Banking New England Jul/Aug 2018

JULY/AUGUST 2018

NEW ENGLAND

THE RESOURCE FOR NEW ENGLAND’S FINANCIAL LEADERS

Locations You Can

Bank On!

BANKING CHOICE AWARDS Why There’s More To The Interior Of A Bank Than The Money It Keeps Award

HIGHLIGHTS

A P UBLICAT I O N O F A M E R I C AN B U S IN ES S M ED IA

CSI KNOWS HOW TO PLAY.

A P U B L I C AT I O N O F AM ER I C AN B U SI N ESS M E D I A

CONTENTS

NEW ENGLAND

THE RESOURCE FOR NEW ENGLAND’S FINANCIAL LEADERS

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Winners and sponsors of The Banking Choice Awards earlier this year tell a little more about their institutions. The Banking Choice Awards, developed in conjunction with Customer Experience Solutions, recognized financial institutions who go above and beyond to serve their customers in the categories of customer service, technology, contribution to the community and overall quality.

12 PAGE

6

Get The Most Out Of Every Square Foot

What Banks Can Learn From Retail

6

Good Things Come In Small Packages

8

Locations You Can Bank On!

10

Efficient and Inviting Smaller Branch Trends Continue

14

BANKING CHOICE AWARDS: The Village Bank

BANKING CHOICE AWARDS: Institute For Savings

36

BANKING CHOICE AWARDS: Bankwell

Why There’s More To The Interior Of A Bank Than The Money It Keeps

16

Space Planning: Are You Reactive Or Proactive

20

Utilizing Advanced Site Selection Analysis For Your Next Branch

22

Why Branches Still Matter

26

Women of FIRE Award Winners

19

24

More To The Interior Of A Bank Than The Money It Keeps

14

PAGE

4

BANKING CHOICE AWARDS: Florence Bank

STAFF

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BANKING NEW ENGLAND 3

PROTECTING VULNERABLE CLIENTS DESIGN

What Banks Can Learn From Retail Stores

Focus On Individuality Based On Socioeconomic Characteristics

By R. Michael Goman, Special to Banking New England

T

he past ten years have seen a dramatic change in how customers use their financial institution branch. Online and electronic banking have forever changed what happens inside the branch, with activity at the teller stations dropping by more than half. Interestingly, in many ways these changes parallel those which have occurred within brick and mortar retail stores as ecommerce has grown, and we can learn some important lessons from our friends in the retail community.

There was a time when retailers largely built the same stores across all markets, with only a few differences based simply upon the store R. Michael Goman size.

Customers quickly tired of that sameness and design imperatives changed to introduce a level of individuality. No two Starbucks are the same, for instance, with each store reflecting a local design aesthetic, perhaps also giving a nod to some aspect of local history. This customization has increased in the age of online and ecommerce, and the changing expectations of branches have only emphasized the need for branch design to change.

Our work is centered around helping financial institutions develop a deeper understanding of their customers. Equipped with that information, branch design becomes 4 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

We’ve learned that the best branch design is that which is focused upon creating and supporting opportunities for communication and social interaction. data-driven. Broadly, good branch design should respond to the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and level of urbanization present within the trade area which it will serve.

A branch in a densely populated urban location served primarily by public transit should be different from one in a rural area where customers arrive in pickups, and different again from one in a suburban setting which will serve parents driving SUVs. Similarly, a branch serving a largely Asian demographic should have a different aesthetic from one serving a southwestern European population. Lastly, the design should be fine-tuned to be responsive to the specific socioeconomic characteristics of the institution’s existing customers as well as those which it would like to reach, and those which are dominant in the census tracts within the surrounding trade area. In its simplest form, socioeconomic analysis helps answer important questions about how customers spend their time and money, and why.

Beyond these broad influences, successful branch design must also respond to the changes in how customers use today’s branch.

Form still follows function in the

modern branch but function is no longer simply processing transactions and an efficient work flow.

We’ve learned that the best branch design is that which is focused upon creating and supporting opportunities for communication and social interaction. Importantly, the foundational theme underlying what we’ve learned is that customers, and particularly those of the millennial generation, want their experience in the branch to be educational, entertaining and social. We describe these themes as “teach me, entertain me and give me something I can share with my friends.”

Financial institutions must be careful to avoid falling into the trap that branch design should be heavily focused upon technology. Technology is simply a tool which can be utilized to support the theme of “teach me, entertain me and give me social opportunities.” Technology stations and the like should be viewed from that perspective. However, it’s equally important that online services and solutions be fully integrated with those offered within the branch.

The communications, marketing and messaging must seamlessly support both channels of custom-

er engagement. Remember that the purpose of the visit to the branch is to engage directly with your bankers.

Having skilled universal bankers who support that purpose is increasingly critical to building branch traffic and productivity.

Overall, branches will continue to get smaller, and are increasingly likely to be housed within a typical retail footprint. We’ll continue to see declining interest in large, free-standing branches with multiple drive-thru lanes. The most advanced branch designs we see often have few or no traditional teller stations. Standing pods or desks, seated consultation zones or casual seating areas have replaced traditional teller stations. Branch design must also be context-sensitive. For example, a branch which appeals to the socioeconomic characteristics of millennials is likely to trigger significant push-back among older customers in a rural area.

In larger regional markets, we see successful networks utilizing a huband-spoke format, with a single large branch operating as the hub, creating a strong market presence and offering a full suite of consumer and commer-

cial services, and supported by smaller, more localized or neighborhood branches with fewer staff and more emphasis on self-service, but perhaps with video access to hub or central office specialists. Rounding out the market network are smaller locations primarily offering self-service with one or two FTEs, and then fully selfserve locations utilizing ITMs, perhaps with video capability. These smaller branches often offer low cost of entry and greater market flexibility. The ultimate flexible branch is the mobile “RV branch” which can be located at community events and which can provide

Having skilled universal bankers who support that purpose is increasingly critical to building branch traffic and productivity.

very effective outreach within the local market.

The co-location of express branches is moving beyond the branch within a grocery store to include branches in drug stores, mass merchants, office supply and warehouse club stores. This is an interesting trend that offers some unique opportunities for direct engagement with, for example, small business people while they are visiting their local office supply store.

Existing branches that are too large can be reduced by offering surplus space to professionals having complimentary clients, such as lawyers, accountants and realtors.

When you approach your next branch, its design should be focused on creating and supporting opportunities for communication and social interaction. Apple is in the business of getting us to live much of our lives online, and yet their retail stores are where they engage with their customers, teaching them how to get the most out of their products. There’s a lesson in that for all of us. ■ _________________________________

Michael Goman is President of Accubranch, LLC.

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 5

LAYOUT

Good Things Come In Small Packages Making The Most Out Of Your Space

By Jim Caliendo, Special to Banking New England

“Good things come in small packages”

as they say and now that popular proverb can include branches of today and into the future. Traditionally, branches used to occupy over 4,000 square feet complete with large teller lines, walk-in vaults, numerous private offices and spacious lobbies. Today’s branches, however, need to undergo a complete transformation, packing in a heap of customer service, education, technology and marketing into 3,000 square feet or less.

Customers are making fewer trips to physical branches and for different reasons. As a result, Jim Caliendo many financial institutions are 6 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

changing their branch models to take advantage of technological advances and self-service options, enabling them to downsize physical space, decrease staff and maximize operating efficiencies.

With smaller retail space, it is now more important than ever that financial institutions make the most of it. So, exactly how are financial institutions maximizing their reduced retail space? Rather than the transaction driven branches of the past, banks are taking lessons from the large, successful retailers of the world and creating an experience within their newly defined environment. You can find features from internet cafés to self-service machines to touch screen iPads, and everything in between. Technology advancements have opened the door to a variety of space saving solutions eliminating bulky equipment and mounds of paper.

Add to that staffing models such as the Universal

Employee, which reduces the number of employees needed to staff a branch, and today’s branch can operate efficiently in a much smaller space.

One of the first things you will notice in a branch that has undergone this new transformation, is that there is no longer a large teller line. Instead, multi-faceted service “pods” that take up a fraction of the space are used. Routine transactions such as check cashing to more advanced consultative services and account openings can now take place in one spot, eliminating the need for multiple offices or stations.

Another visible change will be the look and feel of the branch. These branches tend to have a more open platform and be retail and commercial oriented in nature. They also have a considerable amount of branding, messaging and educational information – both in the traditional format of signage and displays as well as digital mediums that tend to be more engaging.

Perhaps the most notable difference is the addition of convenient, time saving selfservice advancements such as new-age ATMs, interactive teller machines, and video conferencing. These options offer greater capabilities and flexibility for the tech-savvy millennials while reducing the space requirements traditionally needed to provide such services.

As you can see, as the world around us changes, financial

institutions too must look for new ways to adapt. And, although these changes are not suitable for every culture, corporate philosophy or demographic, branches are becoming one more phenomenon proving that bigger may not always be better. ■ __________________________

Jim Caliendo is President and COO of PWCampbell

According to The Financial Brand, the average size for planned freestanding branches was reported at 3,040 square feet, down significantly from 3,500 sf in 2006 and 3,900 sf in 2003; the median was 2,950 square feet.

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 7

PROTECTING VULNERABLE CLIENTS LOCATION

Locations You Can Bank On!

By Jay Nuss, Special to Banking New England

“Bankers’ hours” is a term that at one time implied an easy or abbreviated work schedule.

But, as the old saying goes, that was then and this is now. Ask any banker today if that term still applies and you’ll get Jay Nuss a resounding “no.”

Long gone are the days when banks and their individual branches closed at 3 or 4 p.m. and weren’t open weekends.

The competition is so intense in the industry today, with every bank seeking to capture and increase marketshare, and it goes far beyond brick and mortar locations.

Still, remember the old real estate adage, “Location, Location, Location.” While some customers may be content to conduct banking online, there is still a large segment of the banking customer population for whom a location is a key factor in determining where to conduct business. As the competition increases, we see banks and credit unions expanding their number of

branches, which often means going into a new community or opening an additional location in a community where the financial institution is already established. For the bank CEO seeking to expand his/ her institution’s footprint, location matters.

In planning the establishment of a new branch, multiple factors must be taken into consideration.

Given that a bank’s most significant asset is its brand, the location – and design – of any new bank branch will be heavily influenced by the components of the bank’s brand. And of course, the architecture must be totally consistent with the brand. The catch phrase “designing the structure from the inside out” reflects the necessary perspective on the importance of the brand.

And before getting to that point, there’s the location question.

Where to go? New construction?

Purchase or lease an existing building and build it out to specifications? Given that branch networks can be very expensive to operate, efficiency and productivity must be the paramount considerations when evaluating a specific location. Also, although branch efficiency has increased during the last ten years,

banks can no longer afford the luxury of over-paying for real estate by 10%–20% as they have in the past.

