Banking New England Summer 2019

SUMMER 2019

NEW ENGLAND

THE RESOURCE FOR NEW ENGLAND’S FINANCIAL LEADERS

7 Best Banking Practices

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CONTENTS

NEW ENGLAND

THE RESOURCE FOR NEW ENGLAND’S FINANCIAL LEADERS

SUMMER 2019

6

24

State-By-State Recipients

Plan For A Merger & Acquisition ... It’s A Must!

Inspiration

Talent

Banking Choice Award Winners

M&A

10 BANKING 10 BEST PRACTICES

PAGE

COVER STORY:

4

Letter from the Publisher

5

Accolades

Banking Choice Awards Wrap Up At Best Bank Expo

26

How Unconscious Bias Can Be Harmful To Your Business

7 Best Practices From Banking Experts

12

28

Q&A

Building A De Novo Bank

Did You See?

Try To Keep Up

32

Our News Roundup For Banking In New England’s Weekly Newsletter

17

See who’s career is on the move in New England

20

Branded

Anything but Banking Greg Buscone Eastern Bank, Boston

Positioning Your Bank For Success With A Stong Research Program

PRESENTED BY

THE CONSUMER EXPERIENCE

APRIL 19, 2018

BIAS

7

PAGE

PAGE

26

BEST BANK Banking Choice Awards Summer 2019 | BANKING NEW ENGLAND 3

LE T T E R F RO M T H E P U B LIS H ER

To Prep For The Next Step You Have To Look Over The Horizon

T

he New England region continues to witness contraction in the number of banking companies, as institutions consolidate, merge or are acquired. Too often, it seems, the desire of remaining independent is overtaken by the need to pare costs, the crush of bigger competitors or just the promise of a nice payout.

Whether by design or necessity, sometimes a sale or merger just makes the most sense, fiscally. But whether that eventual combination succeeds needs significant advance thought.

Kim Snyder is a banking industry VINCE VA LVO consultant who as EVP and CFO of Valley Financial Corp. / Valley Bank in Virginia helped lead that institution to an acquisition by BNC Bancorp at a 173% premium to tangible book value. In this issue, she writes about the checklist of things that bank executives need to consider – most importantly, your current culture and product mix – to insure that things continue to work after the sale is complete.

Kim was also one of our featured speakers at the Best Bank Expo at MGM Springfield in June. The inaugural event focused on lending and success strategies for senior management at banks and credit unions. It was an event that promised to be a day full of actionable insight, and then delivered on those expectations.

Attendees heard first hand from two execs, each in the throes of forming a de novo bank. We had expert-led sessions on driving success in a challenging retail banking environment, making the most of your marketing spend, and the best practices from the region’s best consumer banks. Attendees also had the chance to network with peers, discover one-of-a-kind solutions from leaders in the banking community, and learn about the latest products and services revolutionizing the industry.

Look throughout this issue, and we have lots of photos that capture the can-do spirit of the event. And for those who were unable to join the hundreds who were there in person, you’ll find compelling recaps of sessions and topics throughout this issue.

After all, no matter the number of institutions that serve this region, every bank and credit union want to be the best they can be. And that’s why we’re here to help.

NEW ENGLAND

THE RESOURCE FOR NEW ENGLAND’S FINANCIAL LEADERS

STAFF

CEO, PUBLISHER & EDITOR Vincent M. Valvo ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Barb Dimauro MANAGING EDITOR Keith Griffin OPERATIONS MANAGER Kurt Schenher ONLINE CONTENT DIRECTOR Navindra Persaud GRAPHIC DESIGN MANAGER Stacy Murray GRAPHIC DESIGNER Scott Ellison Interested in receiving additional copies of Banking New England?

Call (860) 719-1991 or email kschenher@ambizmedia.com

www.ambizmedia.com ©2019 American Business Media LLC All rights reserved.

Banking New England magazine is a trademark of American Business Media LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

Advertising, editorial and production inquiries should be directed to: American Business Media LLC

VIN CE N T M. VALVO

Publisher & Editor

4 BANKING NEW ENGLAND | Summer 2019

345 North Main St., Suite 313 West Hartford, CT 06117

New England Banks Honored With Prestigious Banking Choice Awards

B

anks from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island have been honored with the 2019 Banking Choice Awards in the categories of Customer Service, Technology & Tools, Community Contribution, and Overall Quality. They were presented at an awards luncheon as part of the Best Bank Expo at the MGM Springfield.

In addition, six banks have won best in Connecticut and Massachusetts in their respective categories. These statewide awards for 2019 are the highest honor any bank can achieve.

Additional regional winners were announced as well. A complete list can be found on the following pages.

The prestigious Banking Choice Awards are presented by American Business Media, its magazine Banking New England, and Customer Experience Solutions LLC. Unlike typical “popularity contests,” these awards are given based on interviews with hundreds of thousands of banking customers in a double-blind format. No financial institutions are involved in collecting the data, which is then used to create the highly respected Banking Benchmarks. Customer Experience Solutions is the recognized leader in measuring and tracking customer experience for banking institutions.

Vincent M. Valvo, president and CEO of American Business Media, said, “Customers can choose to bank wherever they want. The Banking Choice Awards determine which banks do it best.”

“There are many different elements to Customer Service and we track them all. These range from basic

friendliness and personal touch to proactively identifying problems and solving them for customers,” Bruce A. Paul, president and CEO of Customer Experience Solutions, said.

Technology and Tools honors, Paul said, aren’t solely the dominion of large regional and national banks. “It is important to note that there are some much smaller banks that achieved very high ratings on their technology. Though they may have much smaller IT budgets than the biggest banks, what sets them apart is their ability to engage and train customers on the technology that they have. Over and over across the region, we see that what separates the best tech banks from the rest is the training that their own staff has on the tools.”

Earning the Community Contribution award is significant because it’s based on input from people who are not customers of those institutions. “Unlike the other categories, this is a rating by prospects (non-customers) of each bank. So, to win top prize, banks had to not only make strong contributions to their local areas, but they also had to get the word out about that contribution,” Paul said. “The winners in this category are not only great contributors but are also great marketers as well. You can see from the diversity of top performers that massive marketing spend does not always translate into prospects’ minds, but very strategic spend does. This is how a smaller bank can compete with and sometimes outperform much bigger banks.”

The Overall Quality recognition encompasses many of the higher-order areas of the banking relationship, like avoiding problems or fixing them quickly

and openly, proactively offering services to customers that improve their financial lives and having staff that are confident enough to do so, Paul said, adding that it often reflects staff that are extremely well trained to help meet every need.

