase. The Act broadens the base for FDIC assessments to average consolidated assets less tangible equity of financial institutions and also permanently raises the current standard maximum FDIC deposit insurance amount to $250,000. The Act extends unlimited deposit insurance on non-interest bearing transaction accounts through December 31, 2012.

On September 29, 2009, the FDIC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) that would require insured institutions to prepay their estimated quarterly risk-based assessments for the fourth quarter of 2009 and for all of 2010, 2011 and 2012. The FDIC Board voted to adopt a uniform three-basis point increase in assessment rates effective on January 1, 2011, and extend the restoration period from seven to eight years. This rule was finalized on November 2, 2009. As a result, the Company is carrying a prepaid asset of $4.3 million as of December 31, 2011. The Company’s quarterly risk-based deposit insurance assessments will be paid from this amount until the amount is exhausted or until December 30, 2014, when any amount remaining would be returned to the Company.

On September 30, 2011, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue issued a Draft Directive prohibiting a corporation from pledging more than 50 percent of security corporation stock it owns to secure a borrowing, effective for tax years beginning on or after October, 2012. Century Bank currently utilizes the stock of two of its security corporations to secure Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston (“FHLBB”) advances. Should this draft directive have become effective, Century Bank would have had fewer assets available to secure FHLBB advances, or would have had a higher tax rate if it chose to utilize security corporations to a lesser extent. On April 6, 2012, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue issued an updated Draft Directive allowing a corporation to pledge up to 100% of security corporation stock it owns to secure a borrowing. This revised Draft Directive would allow Century Bank to continue to utilize existing assets to secure FHLBB advances without pledging limitations.