The first step to avoid that outcome is a strong due diligence initiative: research both the community and specifically the neighborhood. What is the history of the business climate in the neighborhood? Is it stable? Has it declined?

Are new businesses coming into the area? If you are looking at an existing structure, what was its previous use? What is the attitude of the community officials toward growth and zoning? This will be especially important if the specific location may require a zoning change – which in turn opens potentially more sites for consideration. It’s worth remembering that what may be suitable for a branch

Although branch efficiency has increased during the last ten years, banks can no longer afford the luxury of over-paying for real estate by 10%–20% as they have in the past.

8 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

may differ from what you’d seek if planning to establish a bank’s main headquarters. The spaces you seek wouldn’t need as much parking, for example.

Certainly, most banking officials

have a network of resources to assist in this initial due diligence.

It makes sense to work with a local commercial broker or someone with deep community ties and knowledge to guide you through the history of the community and neighborhood. Such an individual may also be able to point out the pros and cons of a location, including if there are traffic issues at certain times, environmental remediation considerations, and more – and may

also know of opportunities that are not otherwise known.

And, other considerations under the “Location, Location, Location” banner are the location of potential borrowers, and the location of potential depositors.

There is such an emphasis today on online services that it is tempting to think that a physical location does not matter as much. Most bank officials would agree that a branch should provide a meaningful and interactive experience for the customer through relatively seamless online and offline platforms.

With all that said, however, the importance of a branch’s location and design should in no way be minimized.

When the board room discussions about what community to locate in have concluded, that’s when it’s time to consider the on-the-ground steps needed to bring those discussions to reality.

Good luck with your next location! ■ ______________________________

Jay Nuss is the founder and principal of Jay Nuss Realty Group, LLC.

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 9

PROTECTING VULNERABLE CLIENTS DESIGN

Efficient And Inviting Smaller Branch Trends Continue

By Rod Topolweski and Christine Howard, Special to Banking New England Photos by Dan Cutrona

T

here is no denying over the past decade, technology has changed the way we live.

Technology has opened a world of opportunity as well as a sense of immediacy in all that we do.

Who won the Red Sox game is within two clicks on your phone. The expectation of immediate response or even our desire for self-serve results have increased the average expectation of client service.

This is true throughout all industries, and the banking industry is no

Rod Topolewski

Christine Howard

different. Recent bank branch trends are adjusting to these changes with forward thinking design of what has traditionally been the banking model, right down to the design of the physical space. Regional banks are reevaluating their physical branches to strive to meet the increased expectations of today’s financial consumer, while at the same time reducing its overall facility footprint. Many are leaning towards smaller, mini-type branches, using open concept spaces that are flexible enough to support customers with varying expectations, while using technology and clientcentric customer service to meet their financial needs.

Banks are slowly moving from 10 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

larger branch sizes (5,000 square feet was once the average), the 4-5 teller lines, millwork separation and “bandit barriers” towards smaller, welcoming spaces with today’s branches averaging 1,500-2,000 square feet or smaller. This approach allows for more one-on-one interaction in a more relaxed atmosphere.

The lobby of the past, with check desks and waiting areas, has been updated with blurred edges, and multi-use, sleek spaces that are more functional. New designs are deemphasizing walls and using glass panels and other methods to define space or provide privacy, while maximizing visual connections and without affecting the overall openness and sightline aesthetic. The open concept spaces are relying on unique and interesting design elements including flat panel displays, specialty lighting fixtures, crafted ceiling panels, and modern flooring twists to create visual space separation. Branding walls or display walls are replacing the brochure racks and rate boards, many using multiple monitors that provide the flexibility to use as one screen for large marketing or separately to accommodate multiple different messages.

This open format increases the staff’s availability to circulate and assist customers with multiple needs.

With these changes, banks are moving toward a more retail staffing model with no “teller” specifically, but staff who are banker or marketing representatives for the bank that provide cross selling and can offer options to the customer on the bank’s offerings.

Bankers can credit technology such as the Cash Recycler- where historically tellers had a “cash drawer,” the Cash Recycler receives and distributes cash individually to the

appropriate staff. This level of security removes the need for walls and barriers. Long counter teller lines separating tellers from clients have opened up with pod stations, bringing customers and staff together for more personal interaction, creating more memorable transactions and building personal relationships.

Driven by these changes, the back of the house needs have changed as well. Conference rooms and meeting spaces are less defined and are rare in the new design models. Where there may have been conference rooms sized for 8-10 staff members, today they’ve been reduced to serve only 4-6 people. Additionally, employee lounge areas are becoming marginally smaller with less FTEs. Kitchenettes are becoming smaller, and employee spaces are trending toward inviting, but not too comfortable.

Many banks have moved toward unisex single handicapped restrooms when allowed by code and branch size, also available to the public.

Safe deposit vaults are rarely seen in the new model. An alternate to the large 5- or 6-sided safe deposit vaults are fire rated safe deposit rooms with smaller safe deposit safes- similar to cash safes in the work rooms. This trend is slow to change however in urban areas or those with older clientele.

Drive-up lane windows are becoming more obsolete, with twoway cameras being incorporated at the drive up to interact with the customer. This has improved security as well as interior employee comfort. Multi-function drive up banking equipment can also act as direct client interaction during operating hours, provide ATM services after hours, or both anytime depending on the bank’s needs. Video function can also link to inside the local branch

or to an idle employee at another branch or call center providing staffing flexibility. One thing that will likely remain for the near future is the reliable ATM. Information technology has reduced the overall need for large records storage. Document imaging and regulations have kept decreasing the need to maintain hard copy storage on site at branches, and storage space is typically limited space or shelving within a work room.

Work room space is reduced, as work equipment and work stations are now trending smaller.

Gone are the days of work offices with large credenzas, overstuffed large leather chairs, mahogany desks and rows of filing cabinets.

Smaller furniture and ergonomic task chairs have replaced the formal “office.” With staff providing many services on the main lobby floor, and in some branches, pods with seating, the defined office becomes less of a necessity as a place to conduct client business.

Overall, mobile and online banking trends continue to grow across generational sectors which have reduced the need for larger brick and mortar branches. But the new, smaller model branches are now more flexible to be incorporated in to the electronic version or strategy of a bank. The new smaller branch model can also be the marketing and visible embodiment of a bank committing to a geographic area, saying “here we are, ready to serve you either online or in person.” ■

Rod Topolewski is a Project Manager/ Designer for Brown Lindquist Fenuccio & Raber Architects, Inc. (BLF&R).

Christine Howard is the Director of Business Development for BLF&R.

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 11

PROTECTING VULNERABLE CLIENTS

CONTINUED FROMAWARDS PAGE 6 BANKING CHOICE

Florence Bank Builds Community In The Pioneer Valley Of Massachusetts

F

By John F. Heaps, Jr.

lorence Bank has always been a big believer in collaboration, both within the organization and in our surrounding cities and towns. It’s what our management and board are focused on, but not because working together makes us stronger. It allows us to better serve our customers and the community.

One of the reasons we can be good neighbors in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts is because we are a mutually held bank.

Without stockholders, Florence Bank can focus on the ideas and decisions that are good for our community and our customers. We are free to partner with other leaders in Western Massachusetts to do the right things. We’ve been doing that for 145 years and intend to extend that philosophy for many years to come.

Over the past few decades, as local banks got swallowed up by larger ones, only to eventually disappear, we have elected to remain mutual.

Our management and board are committed to our independence, and that means we can invest dividends into the community instead of paying stockholders. We can build community partners.

There are many examples of the collaborative work we do in Western Massachusetts, with the most altruistic found in our support of area nonprofits. As a component of our corporate giving, we set aside $100,000 each year and distribute it through our Customers’ Choice Community Grants Program. This year, we passed the $1 million mark in terms of dollars invested in life-changing organizations through this mechanism.

The beauty of the Customers’ Choice program is that our customers get to call the shots. We don’t make the decisions on who receives the funds.

They choose the organizations they believe in. These organizations, and dozens of others that receive the funds, keep the people in our communities safe, secure, healthy, active and engaged. We can’t take the credit for that.

Likewise, Florence Bank supports the business community with loans that provide opportunities and expansion. Our job is to help our professional partners excel in theirs. That business growth we shepherd helps area residents access the products and services that are crucial in their lives. We’re proud of what our commercial customers can do for the people who live in our midst—our employees, customers, neighbors and friends.

12 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

Front row left to right –Lee McCarthy, VP Retail Area Manager, Monica Curhan, SVP Director of Marketing, Barbara-Jean Deloria, Chief Credit Risk Officer. Back row left to right – Elissa Langevin, VP Retail Area Manager, Beverly Beaulieu, SVP Director of Retail Banking, Erin Couture, VP Commercial Lender, Nancy Mirkin, VP Commercial Lender, Stephanie Burbine, VP Cash Management Manager, Michael Lynch, SVP Senior Commercial Lender, Shelley Daughdrill, VP Retail Area Manager.

The relationships we build and translate into partnerships are also important to members of the community, such as the relationship we have with the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

The Hall of Fame became a customer about nine years ago, and together, we have offered programs that have benefited people of all ages.

Last fall, we held a Florence Bank Dribble Parade to celebrate the opening of our newest branch in West Springfield. Hall of Famer Teresa Edwards served as the parade marshal, and she spent hours talking and shooting hoops with young people and their parents at our first location outside of Hampshire County, where we are headquartered. Our second branch in Hampden County will open later this summer.

We also have ties to Aegis Energy Services Inc., a green power company in Holyoke. We financed the construction of a solar field on a former brownfield site so that Aegis was able to expand and also produce affordable, green energy. The project allowed Lee Vardakas, the Aegis chief executive officer, and Joe Goding, the chief financial officer, to lower the firm’s own utility costs and produce affordable energy for residents across the state.

Vardakas describes Florence Bank as creative.

“We needed a bank that was willing to be as creative as we are,” he says.

André Boulay, a yo-yo expert, who owns A2Z Science & Learning Store in Northampton with his wife, Devon, can keep their store stocked with fun and educational toys all year round thanks to a line of credit that we provide. Boulay says working with Florence Bank is like working with a friend.

We also provided the loan that allowed Steve and Kathy Elkins, the owners of WEBS—America’s Yarn Store, to purchase a new warehouse and develop a website. They have since gone global, so the classes they offer for beginners to seasoned knitting experts, and their howto videos, can become a mainstay. “Florence understands the way we want to do business,” says Elkins.

At Florence Bank, we understand teamwork, and we’re excited that our efforts are resonating with our customers and honored to be recognized at the 2018 Banking Choice Awards as a leader in Overall Quality, Customer Service, Technology and Community Contribution. We will continue to build community partnerships well into the future. ■

___________________________________________ John F. Heaps Jr. is president and chief executive officer of Florence Bank.

NEW ENGLAND

THE RESOURCE FOR NEW ENGLAND’S FINANCIAL LEADERS

Start Building Stronger Business Relationships Today.