MASSACHUSETTS STATEWIDE WINNERS

Cape Cod 5 Bank was the statewide winner in Massachusetts in two categories: Overall Quality and Customer Service. Paul said, “It’s remarkable that one bank was able to capture more than one top spot. That’s a rare situation indeed.” Cornerstone Bank was named best in Massachusetts in Technology while Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod took home the stop spot for Community Contribution.

CONNECTICUT STATEWIDE WINNERS

The Nutmeg State also has a dualcategory award winner. Thomaston Savings Bank was named Best in Connecticut for Overall Quality and Technology & Tools. Berkshire Bank won the top spot for Customer Service while Chelsea Groton was named best in state for its Community Contribution.

“It is truly an honor to be recognized by our community as a top performing bank both regionally and statewide in a variety of categories, including Overall Quality and Technology & Tools. We are grateful to our customers for selecting us and to our employees, who consistently uphold our values and service standards,” said Stephen L. Lewis, president & CEO, Thomaston Savings Bank.

Summer 2019 | BANKING NEW ENGLAND 5

THE CONSUMER EXPERIENCE

APRIL 19, 2018

“Customers can choose to bank wherever they want. The Banking Choice Awards determine which banks do it best.”

Vincent M. Valvo President and CEO American Business Media

CUSTOMER SERVICE AWARDS REGIONAL WINNERS

South Shore area of Massachusetts Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, First Place Rhode Island: Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank, BankNewport, First Place Second Place Washington Trust, Second Place The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod, HarborOne Bank, Third Place B A N K I N G C H O I C E AW A R D S . C O M Third Place New Hampshire: TECHNOLOGY & TOOLS Mascoma Bank, First Place Savings Bank of Walpole, Second Place AWARDS REGIONAL WINNERS Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Rhode Island: TD Bank, First Place Western Connecticut area: Bank of America, Second Place Thomaston Savings Bank, First Place Citizens Bank, Third Place Torrington Savings Bank, Second Place Bankwell, Third Place New Hampshire: Mascoma Bank, First Place Capital Connecticut area Savings Bank of Walpole, Second Place Berkshire Bank, First Place Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, Third Place Liberty Bank, Second Place PeoplesUnited, Third Place Western Connecticut area: Thomaston Savings Bank, First Place New Haven, Connecticut area Chase Bank, Second Place Thomaston Savings Bank, First Place Bank of America, Third Place Ion Bank, Second Place Guilford Savings Bank, Third Place Capital Connecticut area Liberty Bank, First Place Eastern Connecticut area Farmington Bank, Second Place bankHometown, First Place TD Bank, Third Place United Bank, Second Place Dime Bank, Third Place New Haven, Connecticut area Thomaston Savings Bank, First Place Western Massachusetts TD Bank, Second Place Florence Bank, First Place Chase Bank, Third Place Country Bank, Second Place PeoplesBank, Third Place Eastern Connecticut area bankHometown, First Place Central Massachusetts TD Bank, Second Place Cornerstone Bank, First Place United Bank, Third Place BankHometown, Second Place UniBank, Third Place Western Massachusetts PeoplesBank, First Place Greater Boston Florence Bank, Second Place The Village Bank, First Place TD Bank, Third Place Boston Private Bank & Trust Company, Second Place Central Massachusetts Needham Bank, Third Place Cornerstone Bank, First Place Fidelity Bank, Second Place North Shore area of Massachusetts TD Bank, Third Place Institution for Savings, First Place Haverhill Bank, Second Place Greater Boston North Shore Bank, Third Place Bank of America, First Place Watertown Savings Bank, Second Place Dedham Savings Bank, Third Place 6 BANKING NEW ENGLAND | Summer 2019

North Shore area of Massachusetts Enterprise Bank, First Place TD Bank, Second Place Eastern Bank, Third Place South Shore area of Massachusetts Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank, First Place The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod, Second Place BayCoast Bank, Third Place

COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION AWARDS REGIONAL WINNERS Rhode Island: Washington Trust, First Place BankNewport, Second Place Bank Rhode Island, Third Place

New Hampshire: Savings Bank of Walpole, First Place Meredith Village Savings Bank, Second Place Sugar River Bank, Third Place Western Connecticut area: Thomaston Savings Bank, First Place Newtown Savings Bank, Second Place Savings Bank of Danbury, Third Place Capital Connecticut area Essex Savings Bank, First Place Guilford Savings Bank, Second Place Northwest Community Bank, Third Place New Haven, Connecticut area Guilford Savings Bank, First Place The Milford Bank, Second Place Thomaston Savings Bank, Third Place Eastern Connecticut area Chelsea Groton Bank, First Place Dime Bank, Second Place bankHometown, Third Place Western Massachusetts Greenfield Savings Bank, First Place Greenfield Cooperative Bank, Second Place Adams Community Bank, Third Place

Central Massachusetts TD Bank, First Place Rollstone Bank & Trust, Second Place UniBank, Third Place Greater Boston Wellesley Bank, First Place Bank of Canton, Second Place Hingham Institution for Savings, Third Place

New Hampshire: Savings Bank of Walpole, First Place Mascoma Bank, Second Place Meredith Village Savings Bank, Third Place

Central Massachusetts Cornerstone Bank, First Place Savers Bank, Second Place BankHometown, Third Place

Western Connecticut area: Thomaston Savings Bank, First Place Torrington Savings Bank, Second Place Newtown Savings Bank, Third Place

Greater Boston The Village Bank, First Place Dedham Institution for Savings, Second Place Needham Bank, Third Place

North Shore area of Massachusetts Newburyport Bank, First Place Pentucket Bank, Second Place Cape Ann Savings Bank, Third Place

Capital Connecticut area Liberty Bank, First Place PeoplesUnited, Second Place PeoplesBank, Third Place

North Shore area of Massachusetts Institution For Savings, First Place Haverhill Bank, Second Place Salem Five Bank, Third Place

South Shore area of Massachusetts The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod, First Place The Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, Second Place Seamen’s Bank, Third Place

New Haven, Connecticut area Ion Bank, First Place Thomaston Savings Bank, Second Place Guilford Savings Bank, Third Place

South Shore area of Massachusetts The Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, First Place Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank, Second Place Mutual Bank, Third Place, Overall Quality

OVERALL QUALITY AWARDS REGIONAL WINNERS Rhode Island: Washington Trust, First Place BankNewport, Second Place Centreville Bank, Third Place

Eastern Connecticut area bankHometown, First Place Chelsea Groton Bank, Second Place United Bank, Third Place

For more information on the Banking Choice Awards and upcoming bank conferences visit bankconferences.com

Western Massachusetts Florence Bank, First Place bankESB, Second Place Adams Community Bank, Third Place

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Summer 2019 | BANKING NEW ENGLAND 7

THE CONSUMER EXPERIENCE

APRIL 19, 2018

“There are many different elements to Customer Service and we track them all.

These range from basic friendliness and personal touch to proactively identifying problems and solving them for customers.”

Bruce A. Paul President and CEO Customer Experience Solutions

B A N K I N G C H O I C E AW A R D S . C O M

8 BANKING NEW ENGLAND | Summer 2019

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INSPIRATION

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MONICA CURHAN

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7 Best Practices From Banking Experts STEPS BANKS AND CREDIT UNIONS CAN TAKE REGARDLESS OF SIZE

T

he Best Bank Expo, held at the MGM Springfield and sponsored by Banking New England, kicked off with an information session called, “Best Practices from Consumers’ Best Banks.”

It featured a panel of bankers whose institutions consistently rank at the top in independent consumer surveys.

Panelists included Stephen Lewis, president of Thomaston Savings Bank and chairman of the Connecticut Bankers Association; Todd Tallman, president, and treasurer of Cornerstone Bank in Massachusetts; Mark Bodin, president of New Hampshire’s Savings Bank of Walpole; and Monica Curhan, chief marketing officer, Florence Bank in Western Massachusetts.

PREDICTIVE INDEX ASSESSMENT

Tallman explained to the audience of more than 100 bankers that predictive index assessment for all new hires and existing employees works well.

He said it has proven effective at determining how employees operate and what drives them. “We learned how staff communicates and how they want to be communicated to,” Tallman said, adding the predictive index assessment has also been using in staff training.

VALUE FOR FEES

Curhan said Florence Bank uncovered success with its annual fee analysis. The bank looks at the fees charged to consumers and eliminates those perceived as nuisances. “Folks don’t feel nickel and dimed,” she said. “They’re happy to pay for what they get the best value for.”

10 BANKING NEW ENGLAND | Summer 2019

TECHNOLOGY FOR SMALL BANKS

Lewis admitted to being surprised initially that Thomaston Savings Bank saw significant improvement in its technology scores. His bank hadn’t made a substantial investment in upgrading technology. He said his bank uses the same online technology other institutions do. What made the difference, he said, was the bank’s investment in training its customers.

“We get them comfortable with the technology.

Thomaston has also trained its contact center staff to make sure it is well versed in all the online banking technology.

BIG COMMUNITY BANG FROM A SMALL BANK The Savings Bank of Walpole in New Hampshire was recognized for its community contributions despite being a one market bank, according to Bodin.

One innovative practice is the bank has an “inside/out” philosophy. Instead of waiting for nonprofits to come hat in hand, looking for funds, Walpole employees express what charities impress them the most. He said his institution believes in giving to a lot of groups instead of investing in being title sponsors. The bank also invests in getting its employees volunteering with community groups and helps nonprofits leverage donations. Bodin said it’s also crucial that the bank involves employees’ families when possible. “Work can be more than work,” he said.

ENGAGING OLDER WORKERS

BETTER CROSS-SELLING

Curhan said one useful tool for better cross-selling is not calling it sales. “We call it nurturing,” she explained. That means follow-up for new accounts for one year after opening with helpful emails that include new product suggestions. Tallman from Cornerstone Bank once again brought up the predictive index assessment. He said it helps identify people with the right skill sets. “You can be a salesperson even if it’s not your natural way,” Tallman said. For Lewis, he wants his employees to answer this question: where do you want people to have checking accounts? Doing that, he said, makes them realize cross-selling is best because it keeps customers at their local bank.

CES President Bruce Paul, who co-sponsors the annual Best Bank Awards along with Banking New England, queried the panelists on how they get older staff up to speed on newer technology.

Lewis from Thomaston Bank said a combination of training, role-playing, and testing helps workers adapt to changes. “Most people will eventually make their way through [changes],” he said. Florence Bank’s Curhan added that each branch has subject matter experts who can help peers that might be struggling. “It’s not just always a young person who is the subject matter –STEPHEN LEWIS expert,” she said.

Find a path that keeps employees engaged.

KEEPING TURNOVER LOW

Bolin said banks could keep turnover low by creating “a culture where we are an employer of choice.” He added that’s in part driven by Walpole’s heavy community involvement. Curhan said turnover is kept low at Florence because employees want to work for a successful bank. Also, providing career opportunities is important, too. Lewis from Thomaston echoed that sentiment.

“Find a path to keep employees engaged. ■

Summer 2019 | BANKING NEW ENGLAND 11

Q&A

D

The Steps Involved In Building A De Novo Bank

e novo banks, after a lengthy period of dormancy, are returning to New England. Banking New England invited J. Jeffrey Sullivan, president and CEO of New Valley Bank in Springfield, Massachusetts, and G. Frank Teas, president and CEO of Millyard Bank in Organization, in Nashua, New Hampshire, to participate in a panel at the magazine’s annual Best Bank Expo at MGM Springfield. Teas was also involved with the Bank of Nashua’s start up in 2007. They were interviewed by Keith Griffin, Banking New England’s managing editor, and discussed topics ranging from technology to hiring to branch location and more. An edited transcript of the conversation follows.

BANKING NEW ENGLAND: Why now? What makes the environment right to launch a de novo bank after more than a decade?

FRANK TEAS: Basically, it’s supply and demand. The regulatory environment was improving [as well as] the economic environment. I don’t really hope for a recession because it hurts other things like my 401k and so forth, but if a recession happened that wouldn’t be necessarily be a bad thing for us as a de novo. And then lastly is the competitive landscape. When we opened the Nashua bank, there were five or six community-oriented banks right in our backyard. They are all gone now or part of much larger state banks. There is one competitor right in our backyard. They deliver their services very well, but it just boiled down to a demand for banking services for us.

JEFF SULLIVAN: Back in my career, when I moved to Springfield in 1991 I started to work for a de novo bank.

Like Frank, I got it in my blood and never, never quite left. Having lived here for over 25 years we’ve seen in the 12 BANKING NEW ENGLAND | Summer 2019

last few years a real uptick in the Springfield economy.

That coupled with consolidation really led us to think that now was the time that we could jump in and do it.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that we had a really strong response from the millennial generation.

Over a third of our initial capital investors were under the age of 45. As it’s turned out, about a third of our investors today are under the age of 45, so we did something that was resonating with the younger generation.