Bankers across the region turn to our bimonthly magazine, Banking New England, for essential news, information, and analysis in an evolving marketplace. As a source for thought leadership

in the banking industry throughout New England, banking executives and managers rely on the magazine for vital information on how to better serve their customers, efficiently run their institutions, and adapt in a transforming industry.

Advertising in Banking New England will give your brand a significant advantage within a competitive market and increase your exposure among thousands of companies that serve the banking industry in New England. Position your message in front of 400+ financial institutions and over 8,000 industry professionals – 90% of whom are executives, vice presidents, and department managers.

To learn more about BANKING NEW ENGLAND or to customize a marketing program unique to your business needs, call 860-719-1991 or email bdimauro@ambizmedia.

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 13

PROTECTING VULNERABLE CLIENTS INTERIOR

Why There’s More To The Interior Of A Bank Than The Money It Keeps

By Michael Troia, Special to Banking New England

B

anking has long been thought of as one of the more traditional professions, and for decades and even centuries, their interior and exterior environments have been designed to reflect that sentiment. While for many these design choices signified stability, trustworthiness, and safety, through a more contemporary perspective one could see these same elements reflecting a cold, staid, uninspiring space.

Aside from attracting and retaining customers, which is crucial to the viability of any business, banking professionals should look to reinvent their own workspaces, so that they can additionalMichael Troia ly attract and retain employees that add to the overall value of the bank as a result of their dedication, professionalism, and sincere enjoyment in coming to work. Thankfully, new designs in corporate furniture offer the latest in technological advances while still providing solid efficacy, and come in so many colors and styles that it’s easy to blend these pieces in with the overall look of the bank, further strengthening the organization’s overall identity while differentiating itself in the increasingly competitive banking market.

Banking institutions have always featured private and semiprivate office spaces, and due to

14 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

the often very personal nature of the discussions that take place between bankers and clients, these types of spaces will continue to be needed. For most situations, full-panel workstations work well; these are semi-private spaces that include some acoustic considerations through the use of paneling and tack boards, feature storage options such as upper hutches or lower filing cabinets, and provide increased work surfaces. Semiprivate spaces also offer a certain level of privacy for their monitors so that confidential information is obscured. And with the growing popularity of ceiling-to-floor panels, additional private office spaces can be added without the need for construction costs. Both private and semi-private spaces can also be accented with glass, laminate, and fabric panels that are coordinated to a bank’s brand, further reinforcing the institution and its culture.

Ergonomic chairs remain the number one seller, and are key to preventing injuries and augmenting a healthy and cared-for workforce. Ergonomically designed chairs allow for the ultimate fit for any body type, and include lengthsliding seat pans (adjusted for an individual’s leg length), ratcheted backs for proper lumbar support, and height-adjusting arms to ensure all angles of one’s body are appropriately at 90 degrees. These types of chairs demonstrate a commitment to employees’ well-being that is noticeable and sincerely appreciated – especially when factoring in how much use this one piece of equipment will see every day. Additionally, many of these ergonomic desk seating options can also be customized with logos, colors, and overall branding, again helping to augment the bank’s identity for employees and customers both.

For years, bank tellers have been partitioned, almost jail-like, in an effort to maintain a secure environment, at the expense of creating a welcoming one (or, from the employees’ perspective, a comfortable one). New advances in office furniture offer updates for bank tellers, while still keeping security considerations paramount. Modified benching systems can offer tellers the ability to communicate among themselves and with their customers more easily, and feature clean lines with built-in wires that stay hidden.

Additionally, tellers who stand frequently can take advantage of some of the latest advances that accompany and enhance the sit/stand desks, including perches – which allows a person to rest their legs for a moment or two without completely sitting – and scoops – a surface that people can stand on, similar to a balance board but not as extreme, and allows users to engage their core and shift their weight.

Updating the look of a bank’s lobby or lounge can also go a long way toward changing the atmosphere, and again will be positively noticed by both customers and employees. Banks can incorporate more contemporary benches with built in

For banks to remain relevant and vibrant, they should begin to incorporate design elements that demonstrate their commitment to their employees while attracting customers. chargers, mobile club chairs with tablet arms, U-shaped sofas, high-top tables with bar stools, and even sofas that double as a phone booth, providing privacy and style.

A comfortable area for a customer to add up some figures before making a deposit, or reading some of the bank’s literature while waiting to talk with an associate, can go a long way toward allowing customers to feel like they can, and should, linger that much longer. This, in turn, allows employees to introduce customers to more of the bank’s services, and separately helps to build a camaraderie with other employees.

Cafés, or break rooms, are another area for employees to enjoy and where the opportunity exists for them to build collegial relationships. Break room seating also offers the ability to brand the bank through splashes of bright color and coordinated

stools, and again demonstrates a commitment to employee wellness and appreciation. Color is key to this room, as it can transform a space from an area that is seen as less than desirable to spend down time in to one that is welcoming. Again, many lines of furniture offer a range of palette possibilities.

For banks to remain relevant and vibrant, they should begin to incorporate design elements that demonstrate their commitment to their employees while attracting customers, transforming previously predictable spaces into places that people want to be. ■

Michael Troia is CEO and co-owner of Office Gallery International.

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 15

PROTECTING VULNERABLE CLIENTS LAYOUT

Space Planning: Are You Reactive Or Proactive?

By Jim Caliendo, Special to Banking New England

A

chieving operational excellence and having the correct amount of space to do so is becoming an increasingly pressing item on the agendas of bank CEOs nationwide – even more so given the recent escalation of mergers and acquisitions within the banking industry.

Whether an institution expands due to M&A activity or strictly through organic growth, many times operational efficiencies and productivity gets lost in the shuffle. And, when you add increased outsourcing and technological advances into the mix, the operational landscape is changing significantly.

While many banks excel at forecasting and planning, unfortunately, many seem to fall short in providing efficient operations space. Rather than having a calculated space strategy that addresses concerns for the foreseeable future, many institutions

Jim Caliendo

16 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

operate in a reactive manner rather than a proactive method. How many times have you hired an employee with no place to put them? Have you ever had to turn a board room into a temporary office? Or possibly, have several departments that need to work simultaneously together but are located in two different buildings?

A lot of these inefficiencies and unproductive processes can be solved by going through a well thought-out, comprehensive space planning exercise. Space planning forces bank management to take a thorough look at the usage of existing space, current number of employees, as well as future expectations and needs.

The first step in space planning is to complete a space requirement survey. This involves a series of questions related to existing conditions, staffing requirements and projections and department adjacencies and workflow where input from key management and department personnel is essential to the success of the plan.

Once the survey is completed, a series of charts and graphs can be created which visually outlines the projected number of employees and the estimated amount of space needed to efficiently accommodate them over a 10 year period. This data is paramount in providing management a good summary as to whether current office space is going to be sufficient for achieving existing and future optimal usage of operations space.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

After 2015’s record year for banking and securities mergers and acquisitions, many institutions are now feeling the effects from having to put together office space to accommodate the additional room that was needed for increased staff and overlapping departments.

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 17

Examples of space planning and how to utilize your sqaure footage.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

The final step to any space planning strategy includes analyzing the data and determining whether or not existing space can be configured as to maximize total square footage and accommodate current requirements, as well as future needs, all the while streamlining the organization and creating winning conditions. It is at this point, management will have the necessary data to make the difficult decision of whether to renovate

18 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

existing space to accommodate the space necessities of the organization or whether the organization needs to look outside for a possible new location. Either way, the management team will be equipped with the necessary information to make a knowledgeable decision.

When it comes to space planning, you have the choice to be either reactive or proactive. Putting together a well thought out 10 year space plan

does take some time and commitment from management, but in the long run can ensure productivity and operational efficiencies within your organization ... plus, it ensures your board room remains a board room and not your newest employee’s office! ■__________________________________

Jim Caliendo is President and COO of PWCampbell

PROTECTING VULNERABLE CLIENTS

BANKING CHOICE CONTINUED FROMAWARDS PAGE 6

The Village Bank — Building Community

T

he dictionary defines a bank as “an establishment for the custody, loan, exchange, or issue of money, or the extension of credit, and for facilitating the transmission of funds.”

We do all that (and more), and we do it well.

In fact, we’re a perfect fit – for individuals, for families, and for businesses, companies, and organizations on the go. Whether they’re in the market for a new home, commercial financing, or a reliable and convenient everyday way to manage their money, our customers know they can count on The Village Bank to provide the latest products and services they need, all at attractive rates.

We know our customers. They know us. And, they like what they see.

We’re proud to take it one step further. Our customers are our neighbors, and we share their pride in our community. We know what it means to be a good neighbor.

Cocktails on the Charles Celebration The Village Bank was proud to sponsor the CAN‑DO Cocktails on the Charles Celebration along with MARK Development.

Our dedication to the community doesn’t stop where our sidewalk ends. From college scholarships and Village Days to food pantry and holiday gift drives, we support, sponsor, and promote countless community events and activities that make a difference in the lives of those around us.

Our employees routinely serve as Village Bank ambassadors out in the community, sharing their time and talents with more than 200 civic, educational, cultural, and charitable organizations addressing the interests and needs of individuals and families, youth and seniors, the homeless and the hungry, and countless others each year.

In addition, more than two dozen of our employees are active members of the boards and standing committees of a variety of community groups. Our Village Volunteers play an important and prominent role in the community. We’re there to help in any way we can, wherever and whenever we can.

Holiday Gift Drive The Village Bank’s annual Holiday Gift Drive is always a huge success. Toys collected support Newton families in need.

Paddy’s Road Race The bank’s team of Village Volunteers and runners had a great day at Paddy’s Road Race. They are proud to sponsor the event which benefit’s Newton Athletes Unlimited.

We made a pledge to our customers to help enhance the quality of life in the villages we serve, and beyond. We’ve kept that vow, and we are proud to do it.

Just look around you. Chances are, you’ll see The Village Bank in action – helping to build community. ■

Weston and Wayland Rotary Club’s Youth Scholarship The Village Bank is a proud sponsor of the Weston and Wayland Rotary Club’s youth scholarship. Joseph De Vito, president and CEO of The Village Bank met with the scholarship recipients and other sponsors to congratulate the students.

Festival of the Arts The Village Bank is proud to sponsor Newton’s Festival of the Arts, a two-month long event full of local musicians, artists, dancers and more.

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 19

PROTECTING VULNERABLE CLIENTS LOCATION

Utilizing Advanced Site Selection Analytics For Your Next Branch

By R. Michael Goman, Special to Banking New England

S

uccessfully choosing a location for a new branch has become both more complicated and easier in recent years. Significant changes in how customers access banking services have upended the traditional metrics used to evaluate available sites. Basic traffic counts and demographics remain important, but are only a small part of the analysis which must be done to ensure that a new location will be accretive to the bank’s results.