BNE: Why do you think it’s significant to have the millennial investment in your de novo?

JEFF SULLIVAN: I think there’s a mindset amongst a lot of younger business owners that they want to be closer and more engaged with their bank. At least here we saw that the value proposition of the smaller bank, high levels of engagement with customers resonated with that generation.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

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FRANK TEAS: I think it’s important to engage the younger folks because at some point, it would be that transfer of wealth, transfer of business ownership, transfer of management. We weren’t as successful as [Jeff] in the capitalization phase, but we do have a number of younger shareholders.

One of the first things I did was I put together an advisory group of folks generally under the age of 35. It’s amazing if you buy them a beer and give them some potato skins. I did it early on, we meet about every 60 days. The fact of the matter is I get good data out of them. They said “Frank, with all due respect, we love going into the Nashua Bank, but it looked too much like my grandmother’s living room.

It was too quiet too. I didn’t want to sit on the furniture. We want high top stools and tables. We want loud music, bright TVs, bright lights.”

BNE: How do you arrive at your capitalization levels? Are most of your investors local? Is there interest outside the region in de novo banks?

JEFF SULLIVAN: I had received some advice from some other de novo CEOs to raise more money rather than less money at the beginning because it will allow us to stay focused on growing the business now that we’re open and not going out six months from now or 12 months from now looking to start our next capital raise.

So, we’ve got a couple of years’ worth of runway to be able to focus on growing the business. The other part of it was that we’re going to burn money before we start making money and we wanted to keep our burn rate well under 20 percent. We didn’t want to start getting close to that 20 percent or higher burn rate before we turned it around.

FRANK TEAS: We put together a business plan that suggested we’re going to grow X number of dollars per year and you wanted to ensure we had the capital to support that growth. You can’t run out of runway. But on the other hand, you don’t want to overcapitalize the bank to the extent where it’s really diluting the return to the shareholders. So, it’s kind of a tricky ground.

BNE: Where are some of the challenges you face in hiring, if any? How do you hire?

JEFF SULLIVAN: I think there’s a culture and we were hiring for fit to a large extent, that the certain personality type of people who are willing to know that they’re going to encounter problems every day, that they’ve got to create their own solutions. So, you do have a certain personality that tends to gravitate to de novos.

FRANK TEAS: I want to add too, talking about the fit, back when we opened the Nashua Bank in 2007, we immediately had need for another teller, because people start on the teller line, but they become ops people or 14 BANKING NEW ENGLAND | Summer 2019

somewhere else in the bank. We could not find the right fit for our bank. Gone are the days that you put an ad in the paper and you get 100 resumes and 75 of them are a good fits for your bank. I was stopping in at a Dunkin Donuts and there was a young Brazilian woman who one day was serving the food, was on the cash register, the next day sweeping the floors, and I came back and told [a co-worker], “I found your next new teller.” I told her who and she said, “There’s no way we’re going to hire that person. She doesn’t know banking.”

And the joke is it took me about 56 egg and cheese sandwiches before I was able to slip her my business card, which is kind of creepy and awkward. Before she even grabbed it, she says, “I know what you’re doing, I’ll call you tomorrow.” And we brought her onboard and she has been a superstar for the bank. One of the things we find, you just don’t have to hire bankers. You need to hire smart people that are engaging and understand customer service.

BNE: What’s the worst part about the approval process and what wisdom can you pass on to here about the processes involved?

JEFF SULLIVAN: The approval process is great. Isn’t it? When we started out our advisers said, “Well, it’s going to take between this many months and this many months.” And I heard the fewest number of months, less a couple, because I knew I was going to do it better than anybody else had ever done it. I think setting more realistic expectations for my board and to my shareholders that there were inevitably bumps in the road, you’re dealing with human beings, there’s vacation schedules for bureaucrats that you have to accommodate and the like. So, things do take a little bit longer. I think

customers, about 800 feet in the back. I think our take was a little bit different in that really we were interested in from day one in the hybrid model of having some bricks and mortar and having a strong online presence. A lot of our energy’s going into building a digital bank, but we do want to have bricks and mortar as well.

The way we tried to approach it was we looked at drive times that were nontraditional. So instead of saying we need to have a branch within a five- or 10-minute drive time of a certain location, we drew the circle as more of a 20- to 25-minute drive time and figured that people are willing ... If they need to come to the branch, most people are willing to make that commitment these days. So, you’d probably end up with the same number of in-branch transactions just catching a wider geography.

we were marching towards an opening day that would have been around January [2019], ramping up staff, and we hit a couple of bumps in the road, one of which being the stock market swooning in November and December, which I know I shouldn’t bring up. It took us until February, March to get back on track with some of those investors.

BNE: It sounds like your advice will be longer, not shorter?

JEFF SULLIVAN: Plan longer.

BNE: What is your approach to establishing branch locations and how do you turn around branch’s own needs, if you have any?

FRANK TEAS: My personal approach to branch locations is I’m not a big fan of brick and mortar. I think we need to have, obviously we will have a main office, and as a de novo, we’re going to house everybody in administration, operations all at one spot. I’m calling it a financial center.

We’re going to have a community room, we’re going to have coffee. We intend to not branch in the first three years. It wouldn’t really make sense for us because our market is such that we can probably acquire a lot of business in one specific footprint, leveraging that kind of technology. And beyond that, our approach is going to be micro branches. There might be a micro facility in downtown. It might be 30 miles away. But I envision this one financial center with two or three different micro branches probably over the first seven to 10 years of our existence.

JEFF SULLIVAN: Our first full-service retail branch will be 2000 square feet, about 1200 feet of space for our

BNE: How much is technology affecting your de novos? It seems like the technology as a percentage of cost of budgets just grows and grows and grows. What were some of the challenges with the technology?

JEFF SULLIVAN: Overall, technology is the fun part of doing a de novo … because you’re starting with a blank slate and you can try to put together the technology that you want. In our case, our Chief Information Officer is very young and very focused on digital banking and she’s put a lot of great ideas together. We’ve been lucky because we’ve been able to marry the stability of a well trusted core system with integrations to some new online mobile banking technology.

We were overall pleasantly surprised by the price of newer financial technology. I think it was a lot less than we expected. A lot less than the numbers we were anticipating from just a couple of years ago in terms of what the providers were charging. I think there’s much more competition in the marketplace for newer applications.

FRANK TEAS: We, from the start, said we wanted to be the leader in technology. Lending’s not the problem, it’s the deposits, and you need the technology for those deposits. We chose to interview and speak to Fiserv, Jack Henry and FIS and there were a couple of different reasons behind it, familiarity with systems and so forth.

We were pleasantly surprised with the products that they had.

It was really amazing how much they wanted to book that next de novo bank, and I think we did right by them and they did right by us in the end. We haven’t signed the document yet, so I won’t say who we’re going with.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

Summer 2019 | BANKING NEW ENGLAND 15

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

BNE: You both have extensive backgrounds in banking. What mistakes or tasks have you learned from? Not Pertaining to mistakes that you committed, but you vowed not to repeat this time.

What are you doing differently?

FRANK TEAS: The fact of the matter is [last time] we had a plan inside the board room, we didn’t necessarily stick to it and the regulators don’t like that during the de novo period. So, one of the things that I bring to the table this time is a comprehensive education program for the board. Really it’s the engagement between the board and ensuring that they understand they’re board of directors, not board of micro managers in many cases.

And that’s a very difficult thing because in many cases they’re the folks that helped drive the capital to the bank and they have this feeling that they need to over manage.

So that’s really the biggest thing I learned the first time JEFF SULLIVAN: I was lucky, from 2014 to 2018 I worked a different part of the industry. I worked for an independent firm called M&M Consultant and I worked in a number of fields. And having a chance to work with 100 clients and see 100 different banks in action during a period when regulation was still pretty intense, the new mortgage laws were coming in. It was really hard to be working for a bank and dealing with all the Dodd-Frank stuff that was rolling out. And I really had to see a wide

variety of ways the bank solved that problem. And you could be in a town and you could have two banks that look identical on paper and one of them was thriving and one of them was at war with the regulators and struggling and bound up.

And so having a chance to work with banks and see how banks culturally dealt with a barrage of compliance that got dumped on all of us 10 years ago and navigate through it and find ways to do it either successfully or unsuccessfully. That gave me some motivation to say, okay, I’m taking all the best practices I can get out of my clients and try to apply that to the new bank.

BNE: When you were looking at core providers, did you look at any that were cloud-based instead of the traditional providers, and why not?

FRANK TEAS: The conclusion that we came to is that the couple that we looked at were just about ready for prime time, we thought. But as a startup company, we’re taking enough risks as a startup bank and for us to take a risk of a startup cloud-based core provider, it was too much for us.

JEFF SULLIVAN: [There] was a strong signal [from the FDIC] that we ought to go with the best in class. if you will. Doesn’t mean over time we won’t investigate to see if there were other providers or other ad-ons that might be cloud-based that could be helpful. But for now, no. ■

We’re proud of our Banking Choice Awards winners!

Hometown Financial Group congratulates bankHometown and bankESB on their wins for Overall Quality, Customer Service, Technology and Community Contribution. The Banking Choice Awards celebrate financial institutions that go above and beyond as selected by their customers.

Thank you to our customers for recognizing our commitment to you and the community.

bankESB.com | 855.527.4111 Member FDIC | Member DIF

16 BANKING NEW ENGLAND | Summer 2019

hometowncoop.com | 888.307.5887 Member FDIC | Member SIF

ON THE MOVE

TRY TO KEEP UP LOCAL PROFESSIONALS MAKING THEIR MARK IN NEW ENGLAND BANKING

TD Bank Names McQuade Regional President for Northern New England

TD Bank has named Sheryl L. McQuade regional president for Northern New England, covering Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire.

In this role, McQuade will lead TD Bank’s Northern New England retail, small business, commercial and middle-market banking operations and lending services throughout a network of approximately 130 stores and 4,300 employees. Her primary office location will be in Manchester, New Hampshire.

McQuade has more than 30 years’ experience in banking, most recently serving as the Senior Credit Officer for Wholesale Banking at United Bank in Massachusetts and Connecticut, a position she held since 2014. Her previous experience also includes commercial and middlemarket banking within the New England region at Bank of America and Berkshire Bank.

Outside of work, McQuade serves on the board of directors of the Greater Hartford YMCA and is a Director Emeritus of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association and will be seeking more volunteer opportunities in Northern New England. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Lehigh University and an MBA from Western New England University in Massachusetts.

TD Bank is deeply rooted in New England. As of June 30, 2018, it was the no. 1 retail bank by deposits in Maine, and no. 2 in Vermont and New Hampshire, according to the FDIC. In 2018, the bank was also the no.

1 Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in Maine and New Hampshire and the no. 2 lender in Vermont. In addition, TD is ranked as a top-10 employer in Maine by the Maine Department of Labor.

Bonvechio Promoted to Executive Vice President and CFO

Community National Bank President and CEO Kathy Austin announced the promotion of Louise Bonvechio to executive vice president, chief financial officer, cashier and corporate secretary of Community National Bank and Treasurer and Corporate Secretary of Community Bancorp, both located in Derby, Vermont.

Bonvechio has worked for Community National Bank for over 25 years. This year she completed the Stonier

Graduate School of Banking and earned a Leadership Certificate from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Austin said, “Louise is very deserving of this promotion as she competently manages all aspects of the Bank’s fiscal functions while providing outstanding leadership for the organization”.

Bonvechio is involved in serving local communities. She is board chair of Rural Edge, a director and treasurer of the Emory Hebard State Office Building Condo Association and a member of the ReNewport Catamount Arts Creative Hub committee. She recently served as a trustee and treasurer of the Goodrich Memorial Library and chaired the ReNewport Community Visit, a Vermont Council on Rural Development program.

Other recently held positions include a member of the Regional Advisory Board for the North Country Career Center and a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston’s Member Advisory Panel.

Bonvechio was presented with the Vermont Bankers Association’s Outstanding Community Service Banker Award in 2017. She and her husband Brian make their home in Newport.

Hometown Financial Group Promotes Yancik to SVP, Senior Compliance and Risk Management Officer Matthew S. Sosik, CEO of Hometown Financial Group, Inc., announced that Karen Yancik has been promoted to the position of senior vice president, senior compliance and risk management officer. Yancik has responsibility for internal audit, compliance and risk management for the subsidiary banks of Hometown Financial Group; bankESB, bankHometown

and Abington Bank.

Yancik joined the company in 1987 and has held significant positions in the areas of internal audit, compliance and risk management, and most recently, Vice President of Compliance and Risk Management.

Yancik received her bachelor’s degree from Nichols College. She is a member of the Massachusetts Bankers’ Association Legal and Regulatory Compliance Committee, the Eastern Massachusetts Compliance Network and the Summer 2019 | BANKING NEW ENGLAND 17

Western Massachusetts Compliance Association.

She resides in Dudley, Massachusetts with her twin sons.