On the other hand, the quality, cost and usability of data on consumer behavior has improved dramatically in recent years, enabling us to gain a vastly deeper understanding of how people spend their time and money. In turn, this has opened the door to developing very accurate customer profiles for a given bank, and utilizing those profiles in the process of siting new branch locations. At the same time as ecommerce has disrupted the role of the branch, we’ve gained the ability to acquire a vastly greater understanding of customer behavior.

R. Michael Goman Today, the science around site location analytics has become one of the basic tools in our toolkit. It wasn’t long ago that we would routinely spend in the six figures to develop an analysis of the demographic characteristics and basic spending habits within the trade area surrounding a site under consideration 20 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

for a new branch. Viewed through the lens of what we can do today, that analysis was a very blunt instrument.

We work with numerous financial institutions and our experience has been that regional and community banks are either not utilizing advanced site selection analytics or are using only a small percentage of their full capabilities. With those who have attempted to use it, we routinely see the binders containing vast amounts of information sitting on their desks, largely unused.

In fairness, this isn’t surprising as the breadth and depth of the information can be daunting and it takes time and a level of experience to understand it. To their credit, bank leadership also often seems to instinctively understand that there is a risk of drawing incorrect conclusions from the data.

Additionally, we continue to encounter financial institutions who believe that they serve their entire community when, in fact, we know our analysis will show that approximately 80 percent of their customers come from within a narrow cross-section of those living within a defined trade area.

Many retailers have understood this for many years and embrace the idea of knowing their customer as a fundamental element of their site selection, marketing and communications strategies. Violating the basic principal of knowing your customer has led to many an unfortunate outcome.

We are often asked to help diagnose why a given branch isn’t performing to expectations. Using consumer behavioral analytics, we typically find there’s little or no alignment between the majority of the behavioral profiles present in the trade area surrounding the subject branch, and those proven to be responsive to the bank’s offerings and messaging. In summary, we find that the people living in the trade area aren’t the bank’s customers. If there’s a bright side to this, the analysis will point the bank’s marketing department toward options which can increase traffic at the branch; however, the client would have had the option of reconsidering locating a branch in that

market if the analysis had been done earlier. This highlights what everyone who has opened a poor-performing branch knows: a bank can change a lot of things including the marketing, the staffing and the products and services offered; however, the most difficult and expensive thing to change is the location.

It’s important to recognize that behavioral analytics is only one component of the work to be done prior to deciding to open a new branch. The other is the field work. Each must be completed and the results carefully combined in order to create a complete understanding of the specific site. As important as it is to have the behavioral portion done by professionals who work with that information every day, the field work must also be done by experienced site selection professionals. To be clear, this doesn’t mean

factors will often adjust the prediction by as much as 30 percent.

Modern site selection is the result of decades of remarkable advances in data collection, analytical methodologies and quantitative analysis of a variety of site characteristics. Site selection within the financial institution industry benefits from these advances as their application minimizes the risk of opening a poorly performing branch and allows for greater predictability of the return on investment of a new branch. Additionally, improvements in understanding customer behavior provide the ability to identify and connect with the specific customers who will respond positively to their overall presentation, often at lower cost.

Ecommerce and online banking continue to transform the role that physical locations play in connecting an enterprise to its customers. Online capabili-

Ecommerce and online banking continue to transform the role that physical locations play in connecting an enterprise to its customers. calling the local commercial broker.

While you still must use appropriately licensed professionals, it’s critical that they have extensive and current experience in the site selection methodologies used by national or regional multilocation enterprises in the retail, food and beverage or service industries.

Among other things, their work should include on-the-ground analysis of site positioning relative to competitors, traffic patterns, turning movements, parking layouts, co-tenancy impacts, the lease terms and sales performance of adjacent traffic generators, building and signage visibility and a variety of other factors. When utilized at its highest level, each of these factors will be assigned a specific weight and the result used to adjust the predicted volume for a new branch. This is an important step as the cumulative effect of these

ties reduce many services to commodities, but are a far less effective channel for delivering personalized consultative and advisory services or providing opportunities for effective two-way communication between the enterprise and its customers. Therein lies the future for branches, and the path forward begins with an in-depth understanding of what matters to your customers. The application of the knowledge gained through that understanding should be the foundation upon which branch decisions are made. In this time of changing customer expectations, our industry needs to find ways to sustain and improve the return on their branch investments. Modern site selection methods are at the center of that work. ■ _________________________________

Michael Goman is President of Accubranch, LLC. BANKING NEW ENGLAND 21

DESIGN

Hanscom Federal Credit Union in Burlington, Massachusetts highlights their creative discovery zone with tablets for members to explore and access their accounts including the ability to meet with members in private hotel offices.

Why Branches Still Matter

By Gregg Rosen, Special to Banking New England

I

t comes as no surwhen selecting a financial prise that with the institution. More than 67 adoption of selfpercent of consumers preservice channels, fer to physically go into financial institutions a branch to open a new are seeing less conaccount, make a deposit, sumers physically enreceive financial advice, ter their retail branch. get questions answered Consumers of all ages and apply for a loan and want 24/7, 365 day resolve account issues. digital access. Some But we also know that the are beginning to wonmajority of these tasks can der, what does the fube done via mobile bankture hold for the tradiing so some may wonder Gregg Rosen tional branch? why they would actually The consumers have go into a branch to do so. spoken, in fact branchConsumers state that es are still necessary — they do matthey feel handling these tasks faceter. Based on research performed by to-face at their local financial instituDiebold Nixdorf, we learned that 52 tion’s branch gives them more secupercent of consumers consider access rity and a better understanding of their to branches and ATMs to be important account as a whole. Their questions or 22 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

issues can be resolved right then and there resulting in higher satisfaction when leaving the branch. Developing an extensive branch transformation plan and understanding the changes required for your branch’s needs is just the start to delivering the best branch experience. Banks and credit unions will have to craft a smooth transition between physical and digital channels with an extensive omnichannel approach. Revamping the digital customer experience has not only become essential but also intriguing for financial institutions. It has given them the opportunity to be cutting-edge and separate themselves from competition. So how does the traditional branch adapt to overcome the ever-changing consumer behavior to stay relevant?

GET TO KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS First and foremost, we must put technology aside for a moment and reevaluate your understanding of who your consumers are and analyze what they want and need from a financial institution. Where are they banking?

What channels they are using and favoring? Each institution’s client base is made of multiple generations from Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Gen Z, just to name a few. Financial marketers should use data mining to properly market to each generation. Catering to Millennials should be a high priority as they are currently the largest living generation in the United States. We all know they rely heavily on digital channels for just about everything, but they are also the generation that may need education when it comes to student loans, marriage, or buying a house. The closer you are to understanding your consumers of all ages, and how they operate, the more accurate your approach in planning will be.

CREATE AN INTERACTIVE AND SOCIAL EXPERIENCE It is crucial to equip your branch with technology and staff members that align with your new goals. We know consumers visit branches less and less so we have to make an impact each time they walk in the door. Do you want them to stand in line at teller stations or begin a

journey and experience that tells your story and allows you to serve them to the fullest? Consider the open path to interactive teller pods or self-service kiosks. With the proper training, that mobility allows your staff to become greeters, customer service / sales representatives and brand ambassadors that are interacting and engaging with your consumers resulting in a personal and less intimidating atmosphere. Find ways to integrate digital technology in the branch and allow all of your services to be visible during open and closed hours. Provide them ways to discover, explore and learn about who you are 24/7. Be engaged with your community, understand your neighbors and local businesses—their local branch should feel like home every time they visit.

DESIGN A BRANCH TAILORED FOR YOUR BRAND Still in this digitally driven era, branches give banks and credit unions the opportunity to communicate exactly who they are and what they can do for their consumers through an innovative branding technique. A well-designed branch that coincides with your brand is imperative when trying to create an unforgettable branch experience. We have found that eliminating barriers and using an open floor concept creates an opportunity for a more welcoming and easy to navigate atmosphere.

Vibrant colors and patterns through

IC Federal CU celebrates its newest location and first Banking Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

The branch was designed to create a dynamic space allowing members to be educated and assisted with all their banking needs personally or with use of the latest technology.

finishes, wall color, furniture, lighting and marketing can bring a tremendous amount of energy to your customers and even your staff.

So the answer is yes, branches do matter and we are confident that they always will. Financial institutions must adapt to the fact that branches of today will look different and function differently but in the end consumers still appreciate their local branch.

While it may take some future thinking strategies, self-service channels and even a transformation to keep branches alive and booming, they are not going anywhere but up. â– _________________________________

Gregg Rosen is President and Principal of NES Group.

GFA Federal Credit Union recently opened a new branch in Peterborough, New Hampshire. This creative dialogue style branch features pods which allows their team to greet each member and assist them with all their needs. The branch encompasses GFA brand and focus on community.

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 23

PROTECTING VULNERABLE CLIENTS

I

Institution For Savings Named Top Provider

t is no coincidence that the Institution for Savings, a mutual savings bank headquartered in Newburyport was recognized recently as the top provider of quality banking in northeastern Massachusetts at The Warren Group’s 1st Annual Banking Choice Awards. This thriving community bank, which also placed second in Customer Service and third in Technology, is well known in Massachusetts and beyond as a strong and stable institution that generously gives back to the communities it serves.

“Success truly is a choice,” said President and CEO Michael J. Jones. “At the Institution for Savings we choose to be successful.”

The Institution, which will celebrate its 200th birthday in 2020, is one of the oldest mutual banks in the country. It is also the largest mutual savings bank in the greater Newburyport region and the third largest on the North Shore, with 13 full-service branch offices stretching from Salisbury to Rockport and west to Middleton. In 2019, that number will grow to 15 as the bank plans to open new offices in Amesbury and in the Vinnin Square area of Salem/Swampscott.

The bank’s financials reflect impressive and steady growth. In 2007, the bank closed the year at $870 million in assets. As of June 1 of this year, assets are approximately $3.4 billion. Jones credits a number of factors to this success: among them, the merger with Rockport National Bank in 2014 and the addition of 10 new locations in just seven years. The bank also consistently has competitive rates and offers state-ofthe-art products and services to provide its customers with a superior banking experience.

Jones also attributes the bank’s success and strong reputation to two other critically important factors: its employees and its philanthropy. The bank has been named a Boston Globe Top Place to Work for 10 consecutive years (including number one three times) and in turn rewards its employees with generous benefits and a positive, supportive culture. ”Our employees are the bank’s very best asset – they are the engine that drives our success,” he said.

“Each and every employee embraces our vision to positively affect the lives of every person, business and organization in the communities we serve. In turn we are happy to show our appreciation with generous

24 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

BANKING CHOICE CONTINUED FROMAWARDS PAGE 6

salary and benefits packages, welcoming workspaces and opportunities to grow and move up in the organization if they so choose.”

Charitable giving also plays a pivotal role in the bank’s culture and achievements. As a mutual savings bank, the Institution for Savings has long believed in contributing to local charities and nonprofit organizations that support the well-being of its communities.