Boston Fed EVP Jeff Fuhrer Announces Retirement

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Executive Vice President and Senior Policy Advisor Jeff Fuhrer has announced his decision to leave the bank in early 2020 after more than 35 years of service to the Federal Reserve System.

Fuhrer will conclude his current role at the end of September 2019 and will continue working on monetary policy advising and Federal Open Market Committee matters through the end of January 2020. He plans to continue working for an institution with a public mission after retiring from the Bank.

Fuhrer has authored numerous scholarly publications examining the interactions among monetary policy, inflation, consumer spending, and asset prices. In 1992, he joined the bank’s research department as an assistant vice president and economist, and from 1995 to 2001 he headed its open economy macro/international section.

In 2000, Fuhrer was named senior vice president and monetary policy advisor. In 2001 he became director of research, and in 2006 he was named executive vice president.

Bank Of New Hampshire Promotes Five

Bank of New Hampshire has announced that Deborah Greenwood, Mary Henderson, Tony Ilacqua, Rosa Michaud and Elizabeth Lyons were recently promoted.

Greenwood has been promoted to vice president – banking office manager. Since joining Bank of New

Deborah Greenwood VP - Banking Office Manager

Mary Henderson VP - Banking Office Manager

Tony Ilacqua VP - Banking Office Manager

Hampshire in January 2018, Greenwood, who has over 36 years of experience in banking, manages the Concord Heights office and is team lead of the Southern market for retail banking. She is a graduate of the Northern New England School of Banking and the UNH Next Level Leadership program. Deborah is active in the community and is a member of Concord Hospital Trust’s Evening en Blanc planning committee.

18 BANKING NEW ENGLAND | Summer 2019

Henderson also has been promoted to vice president – banking office manager. Since joining Bank of New Hampshire in May 2016, Henderson, who has over 34 years of experience in banking, manages the Rochester & Portsmouth offices and is team lead of the Seacoast market for retail banking. She holds an associate’s degree in Business Management from McIntosh College and is a graduate of the New England School of Banking and Leadership Seacoast.

Ilacqua also has been promoted to vice president – banking office manager. Since joining Bank of New Hampshire in December 2011, Ilacqua, who has over 20 years of experience in banking, manages the Littleton office and is team lead of the Northern market for Retail Banking. He holds a degree in Political Science from Keene State College and is a graduate of the Cannon Financial Institute Trust School.

Rosa Michaud has been promoted to Assistant Vice President – Customer Service Operations Manager. Rosa joined Bank of New Hampshire in December of 2001 and has held several positions within the Customer Service Center over that time. Rosa is a graduate of Leadership Lakes Region, Northern New England School of Banking and has completed her Supervisory Certificate with the Center for Financial Training and Education Alliance. She is active in the community and currently serves on the Board for the Greater Laconia Transit Agency and Lakes Region Community Services.

Lyons has been promoted to banking office manager.

Since joining Bank of New Hampshire in December 2017, Lyons, who has over 8 years of experience in banking, manages the Hillsborough office. She has completed her Supervisory Certificate with the Center for Financial Training and Education Alliance. She is active in the community and currently is a board member for the Greater Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce.

Rosa Michaud AVP - Customer Service Operations Manager

Elizabeth Lyons Banking Office Manager

Cote Elected to Depositors Insurance Fund Board

Scott D. Cote, CEO/Chairman of the Board of Pentucket Bank has been elected to serve a six-year term on the Board of the Depositors Insurance Fund.

The Depositors Insurance Fund is a private, industrysponsored insurance company that insures all bank deposits above Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) limits at a number of Massachusetts state-

chartered banks. Pentucket Bank has been a member of DIF since its inception in 1932. DIF is the only private, bank-sponsored insurance company remaining in the United States and is unique to specific member banks in Massachusetts.

Cote is one of 12 board members representing all regions of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Wells Fargo Unveils Commercial Banking Leadership

Wells Fargo announced its Commercial Banking leadership team for the Northeast, which includes leaders serving businesses in New England, Western New York, and Eastern Canada. The new leadership team stems from the bank’s recently announced structure for its Commercial Banking business.

Under its new integrated business model, Wells Fargo is strengthening and simplifying how it serves the needs of local commercial customers. Wells Fargo Commercial Banking provides industry expertise, solutions and local service to customers with annual sales typically ranging from $5 million to $2 billion.

“As part of the new structure, 35-year industry veteran, Greg O’Brien has been named division executive for Wells Fargo Commercial Banking’s Northeast Division. Based in Boston, O’Brien oversees 14 commercial banking teams with offices located in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York and Eastern Canada.”

As part of the new structure, 35-year industry veteran, Greg O’Brien has been named division executive for Wells Fargo Commercial Banking’s Northeast Division. Based in Boston, O’Brien oversees 14 commercial banking teams with offices located in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York and Eastern Canada. He reports to Kristin Lesher, head of Wells Fargo Commercial Banking’s East Region.

“Boston is a key growth market for our company and business,” said Lesher. “Under Greg’s leadership, we’re fortunate to have a strong team dedicated to serving our commercial customers in Boston and throughout the Northeast region.”

O’Brien is on the board of directors of the Boston

Chamber of Commerce and the board of overseers for Babson College. He joined Wells Fargo in 2011 when he was named regional leader for the New England Middle Market Banking operations. Under his leadership, Wells Fargo created its New England Commercial Banking Division in 2015 and has experienced significant growth in these markets, opening three new offices in the past four years.

Hayward Promoted At Clinton Savings

Clinton Savings Bank, a full-service community bank based Clinton, Massachusetts, announced the promotion of Richard R. Hayward, Jr., to executive vice president / CFO / treasurer. In his expanded position, he is responsible for all of the bank’s fiscal operations including finance accounting, insurance, investments, budgets, regulatory agency and government reports, and ensuring the safeguard of Bank assets as well as the compliance and facilities departments. Hayward also chairs the Asset-Liability Committee (ALCO) and the Compliance Committee.

“Since Rich joined the bank’s senior management team back in 2011, he has been a key contributor to the Banks’ solid growth and outstanding financial performance.

We were pleased to be able to acknowledge his remarkable professionalism, leadership and credibility with this promotion,” said Robert J. Paulhus, Jr., Clinton Savings Bank’s president & CEO. Prior to Clinton Savings Bank, Hayward was the Vice President of Finance at Digital Federal Credit Union for seven years. He attended Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, where heobtained a Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting, later becoming a Certified Public Accountant. He has received notable recognition by being one of the Worcester Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” in 2013, an award for rising leaders in the business world who are committed to professional growth and the growth of their community. ■

Send us your news! editorial@ambizmedia.com Summer 2019 | BANKING NEW ENGLAND 19

Do You Get Recognition For Your Bank’s Strong Community Contributions?