Through its three charitable foundations— Institution for Savings, 2 Depot Square Ipswich and Main Street Rockport—the bank has donated and pledged over $13 million in the last five years. Some of its largest gifts include $1.5 million for a single patient wing at Anna Jaques Hospital; $1 million to Essex County Greenbelt to start a land conservation fund; $1 million to the Cape Ann YMCA for its new facility; and $2 million to renovate stadiums and install turf fields at three area high schools.

Anna Jaques Hospital – the bank donated $1.5 million for a new single patient wing.

The bank is also proactive when it comes to promoting financial literacy. Each spring it organizes and fully underwrites the cost of the Credit for Life Fair to teach high school juniors about budgeting and money skills.

At the event this past May – one of the largest in the state—the bank hosted more than 900 students from 11 area high schools along with 160 community and bank volunteers.

Bank employees also provide savings lessons to third-grade classes throughout the district and host regular workshops at area senior centers about identity theft and other timely financial topics.

The bank’s physical offices themselves speak volumes about its commitment to excellence. Most have been thoughtfully designed to fit into the surrounding communities where they are located, and are meticulously landscaped and well-kept yearround. Inside, many offices feature open lobbies with private customer service offices and working fireplaces, as well as employee break rooms and onsite gyms.

“I am proud to be the leader of this institution and want to thank our trustees for their unwavering support, guidance and trust,” said Jones. “I also want to acknowledge our amazing customers without whom our success would not be possible. We pledge to them that as we continue to grow we will remain true to our vision of making a positive impact, today and into the future.” ■

Institution for Savings President and CEO Michael Jones

World War Memorial Stadium at Newburyport High School: the bank paid for a new turf field.

Innovation In Banking

Look out for the November/December issue of Banking New England to read all about innovators in the banking industry that are making an impact!

TOP 3 Fewer than 50% of organizations had plans to deploy robotic process automation solutions, while 70% of organizations planned to support

a conversational AI solution.

<50%

Digitizing products and services, the customer journey and security were Organizations continue to increase investment in innovation strategies in all functional areas.

the top three areas where organizations are focusing digital transformation efforts.

The quest for expertise in

advanced technology

and analytics is increasing industry-wide.

The top innovation challenge is systems integration and legacy technology.

Large tech companies, challenger banks and smaller fintech start-ups were considered to be the biggest threat to disruption.

Technology investment is being made in “old” technology as opposed to “new” technologies.

The greatest threat to banking products was expected to be in the areas of payments and mobile wallets.

1-3

YEARS Organizations expect to see a measurable return from their investment in innovation in 1-3 years.

Just over 15% of organizations can prescribe what a customer should do in the future, with 20% having predictive capabilities.

According to the 2017 Digital Banking Report

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 25

PRODUCED BY

The Women of FIRE (Finance, Insurance and Real Estate) were nominated by colleagues, clients and co-workers and chosen by the editorial board for their outstanding work in their industry. The honorees were celebrated at a luncheon at the Courtyard at Marriott in Boston on July 19, 2018.

26 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

BANKERS A

Elyse D. Cherry CEO, Boston Community Capital

devotion to social justice has guided Elyse Cherry’s decisions and helped shape her career.

From her upbringing in working-class Revere to her onetime role as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer, the CEO of Boston Community Capital has long had a passion for helping others.

“I suppose in some sense, it’s in my DNA,” she laughed. “I came through the public schools of a working class city. I could see how much effort faculty and administrators took to try and make sure their kids got through and got the best education possible.”

From her Jewish upbringing the idea of tikkun olam – each person’s responsibility to heal the world – shaped her desire to help others. The Wellesley College alumna also took a lesson from her school’s motto: “not to be ministered unto, but to minister.”

“You don’t come out of Wellesley without a sense that you are a woman who will create change and value in the world,” she said.

As a young associate at law firm Hale and Dorr (now Wilmer Hale), Cherry helped found Boston Community Capital in 1984. After serving on the BCC board for a number of years, she became CEO in 1997 and has since helmed the $1 billion nonprofit organization, which fights for social and economic justice through community investment.

The firm works by taking what Cherry calls “downtown skills” – structuring complex financial

transactions, figuring out creative financing mechanisms, engaging in real estate development –and applying them to challenges faced in lowincome communities.

“It’s the most interesting, challenging, rewarding work I’ve ever done,” she said. “You get to take a set of tools that were really meant for one purpose and tweak them in order to use them for a different purpose.”

Over the years, BCC has rolled out various programs that include using tax credits to bring capital to low-income communities, as well as providing foreclosure relief through the Stabilizing Urban Neighborhoods initiative.

“When we realized that we could actually have an impact on the lives of people who had been caught in the foreclosure crisis, that was a really big moment,” she said.

She added that credit for these initiatives is owed to her colleagues and staff, whose teamwork and collaboration enabled BCC to tackle the impossible.

“When we all put our shoulder to the same wheel, it’s remarkable what happens,” she said.

“Each of us brings the talent and commitment and experience to take these sophisticated tools that build wealth for the larger community, and apply them to the challenges of low-income populations and communities.”

Values-based financial expertise and innovation to strengthen communities.

Since 1985, BCC has invested over $1.4 billion in: affordable housing education childcare healthcare job creation foreclosure relief sustainability

Connect and invest with Boston Community Capital bostoncommunitycapital.org | 617-933-5800

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 27

BANKERS B

Barbara Heinemann EVP, Consumer Banking Eastern Bank

arbara Heinemann never thought of herself as a woman in a male-dominated industry.

Throughout her career, including over 17 years at Eastern Bank, Heinemann worked hard, provided results and was recognized for them.

“Upon reflection, over my career I was often one of a few women at the senior table,” Heinemann said. “This led to additional opportunities to make an impact and learn and grow. I never thought it would lead to being recognized as one of the Women of FIRE. I’m honored and excited and appreciative.”

Heinemann has worked in several leadership positions within Eastern Bank: executive vice president of operations and technology, chief information officer and executive vice president of enterprise risk management. Each position required outstanding leadership and interpersonal skills, said Bob Rivers, chair and CEO at Eastern Bank – and that’s partly why Heinemann was nominated for a Woman of FIRE award.

“Her leadership is marked by a high degree of professionalism and poise,” Rivers said. “She handles herself so well in high pressure situations and has shown the ability to step in to new situations where she’s leading large groups of people to bring them together to get major projects completed.”

Having worked on many enterprise-wide initiatives, Heinemann has brought together

J

Janice Morse President & CEO (Retired), Newburyport Five Cents Savings Bank

28 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

anice Morse has spent almost 41 years at Newburyport Five Cents Savings Bank. She started as a teller in 1974 and worked her way up to president and CEO in 2011.

“What I am most proud of is breaking the glass ceiling as the first woman in 164 years to become the bank’s president,” Morse said. “I was able to work my way up through the rungs of the corporate ladder and I loved it.”

Morse held many positions during her time at Newburyport Bank, among them vice treasurer, marketing director, branch manager and customer service representative. She attributes her success to hard work and knowing how to learn from the people around her.

“I think the other employees could see the dedication in my work. I would never ask someone to do something I hadn’t already done myself or was willing to do,” she said. “I’m a firm believer in teamwork and am concerned for feelings of others.”

Morse launched the technology branch at Newburyport in the early 1990s, when most banks were just beginning to adopt computers and most banking applications were “proprietary.” She saw the value of new technology early on, and since then technology has made banking more challenging as an industry, she noted, but also

teams of employees from across the company, including handling integrations associated with acquisitions and mergers, the creation of new risk management programs and the implementation of new technology platforms.

“When you come out on the completion-end of any large initiative and see the energy of the team, it really makes you proud,” Heinemann said.

“When you face challenges as a team, work on them successfully together, see colleagues learn and grow, and know you are doing good things for customers and the community, that’s really special.”

Heinemann built Eastern Bank’s enterprise risk group from scratch and, according to Rivers, is making a huge difference in other areas across the company.

“She is tackling this new role in consumer banking, leading one of the largest divisions, certainly in numbers of people,” Rivers said.

“Barbara has been asked to take on many of these responsibilities, and she has gone in and handled them well. Because of that work, we look to her.”

Through passion for her job and positivity, Heinemann kept moving up through the ranks.

Heinemann’s advice to a young finance professional? “Don’t be afraid to admit what you don’t know, come to each day with an attitude to learn something new and listen with an open mind.”

more sophisticated.

“Banking today has become an evolving business line and is changing so rapidly,” Morse said. “For someone starting out in this industry, they need to have a better understanding of technology and stay current and educated on the trends, and network to be successful in the financial world.”

Morse retired from her role as president and CEO in March. She said she took this step partly because of her age, but also to spend more time with her husband, children and grandchildren.

“It’s such a family commitment to be a banker, it isn’t just working from eight to five, but a lot of late nights at the office and events you have to go to in that kind of role,” Morse said. “That’s a bit of a sacrifice on your family’s part.”

Retiring was difficult not only because she loved her job, but also because her husband and daughter currently work at the bank.

“I loved being president because it is forwardthinking, more strategic than being treasurer, where you’re always looking backwards to see how you did last year,” Morse said. “As president, I was able to rely on staff to work as a team and drive that bus to success.”

“I’m very honored to be considered a part of such a large, growing group of women in leadership,” she said.

BANKERS A

Dorothy A. Savarese President & CEO, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank

fter she had her son, Dorothy Savarese was looking for a job that would allow her to cut back on the frequent traveling that came with her first career in economic development and spend more time with her family.

Having partnered with financial institutions in the past and sharing a similar passion for business growth and community building, the banking industry seemed like a natural fit.

But what started as a way to settle down quickly turned into a thriving career that would see Savarese rise all the way to CEO and president of the $3.2 billion asset Cape Cod Five institution. With her three-plus decades of experience in banking, numerous accolades and strong support for women in the industry, Savarese was an easy pick for the Women of FIRE award.

“Banking became a career and then a passion for me,” she said. “I have seen a positive evolution in the culture of the industry since I first started in banking.

So many of my colleagues retain their long-held focus on serving their customers and communities and are now finding new, innovative ways to make that happen.”

Impressive accomplishments are nothing new for Savarese. Last year, American Banker named the Suffolk MBA graduate one of the top 25 most powerful women in banking for the sixth consecutive year.

Savarese’s leadership has led Cape Cod Five to stand out for its commitment to diversity. The bank was named Massachusetts Lender of the Year to Women by the U.S. Small Business Administration

D

Deborah Sousa Executive Director Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association

eborah Sousa, executive director of the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association, learned political and community involvement at an early age from her parents: Her dad was a Haverhill city councilor, and her mom ran the local hospital. By the time she was 5, Sousa was already a seasoned campaigner, attending rallies and holding signs for various causes. She says her mom, in particular, was an inspiration.

“At a time when very few moms worked full time, she not only worked, but went to college, then went back and got her master’s degree,” Sousa said. “She was such a great role model growing up. She showed me it’s never too late to further your education and your professional goals.”

One of three children, Sousa attended Northern Essex Community College, married and spent a year in Kansas City. When her husband was diagnosed with cancer, the couple moved back to Massachusetts, and Sousa got a job as a loan processor for Bank of Boston in Haverhill. Her husband died in 1990, and Sousa went to work for Credit Data of New England. Several other positions at various banks and institutions followed, always in mortgage lending.

“I’ve been in the mortgage world my whole career in one capacity or another,” she said. “I’ve always been very lucky professionally, enjoying what I did.”

She joined the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers

in 2016. The bank has also received the highest possible grade for its Community Reinvestment Act performance nine consecutive times.

Savarese last year was chairwoman of the board of directors of the American Bankers Association.

She is a former chairwoman of the Massachusetts Bankers Association and a former chairwoman of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

She has also served in various capacities for numerous organizations, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council and The Clearing House’s Real Time Payments Advisory Committee.

Having worked in banking since the 1990s, Savarese is no stranger to both the progress women have made in banking as well as the struggles they continue to face daily.

“I have seen a greater awareness of the value of diversity of all kinds, which drives performance and competitiveness,” she said.

But the slow increase in the number of female CEOs and women in the C-Suite is evidence that there are still many barriers obstructing advancement, she said.

“Many of them take the form of unconscious biases. Others relate to pay and performance evaluation methodologies,” she said. “Some relate to informal cultural practices and more. Others relate to work-life balance elements. There are many best practices that can be deployed to break down these barriers and unleash the talent of women in the industry.”

Association, a trade group representing about 250 banks, credit unions and mortgage lenders, as director of education in 2005. One of her first tasks was to develop license recommendations for loan originators in Massachusetts.

“Ultimately, there was very little difference between my binder and the legislation that passed in 2007,” she said.

Sousa became executive director of the MMBA in November 2011 – the same position her current husband Steve Sousa held from 1990-94. In addition to membership education, Sousa and the MMBA also spend considerable time on advocacy and monitoring legislation affecting the mortgage industry.

“We are the voice of the mortgage industry,” Sousa said. “I go to Washington once a year to meet with our federal legislators, regularly go to the State House. This session alone I was tracking 83 bills, all with some kind of impact on the mortgage world. I love everything about my job. I love the fact that I’m making a difference. Even if it’s things behind the scenes, we’re making a difference every day.”

Among the achievements of which she is most proud is the MMBA Foundation, which started in 2004, and has given away more than $200,000 to 49 nonprofits primarily involved in consumer credit and affordable housing issues.

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 29

BANKERS A

Julieann Thurlow President & CEO Reading Cooperative Bank

30 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

self-described washed-up music major, Julieann Thurlow didn’t exactly choose her current career. But after learning about community banking and lending, she was hooked.

She made the most of her opportunities and climbed the ranks all the way from a loan officer to president and CEO of Reading Cooperative Bank.

Her dedication to community banking and the advancement of women in the industry has earned her the distinction of being a 2018 Women of FIRE. “I love small business lending – seeing the bank’s capital deployed and leveraged to grow jobs and improve and create opportunity in our communities,” she said.

Before Reading Cooperative Bank, Thurlow worked at Winchendon Savings Bank, the FDIC and Lawrence Savings Bank.

Throughout her career, Thurlow can boast having worked in almost every area of banking except finance, although she has successfully filed one call report, she joked.

Under her leadership, the bank has grown from about $220 million in assets at the end of the first quarter of 2006 to about $550 million at the end of the first quarter of this year.

Her impressive work has earned Thurlow numerous accolades, including the Distinguished

Leadership Award at the New England Women in Banking Conference; being ranked No. 43 on the Boston Globe’s list of Top 100 Women-Led Companies; and as one of American Banker’s top “25 Most Powerful Women to Watch.”

She is a staunch advocate for keeping community banks in their original form, despite the trend by many depositor-owned banks to convert into stock institutions.

“It may be lawful, but it’s just plain wrong,” Thurlow said in a prior statement. “It represents the conversion of a public asset to private ownership and wealth; we as mutual bankers were hired as stewards, not for our own gain.”

In fact, she led a vote on a proposal back in 2014 that made it more difficult for the bank to go public.

Thurlow has also been an advocate for women advancement in banking.

“The industry is shifting away from its old boys club, but still has work to do,” she said. “There aren’t many female or minority CEOs or leaders and the industry would benefit from diverse points of view.”

Part of the way Thurlow attacks this problem is not by just mentoring women, but by trying to engage male colleagues as well.

WOMEN OF FIRE

J

Jean Carroon Principal, Goody Clancy

ean Carroon, principal at architecture firm Goody Clancy, wants to save our world by saving our buildings.

“When you think about the whole issue of recycling, to me it’s always seemed quite logical that if it’s important to reuse a bottle, then it’s even more important to reuse a building,” Carroon said. “In the last 50 years, the human race has consumed more raw resources and created more waste than all humanity prior to that time. … About half of all that material consumption and waste is directly related to the construction industry, to buildings.”

Carroon, who jokingly refers to herself as a “fountain of dire data,” can offer many other statistics that demonstrate how harmful the construction of buildings is to the environment – and how important it is for our fate as humans that we take care of that environment.

“But you don’t want to overwhelm people with dire data,” Carroon said. “Really, it’s about how positive and healthy of a world we can create if we start to think differently and if we value what already exists. That’s true in the environmental sense of [reducing] waste and material consumption … but we also need places that are unique, that lift our spirts and our souls, and that’s what buildings that have been here for some time do. … Memories are what people value, and those memories might involve being able to show your child where you used to buy your groceries. Maybe that grocery store has been turned into the new public library or it’s a senior center or a family center, but the fact that it’s still there helps to carry those memories forward.”

Carroon has worked on more than a dozen national historic landmarks in her career – “and many other [older] buildings that aren’t designated [as historic landmarks] but are also important,” she added – including Trinity Church, which she described as the project “that made [her] career;” Old South Church; and the John W. McCormack Federal Building in Boston.

On top of this work, Carroon is the 2019 president of the Boston Society of Architects, where she’ll focus on – you guessed it – educational programs involving the importance of preserving existing buildings. “It’s a bit of a life-long theme,” she said.

Lydia G. Chesnick Partner, Bernkopf Goodman LLP

D

on’t let her inclusion in the 2018 Best Lawyers in America fool you: Lydia Chesnick’s original career plan had nothing to do with the law.

“In high school, I was sure I was going to work for the New York Times, and I was going to be a journalist, or write a novel – one of the two. I think a lot of lawyers are frustrated writers, anyway,” she laughed.

Chesnick, a Brookline native and partner at Bernkopf Goodman LLP, pursued a writing career at Northwestern University before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley. She was still flirting with the idea of being a legal correspondent when she returned to the East Coast for law school at Boston University.

But after graduating from law school at age 23, Chesnick found her way to Bernkopf Goodman, where she practices business and real estate law.

When Chesnick began practicing in 1981, the path for a woman in the legal profession was not without obstacles. In fact, she said, few clothing retailers were even making working maternity clothes in the ’80s.

In the years since, Chesnick has seen her firm almost double in size, growing from 12 attorneys to around 26. The net result is a collaborative community wherein colleagues can tackle questions and issues together, she explained.

Of her clients, the individuals and families far outweigh the institutions – and that’s the way she likes it.

“One of the great byproducts of being here so long is I’ve followed along with families, so I’ve watched the next generations grow up, working with them,” she said.

Chesnick even got involved with an organization one of her client’s sons founded for people with special needs, one of the many groups and activities in which she participates.

And despite regularly being included as one of Super Lawyers’ best women attorneys in Massachusetts and New England, Chesnick said that being named a 2018 Woman of FIRE is a proud moment.

“There are so many different accolades in this city,” she said. “But this one, I think because it’s not geared just to my profession … it means a lot to me.”

C

Cheryl Eidinger-Taylor President & COO ERA Key Realty Services

heryl Eidinger-Taylor was looking for a new house for her family in 1990 when she asked her real estate agent if she enjoyed her job.

Eidinger-Taylor, who had just given birth to her second child, was on a leave of absence from her supervisory position at an electronics firm in Hopkinton. Encouraged by the agent, she decided to take the plunge and try a new career path.

“I discovered I liked real estate very much, and very quickly became a pretty good producer,” she said.

But her real talent was in management and leadership. Within five years, Eidinger-Taylor was managing the office and overseeing all the firm’s agents. As the company (originally known as Help U Sell, then Homeowners Advantage) grew, Eidinger-Taylor’s responsibilities also grew. The company became part of the ERA real estate franchise, a worldwide real estate company, in 1993. Five years later, the company merged with another firm in Framingham and became known as ERA Key Realty Services.

Headquartered in Whitinsville, the company today has 15 offices in Middlesex and Worcester counties, and about 350 agents.

Last year, the company had $769 million in total sales, representing 2,385 sales units.

Eidinger-Taylor succeeded her husband Bruce Taylor as president of ERA Key Realty Services in December 2016. Before that she spent 12 years as the company’s chief operating officer.

Although her position as president of the company keeps her busy and she enjoys the leadership role, Eidinger-Taylor continues to occasionally sell real estate.

“I love them both,” she said. “I still do some selling. It keeps me knowledgeable about the business, the market, so when I’m helping agents I’m relevant. I love working with people, staff, other agents, customers. We’re really a family company. Even though we’re a large agency, we feel more like a family.”

In the 28 years she has been in real estate, the business has changed dramatically.

“The onset of technology has changed the entire business,” she said. “We did everything on paper, no smartphones.”

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 31

Krista Evans Assistant Project Manager Acella Construction Corporation

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ith a demanding job in the construction industry, a young son at home and her first daughter just born, Krista Evans says late-night email sessions are one of the only ways to keep on top of her job.

“Being a working mom in this industry can be hard,” said Evans, an assistant project manager at Pembroke-based Acella Construction. “I like to keep my head in the game to make sure that my projects stay on schedule. 0You just make it work.”

Construction was an early career change for Evans, who started out in financial services as a fund accountant at J.P. Morgan in Boston. After her next stint at a medical diagnostics company was cut short by a round of downsizing, Evans was exploring her options and applied for an opening at Acella as a receptionist. She worked her way up to assistant project manager in three years.

Acella encourages in-house advancement and gave Evans first-hand exposure to project management, attending status meetings with architects, engineers and clients to get a feel for the workflow.

“I just had the initiative and wanted to learn more and to figure out what was going on at our job sites, and had lots of interest in going to project meetings and how it all started,” she said.

In addition to her project management duties, Evans was given responsibility for a major company-wide initiative: implementing a new construction management software system.

Company President Dave Dirubbo tasked Evans with researching options, eventually selecting Procore as the new program and training the 35-employee company’s workforce on its operation.