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By BRUCE PAUL, Special to Banking New England any community banks and credit unions pride themselves on the contributions they make to their communities.

This includes supporting local charities, funding scholarships, planting trees or otherwise helping their neighbors.

While these great acts can certainly be their own reward, community banks also deserve public recognition for their great works. Other than the obvious benefits to the community, the contributions a bank makes to its community have two strong benefits for the bank itself.

The first is the influence on prospects, or non-customers. Many prospects learn about potential banks from advertising or from community involvement.

Our studies show that advertisement is generally more effective at raising awareness among prospective customers than community works alone. Indeed, this is why many banks set aside large budgets for traditional marketing campaigns. However, our studies of bank customer behavior show that while ads are better at driving awareness, community contribution can be more effective at driving consideration. The latest results of the New England Prospect Brand Benchmarks® show

that strong community contribution increases prospects’ consideration of your bank by an average of 159 percent.

The increase in Massachusetts is 174%, Connecticut 148%, Rhode Island 161% and New Hampshire 153%. Not a bad side-effect! And for smaller banks with lower awareness, the increase is even higher.

Community contribution increases consideration by prospective customers by 153-174 percent across different areas of New England.

The second area of impact is the influence on current customers. When current customers see their bank’s involvement in the community, it can improve the esteem they already have for their bank.

Community contribution increases Our interviews with hundreds consideration by prospective customers of thousands of by 153-174 percent across different customers across areas of New England.

MA, CT, RI and NH show the positive

20 BANKING NEW ENGLAND | Summer 2019

impact can increase their loyalty to the bank, meaning they are less likely to leave and more likely to increase longterm spending with their bank. The Benchmarks® show that recognition of community contribution increases customers’ share of wallet significantly with their bank and their long-term loyalty goes up by 88 percent.

Community contribution increases current customer loyalty by 88 percent.

While it is probably not a big surprise to some that contribution to the community has an impact on the top and bottom lines, many banks are not actually getting the benefit they should be. Many community banks and credit unions spend a lot of money and effort contributing to the community, but their current and potential customers simply don’t know about it. This is very frustrating to marketing and community giving leaders in some banks, and a wasted opportunity for many. It is very important to know just how much

Establish Nonprofit Partnerships In one specific suburban market, two community banks had equivalent amounts of community involvement in terms of (a) gifts to charity, (b) hours volunteered by their staff, and (c) the total number of sponsorships. However, one of the two banks was rated 275 percent higher in terms of community contribution by their respective customers and 388 percent higher by non-customers (prospects).

While each bank made similar levels of contribution to the community, one was using much more efficient channels and coopting local nonprofit partners to get the word out. Not coincidentally, the bank with the better outreach is currently achieving stronger growth in new customers, especially commercial customers.

doing? Are you sure you are getting the credit you deserve?

What can you do differently? And most importantly, what you can you do to make sure your current and prospective customers see what you’re doing? ■ The Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island Banking Benchmarks are based on 546,695 unbiased consumer and business reviews across the four states. Specific data on individual banks and information about ongoing subscriptions to all customer and prospect ratings is available by contacting info@cescx. com.

Bruce Paul

recognition you are getting for your Community good work, and how contribution you can improve that ROI. The increases current challenge for banks customer loyalty by is breaking through the clutter to ensure 88 percent. your customers and prospects appreciate your contribution.

The first step to getting the maximum credit (and business impact) from your community contribution, is to understand how you currently stand with customers and prospects, in your specific market and in relation to your competition.

• Do your current customers see and appreciate your good work?

• Do your prospects?

The second step would be to make reasoned adjustments and tweaks to the programs to see what the impact is. A bank may need to • Improve its community outreach to gain greater recognition, or • It may need to emphasize different types of community involvement to broaden its exposure.

Spring, summer and the holiday season are times of increased giving and involvement in community affairs so recognition can go up. But it can also be harder to differentiate since other institutions are increasing their involvement as well.

The third step is to measure the impact: • How much do the changes move the needle in terms of recognition of community contribution?

• How much does that recognition impact awareness of the bank and consideration to use the bank in the future?

Tracking your ratings over time will show you exactly how your community contribution, and all other marketing efforts, are truly impacting how your prospects and customers view you. This will allow you to fine tune your programs, so you get the maximum benefit for the bank while doing the maximum good for the community.

So as competition for mindshare increases, consider your community involvement activities – what are you currently

Bruce Paul is president and CEO of Customer Experience Solutions, which produces the semiannual Mid Atlantic Banking Benchmarks.

*Community Contribution Rankings, as rated by banked adults and businesses in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island: Rhode Island 1. Washington Trust 2. BankNewport 3. BankRI 4. Milford Federal 5. Citizens Bank

Eastern Connecticut 1. Chelsea Groton Bank 2. Dime Bank 3. Hometown Bank 4. Jewett City Bank 5. Eastern CT Savings Bank

New Hampshire 1. Savings Bank of Walpole 2. Meredith Village Savings Bank 3. Sugar River Savings Bank 4. Mascoma Savings Bank 5. Bank of New Hampshire

Western Massachusetts 1. Greenfield Savings Bank 2. Greenfield Cooperative Bank 3. Adams Community Bank 4. Lee Bank 5. bankESB

Western Connecticut (Fairfield & Litchfield Counties) 1. Thomaston Savings Bank 2. Newtown Savings Bank 3. Savings Bank of Danbury 4. Torrington Savings Bank 5. Litchfield Savings Bank

Central Massachusetts 1. TD Bank 2. Rollstone Bank 3. Unibank 4. Country Bank 5. Webster Five

Greater Hartford Connecticut 1. Essex Savings Bank 2. Guilford Savings Bank 3. Northwest Community Bank 4. First National Bank of Suffield (now PeoplesBank) 5. Windsor Federal Bank Greater New Haven Connecticut 1. Guilford Savings Bank 2. Milford Savings Bank 3. Thomaston Savings Bank 4. People’s United Bank 5. TD Bank

Greater Boston 1. Wellesley Bank 2. Bank of Canton 3. Hingham Bank 4. Dedham Bank 5. Needham Bank North Shore Massachusetts 1. Newburyport Bank 2. Pentucket Bank 3. Cape Ann Bank 4. Institute for Savings 5. Salem Five Bank South Shore Massachusetts 1. Coop Bank of Cape Cod 2. Cape Cod Five 3. Seamen’s Bank 4. Martha’s Vineyard Savings 5. BayCoast Bank

*This is the contribution that the public perceives and does not necessarily line up with the actual level of community contribution due to related marketing campaigns (or lack thereof).