During her relatively brief time in a maledominated field, Evans has seen an uptick in diversity at Acella as one of three women who work at the firm as in project coordination roles.

“Over the past few years I’ve become more comfortable running meetings and taking the lead on projects and not being so timid. I’ve never been treated different because I’m a woman. It’s just my perception that I sometimes need to work a little harder,” she said.

32 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

Meredith Harris Executive Director, Marlborough Economic Development Corporation

A

fter helping lay the groundwork for Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s 1.8-million-square-foot Kendall Square redevelopment, Meredith Harris has settled down in the suburbs and is maintaining Marlborough’s momentum as a Metrowest economic development success story.

With a background that spans politics and commercial development, Harris was well qualified to assume the leadership of Marlborough’s Economic Development Corp. in 2015. The city was in the process of filling up vacant spaces in its office parks with new tenants such as Whole Foods Market after a series of high-profile corporate moves, and now is concentrating on downtown revitalization and additional growth.

The development of the Apex Center of New England, a 450,000-square-foot dining and entertainment complex, showed Marlborough’s formula to foster development, Harris said.

With support from the mayor and city council, the project went from permitting to completion in two years.

“It was a real team effort and one of the most amazing case studies of a city and private developers coming together to make things happen,” said Harris, whose agency helped obtain $3 million in state infrastructure grants for road upgrades near the property.

She got her first taste of high-stakes real estate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, learning about asset management and property acquisitions for MIT’s investment management company as it sought approvals for the Kendall Square development.

Harris’ combination of public sector and real estate skills seemed like a good fit to Marlborough Mayor Arthur Vigeant, who suggested she apply for the economic development position. After a stint as director of business development and interim director, she was picked to permanently lead the agency in 2016.

Under Harris’ leadership, the EDC offers a range programs to attract and retain businesses. Its revolving loan fund provides gap financing for growing businesses, and other incentives pay for beautification and infrastructure upgrades.

Mary T. Marshall Partner Nutter, McClennen & Fish

M

ary Marshall was exposed at an early age to real estate development by both her father and mother.

“My father was an architect, and my mother was working for a program dealing with planning in coastal zones, so I saw early on the intersection between regulatory authority and land use development,” Marshall said.

That early experience has served her well.

As a partner at Nutter, McClennen & Fish, Marshall is one of the most prominent real estate lawyers in Massachusetts, with a particular expertise in development matters within the city of Boston. She has more than 30 years of experience as an attorney, working for a broad range of clients from nonprofits to private developers, advising them on zoning, land use and environmental law matters.

Marshall was born in New York City, the only girl among three brothers. The family moved to the Boston area when she was 5. She attended Notre Dame University, and graduated in 1986 from Boston College law school. She spent five years at Rackemann, Sawyer & Brewster in Boston, before forming her own firm Pitt, Hubbard & Marshall LLP, with two other women colleagues. The firm represented clients in all aspects of property acquisitions and dispositions, financing, leasing, land use, title, zoning, permitting and environmental matters.

“Everyone should have their own firm at some point,” Marshall said. “You deliver mail, fix computers when they crash, deal with clients, find and retain employees. It’s quite educational.”

After 11 years at her own firm, Marshall joined Ropes & Gray in 2003. She has been at Nutter since 2011.

In the hard-charging real estate field, Marshall has often been the only woman in the room, but thinks women are particularly well suited for the profession.

“I’m not sure if it’s my own bias, but I think women are particularly good at collaboration,” she said. “It has to be a collaborative effort.

No one person could put together what I have been lucky to have worked on. You need an interface between architects, clients, regulatory authorities, engineers to create something that works.”

WOMEN OF FIRE

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Lisa Serafin Principal Redgate

hen it comes to urban planning, some might say the best part of a project is the design phase, the groundbreaking or the opening. For Lisa Serafin, however, the best part is what comes after.

“Seeing projects that you worked on that people then live in, or projects that you worked on that people then visit or walk by is very fulfilling, because it’s a very tangible impact when you’re in real estate development and construction,” said Serafin, principal of Redgate Real Estate Advisors.

Living in Boston, Serafin, a Boston and Buffalo native, saw inspiration all around her.

“I think living in the city, primarily, is what got me interested [in urban development],” she said. “Just thinking about the impact of the physical nature of the city and how that impacts the social interactions.”

She joined property investment firm Spaulding & Slye – which later merged with Jones Lang LaSalle – and worked her way up from project manager to national director and senior vice president of development.

She joined several fellow Spaulding alums in establishing Redgate, a real estate advisory, development, investment and project management firm, in 2010. In the eight years since, she has worked on the NorthPoint development in Cambridge, in addition to projects with clients such as Boston Children’s Hospital and Massachusetts Port Authority.

The best part of the job? Watching the city grow and change, she said.

“Now that I’ve been in the business for long enough, it’s seeing the city evolve based on all the work that people in this field do,” she said.

“Projects take a long time, right? But there are a lot of people involved, and that’s the most fulfilling part, just being able to see the city transform and become a place where people really want to live.”

Serafin has also made a point of helping other women in her field, having just finished a term as the president of the Boston chapter of networking organization Commercial Real Estate Women.

Regan Shields Ives Principal Finegold Alexander Architects

R

egan Shields Ives was attracted to a career in architecture very early in life.

“I first became interested in architecture when my family went on a trip to see the Newport mansions,” she recalled. “I was in second grade at the time, and I was like, ‘This is what I want to do. I want to build great spaces.’”

The dream stuck. Shields Ives went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in architecture from Lehigh University and her master’s degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. Today she is an award-winning principal at Finegold Alexander Architects where she has worked since 2004. She also serves on the board of directors of the Boston Preservation Alliance.

Despite her second-grade dream, much of Shields Ives’s work involves not creating new buildings but rather revamping and reenvisioning existing spaces, she said. One such recent project was the revitalizing of the Old Chapel at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Shields Ives said the undertaking was particularly challenging, given both the building’s placement on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as the need for the project to appeal to and serve multiple groups of people, from students to professors to administrators.

Shields Ives is particularly committed to providing mentorship and opportunity to women and people from diverse backgrounds – in other words, people often underrepresented in the field.

In the world of architecture, typically just 20 percent of firm owners and 31 percent of employees are women, Davis said. At Finegold Alexander Architects, women comprise 75 percent of the firm’s new principals and 50 percent of its total employees. Shields Ives is happy with these numbers but still wants to do more to bring more diverse voices to the table.

“Creating a more equitable environment for all of our employees is really important,” Shields Ives said. “Hearing different voices and different opinions just makes for more a wellrounded environment to work within, but also it’s important because it brings different ideas to design.”

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 33

I

Linda O’Koniewski CEO RE/MAX Leading Edge

t’s not often that someone gets involved with real estate by way of raising taxes, but that’s the story for Linda Linda O’Koniewski, CEO of Leading Edge Real Estate.

O’Koniewski had no political experience in 1992 when she led an override campaign to raise taxes in Melrose. What she did have were children in the schools and a strong belief that higher taxes were the best choice for the town at the time. As it turned out, the public agreed, and O’Koniewski led “the single biggest override ever to happen in Massachusetts,” she said.

That’s when the real estate industry came calling. O’Koniewski’s mother worked in the field, and after the vote, her mother’s proprietor contacted O’Koniewski and suggested she try real estate herself.

“I said, ‘I don’t sell things. I don’t even want to sell tickets to, like, a YMCA dance,’” O’Koniewski recalled. “And he said, ‘You just sold this town taxes!’”

O’Koniewski disliked this framing, insisting that she wasn’t selling anything, but “simply helping the town out.”

“He said, ‘If you learn to simply help people out, you’ll be great [in real estate],’” O’Koniewski said. “It turns out he was right because I’ve never sold anything to anybody.

I’m just trying to help people.”

But when O’Koniewski entered the field, she quickly realized that standard operating procedure in the industry didn’t always involve doing what was best for clients.

“So, I started doing things very differently,” she said.

Today she’s also focused on the “psychology of listings,” and teaching real estate agents how to think differently about pricing and presenting listings to the market.

“I think what I’ve done is [take] the real estate transaction and broken it down into the hundreds and hundreds of little pieces and thought, ‘How can we do this differently? How can we help the consumer?’” O’Koniewski said.

O’Koniewski has spoken about changing the real estate business on four continents and runs her own boot camps each year to inspire and train agents.

34 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

Lisa J. Drapkin Founder & Team Leader, True Home Partners, Coldwell Banker

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henever an agent gets an offer accepted at True Home Partners at Coldwell Banker, the Cambridgebased team has a ritual, said founder and team leader Lisa Drapkin: Everyone dances to the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.

The numbers show that Drapkin and her agents must do a lot of dancing. Drapkin is consistently ranked among the top 10 percent of all individual Coldwell Banker agents in the Northeast, and in 2017, her office was named Coldwell Banker’s fifth highest-producing sales team in New England.

Drapkin lists her team’s No. 5 ranking among the biggest accomplishments of her career. As for the other accomplishments that come to mind?

“I built this team by hand-picking each of the six agents and what’s notable about our team is that we are all committed to doing the right thing for our clients and we all really like each other,” she said. “We enjoy working together … We listen to each other’s woes, and we celebrate each other’s victories.”

These two accomplishments seem to highlight the yin and yang of Drapkin’s personality. She’s a standout performer in her industry who is always on call to get a deal done, but she still makes time to be there for her teammates – and to celebrate sales with an all-office dance break.

Drapkin got her first taste of the real estate business in the late 1980s when she worked a summer job doing rentals. “If anyone had said [then] that I’d still be [in real estate] now, I’d have said you were crazy,” Drapkin said with a laugh.

For years, Drapkin thought she would end up working for a nonprofit. Then, she made two important discoveries. First, that she enjoyed working in real estate, a career that offers her new challenges every day, and second, that she didn’t have to choose.

“I realized that with the flexibility that working in real estate gave me, and with the income I was able to generate … I had a better opportunity to help a lot of nonprofits by doing both,” she said.

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Marie Presti Owner & Broker The Presti Group

hen Marie Presti describes herself as a lifelong learner, the broker/owner of The Presti Group and 2017 Greater Boston Realtor of the Year is not using the phrase lightly.

Take, for example, the story of her first real estate license: “When I was in my early twenties, I was living in New York City working for a regional bank, and I was thinking of buying my first house. I wanted to learn more about real estate [before buying] so I got my license,” she said, adding with a laugh, “I wouldn’t recommend that to the average person. I didn’t know what I was doing, and I just said, ‘I want to learn.’”

Presti also has degrees in math and computer science from Mount Holyoke College, an MBA in marketing from Babson College and, as Lisa Rinkus, president of LJPR, likes to say, “an alphabet soup of professional designations in the real estate field,” including as a Certified Buyer Representative, Seniors Real Estate Specialist, Accredited Buyer Representative and GREEN agent, among many, many others.

This from a woman who never planned to work in real estate.

Even after getting her New York license, Presti used it only as a referral agent. She moved to Boston and was working in the high-tech industry when her company went under following the terrorist attacks on Sept.

11, 2001. In need of a job, Presti got her Massachusetts real estate license while looking for more permanent work.

“I got three offers that year to go back into high-tech, but with each position I just kept saying, ‘You know what, I kind of like what I’m doing … Until I get a perfect offer in high-tech, I’m not going back,’” Presti said. “And lo and behold, it’s been 17 years.”

“Homeownership is a huge proposition for most customers … When people need your help [as a Realtor], they’re usually making a major life transition. They need someone to guide them through,” Presti said. “People have said to me over and over again, ‘Marie, I could never have done this without you, and I can’t thank you enough.’ That is why I keep doing this job.”

WOMEN OF FIRE

The Greater Boston Association of REALTORS® is proud to count three distinguished GBAR members as Women of FIRE Award recipients.

Congratulations on your honor, industry achievements and business success.

You are shining examples of the difference REALTORS® can make in improving our community and the impact women have in shaping the real estate profession.

Marie Presti

Owner & Broker The Presti Group

Lisa Drapkin

Founder & Team Leader Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

Linda O’Koniewski

Owner & Broker Leading Edge Real Estate

www.gbar.org One Center Plaza; Boston, MA 02108 68 Main Street, Reading MA 01867 | 617-423-8700

Business Intelligence

Remain Relevant Drive Revenue Control Costs Improve Performance

longgrouponline.com

603.424.5664 tomlong@longgrouponline.com

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 35

PROTECTING VULNERABLE BANKING CHOICE CLIENTS AWARDS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

Bankwell Takes First Place At Banking Choice Awards

W

hat does it mean to bank well? It just might be worth asking the team at Bankwell, the New Canaan, Connecticut based community bank that recently earned recognition as the #1 Bank for Customer Service in Fairfield/Litchfield Counties at the Banking Choice Awards.

Bankwell also came away from the awards placing second for Overall Quality in that region. Both rankings are the result of a 2018 survey of Connecticut banking customers conducted by the Warren Group.

Bankwell had its early beginnings in 2002 as a hometown bank with a single branch in New Canaan, where the bank’s headquarters still reside. Today, the bank has 12 branches throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties, and close to $2 billion in assets, yet the personal service that put Bankwell on the map years ago has not been lost on its size. The Bankwell team takes great pride in a reputation that’s based on putting customers and the community first.

With digital platforms that rival those of the big banks, Bankwell positions its value as high tech/high touch – providing customers with sophisticated online technology that’s complemented by outstanding service through every channel. Customers have full access to most products and services via their smart phones and businesses can choose from a full range of sophisticated Treasury Management services that allow them to efficiently run their business regardless of where they are located.

Bankwell has also made news on the national

36 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

front over the last couple of years for its financial performance. In 2016, it was named one of the “Top 100 Best-Performing Community Banks” in the country between $1 and $10 billion by S&P Global, and in 2017, Bankwell was one of 29 high quality small-cap banks in the country that outperformed the industry, comprising the Sandler O’Neill “Sm-All Stars Class of 2017.”

When it comes to community initiatives, Bankwell’s all in, and that philosophy starts at the top. CEO Chris Gruseke said, “It’s great to run a public company that has its roots in the community. Since the bank’s founding, part of our mission has always been to give back to the communities we serve, and we go beyond just writing a check. We seek always to be good corporate citizens. We’re aware of local and regional issues and we do our best to develop partnerships that enable us to provide support in meaningful ways.”

Bankwell is actively involved with more than 200 community organizations through volunteering, mentoring or providing financial support, as part of a program called, “Bankwell for Good.” The bank is primarily focused on supporting organizations that provide health and human services, including education, jobs and programs that support children in need.

One of Gruseke’s favorite organizations is the Ram Foundation Council, a substance-free group at the local high school in New Canaan.

Gruseke periodically attends and speaks at the parent-student meetings and was instrumental in bringing the program to the neighboring town of Wilton. Most recently, that program has expanded to Stamford as well. The bank

has also received resounding feedback for its Bankwell Pet Adoption Project, a program where Bankwell partners with local rescues to collect pet supplies and donations and bring awareness to animals in need of a home. This spring, Gruseke and another senior executive both rescued dogs from homeless shelters.

Bankwell finds ways to leverage their branch locations and resources for the benefit of local communities, too. In addition to regularly presenting financial literacy classes to a variety of audiences, including students, seniors and small business owners, there are frequent food and clothing collections throughout the branch network. The bank recently completed a food drive for the Open Door Shelter Food Pantry in Norwalk, and collected winter costs for distribution through Person-to-Person in Darien. After Hurricane Harvey, Bankwell matched donations from employees to help a community bank in Houston, Texas that had been affected by the storm. Gruseke personally flew to Houston to present the donation.

The bank’s focus on giving back is reflected in its internal culture, too. The annual “Bankwell for Good” employee award recognizes an employee who is exemplary in living out the Bankwell “give back” values. In Gruseke’s words, “A positive corporate culture does not happen by accident. You need to empower employees to help cultivate a workplace they take pride in. This award celebrates the people who take time to really get involved and demonstrate good citizenship. Core values are the cornerstone of everything we do.” ■

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PROTECTING VULNERABLE CLIENTS LOCATION

Locations You Can Bank On!

L LEA DE RS

By Jay Nuss, Special to Banking New England

“Bankers’ hours” is a term that at one time implied an easy or abbreviated work schedule.

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HIGHLIGHTS

But, as the old saying goes, that was then and this is now. Ask any banker today if that term still applies and you’ll get Jay Nuss a resounding “no.”

Long gone are the days when banks and their individual branches closed at 3 or 4 p.m. and weren’t open weekends.

The competition is so intense in the industry today, with every bank seeking to capture and increase marketshare, and it goes far beyond brick and mortar locations.

Still, remember the old real estate adage, “Location, Location, Location.” While some customers may be content to conduct banking online, there is still a large segment of the banking customer population for whom a location is a key factor in determining where to conduct business. As the competition increases, we see banks and credit unions expanding their number of

branches, which often means going into a new community or opening an additional location in a community where the financial institution is already established. For the bank CEO seeking to expand his/ her institution’s footprint, location matters.

In planning the establishment of a new branch, multiple factors must be taken into consideration.

Given that a bank’s most significant asset is its brand, the location – and design – of any new bank branch will be heavily influenced by the components of the bank’s brand. And of course, the architecture must be totally consistent with the brand. The catch phrase “designing the structure from the inside out” reflects the necessary perspective on the importance of the brand.

And before getting to that point, there’s the location question.

Where to go? New construction?

Purchase or lease an existing building and build it out to specifications? Given that branch networks can be very expensive to operate, efficiency and productivity must be the paramount considerations when evaluating a specific location. Also, although branch efficiency has increased during the last ten years,

banks can no longer afford the luxury of over-paying for real estate by 10%–20% as they have in the past.

The first step to avoid that outcome is a strong due diligence initiative: research both the community and specifically the neighborhood. What is the history of the business climate in the neighborhood? Is it stable? Has it declined?

Are new businesses coming into the area? If you are looking at an existing structure, what was its previous use? What is the attitude of the community officials toward growth and zoning? This will be especially important if the specific location may require a zoning change – which in turn opens potentially more sites for consideration. It’s worth remembering that what may be suitable for a branch

Although branch efficiency has increased during the last ten years, banks can no longer afford the luxury of over-paying for real estate by 10%–20% as they have in the past.

8 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

Contact Managing Editor Kaitlyn Keegan at kkeegan@ambizmedia.com

may differ from what you’d seek if planning to establish a bank’s main headquarters. The spaces you seek wouldn’t need as much parking, for example.

Certainly, most banking officials

have a network of resources to assist in this initial due diligence.

It makes sense to work with a local commercial broker or someone with deep community ties and knowledge to guide you through the history of the community and neighborhood. Such an individual may also be able to point out the pros and cons of a location, including if there are traffic issues at certain times, environmental remediation considerations, and more – and may

also know of opportunities that are not otherwise known.

And, other considerations under the “Location, Location, Location” banner are the location of potential borrowers, and the location of potential depositors.

There is such an emphasis today on online services that it is tempting to think that a physical location does not matter as much. Most bank officials would agree that a branch should provide a meaningful and interactive experience for the customer through relatively seamless online and offline platforms.

With all that said, however, the importance of a branch’s location and design should in no way be minimized.

When the board room discussions about what community to locate in have concluded, that’s when it’s time to consider the on-the-ground steps needed to bring those discussions to reality.

Good luck with your next location! ■ ____________________________

Jay Nuss is the founder and principal of Jay Nuss Realty Group, LLC.

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 9

BANKING NEW ENGLAND 37

MARKET SHARE PROTECTINGMORTGAGE VULNERABLE CLIENTS

Piece Of The Pie How banks stack against each other by share of the mortgage market Banks were ranked by volume of residential loans (all residential properties), year to date through June, including purchase loans and refinances, excluding HELOCs and home equity loans by The Warren Group Mortgage Market Share module.

MASSACHUSETTS % of Market Share

Leader Bank First Republic Bank Bank of America

6.72% 5.50% 5.05%

CONNECTICUT % of Market Share

Wells Fargo Bank 12.84% Bank of America 9.17% JP Morgan Chase Bank 8.15%

MAINE

% of Market Share

Bangor Savings Bank 15.87% Camden National Bank 12.45% Kennebunk Savings Bank 7.64%

RHODE ISLAND % of Market Share

RBS Citizens Bank 16.15% Coastway Community Bank 10.22% Washington Trust Co. 9.61%

NEW HAMPSHIRE % of Market Share

RBS Citizens Bank 6.37% Meredith Village Savings Bank 6.04% Bank of New Hampshire 5.82%

38 BANKING NEW ENGLAND

Returning For Its Sixth Spectacular Year!

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Come share this one-day conference where women take the lead on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.

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Susan Monti

Dr. Temple Grandin

I’VE GOT 99 PROBLEMS… PALSY IS JUST ONE Comedian, Actress, Disability Advocate & Tap Dancer The Most Watched TED Talk of 2014

CHARTING THE FUTURE: PERFORMANCE TRENDS FOR NEW ENGLAND BANKS & CREDIT UNIONS Managing Director, Ostrowski & Co.

THE WORLD NEEDS ALL KINDS OF MINDS Autistic expert on seeing the world differently Subject of Golden Globe-Winning Movie, Temple Grandin

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BANKING NEW ENGLAND 39

®

Experience the difference

GFA Federal Credit Union in Peterborough, NH

Bank Design | Architecture | Project Management

905 South Main Street, Bldg B Suite 201, Mansfield, MA 02048 • 508-339-6600 • www.nes-group.com • www.drlarchitects.com