Summer 2019 | BANKING NEW ENGLAND 21

Making A Place For The Customer At The Table

HOW A STRONG RESEARCH PROGRAM CAN POSITION YOUR BANK FOR SUCCESS

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By JIM BRIAND, Special to Banking New England

he CEO of a $5B community bank recently observed, “The biggest banks are not the bumbling giants they were 10 years ago. They are formidable competitors.” That quote neatly summarizes the challenge facing community banks today. The days when community banks could assume that their service was superior to that of larger institutions passed with the advent of advanced technology interwoven with human solutions.

year after year using indicators that move on a glacial basis, leading bankers to undervalue them and cut them when times get tight.

Beyond the quality of research, the sheer volume of data today may favor stasis over change. Chief marketing officers are overwhelmed with studies from every side. As cheap, do-it-yourself research has proliferated, not a day goes by without some supposed nugget of customer insight arriving in your in-box. Like contradictory health studies that leave you afraid to try new foods, sometimes it is just easier to trust your gut and stick with business as usual.

The days when community banks could assume that their service was superior to that of larger institutions passed with the advent of advanced technology interwoven with human solutions.

Maintaining an advantage despite that change depends upon keeping the question “What would the customer think?” as a preeminent organizational focus. We formed NexTier Partners Research in 2019 with that question in mind. Given the rapid pace of the change, the shifting of the competitive set and rapidly increasing service expectations, the need to listen to the customer has never been greater.

Yet we see many bankers still speculating on what their customers want instead of asking.

Why do bankers hesitate to engage in regular research at a time when the price of inaccurate information has never been higher?

In many respects, researchers have created this situation themselves. Too many studies are delivered as a set of numbers without implications or buried in statistical jargon that obscures meaning. Some studies are done

22 BANKING NEW ENGLAND | Summer 2019

Yet with the right approach, research can be integrated into decision so that guesswork is eliminated.

Knowing what the customer thinks can become the norm for all major corporate decisions.

FIND A FINANCIAL EXPERT A starting point is choosing a research partner that understands your business. Make sure that within the firm there is not just technical research and data expertise, but people who have led the marketing effort in both large and community institutions. Banking is different.

Regulatory constraints are real. If they haven’t worked in that world, they will have difficulty translating blue-sky insights into actionable programs.

Second, fully integrate your research into your organization’s strategic decision making. If research is just a defensive tool to validate the CMO’s gut, it will fail to reach full potential, and if research stays in the marketing department, it can’t have impact. Before fielding research,

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MARKETING INSIGHTS FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

discuss at the highest levels how the insights from any proposed research will impact strategic decision making. Be sure to have a plan for using the findings even if the outcomes are not what you expect.

Don’t be afraid of the customer’s voice, even though the message can often be disappointing.

BRING THE VOICE TO MANAGEMENT Consider how to make the customer’s voice a continual, powerful presence at the management table. Voice of the Customer systems have made amazing strides in integrating data and generating key metrics such as NPS, Customer Experience Scores and First Call Resolution. Yet such programs need to be carefully implemented and managed to see that they are truly integrated into decision making and don’t become another underused layer of data.

There is also a danger that over time the internal owner of such metrics becomes just another interest group at the table, leaving the true customer voice distant and muddled. A good external research partner can address these concerns by serving as an objective voice, one that sifts through the VOC data for meaningful trends and can spot moments when specific customer engagement that goes beyond programmatic VOC efforts is required.

LEAVE THE COMFORT ZONE For community banks in particular, a truly effective research program may require going beyond the corporate

comfort zone in terms of sharing. Many decisions on products, pricing, giving, hiring approaches, technology priorities and physical footprint are made within small closed groups.

Jim Briand is a former president and board member of the New England Financial

Marketing Association.

Briand is a senior

research advisor with

NexTier Partners, a Yet to maintain an edge against big banks as marketing research firm their service improves based in Cambridge, requires being even Jim Briand MA. NEFMA seeks to closer the customer educate New England Bankers on than before. True transparency and genuine openness to customer trends in bank marketing and related perspectives—one that goes beyond topics. NEFMA will be holding its fall a defensive “Crisis PR” approach— conference in Portsmouth, NH on may be the entry price for success in October 28, 2019. the future. ■

Business Intelligence

Remain Relevant Drive Revenue Control Costs Improve Performance

longgrouponline.com

603.424.5664 tomlong@longgrouponline.com

Summer 2019 | BANKING NEW ENGLAND 23

M&A

The Ostrich Effect

NOT PLANNING FOR AN M&A IS NOT AN OPTION ost, if not all, community banks are wholeheartedly committed to remaining independent in order to better meet the needs of their respective communities. However, banks must also be mindful of alternative paths that have the potential to provide an increased return to shareholders.

Over the past several years, there have been more than 250 bank acquisitions annually. Community banks with total assets of less than $500 million have been involved in more than 75 percent of these transactions. Planning for a possible merger or acquisition is extremely important, but many community banks’ plan is to simply not have a plan, avoiding the topic altogether.

Savvy bank leaders recognize the importance of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) planning, and while it may be uncomfortable, recognize how critical M&A planning is to the future success of the institution.

All too often, boards and management teams fail to discuss and plan for a potential sale transaction for fear that the planning might actually make it happen. It’s similar to how individuals are often reluctant and uncomfortable discussing estate planning, wills and trusts with their aging family members. No one wants to “plan” for the death of a lovedone, but most responsible adults understand the importance of being prepared for the transition.

THINGS MOVE QUICKLY

Many boards, CEOs and CFOs may find themselves at the M&A table in an unexpected turn of events. Once 24 BANKING NEW ENGLAND | Summer 2019

there, the pace accelerates so quickly that if the board and management team have not spent a considerable amount of time thinking through all aspects of this scenario as a viable option, they may be surprised at the number of items they miss prior to signing the definitive agreement (“DA”).

For example, do your compensation programs align with each other and provide the protection desired for key executives and the employee base as a whole? If not, it may be too late to make changes to them once you are having discussions with potential partner(s), especially if you are a public company due to SEC filing requirements. Your investment bankers and attorneys will be focused on the financial terms of the transaction (as they should be), and not necessarily the operational or social issues. However, most deals fail to achieve the desired financial results due to poor planning of social and operational issues. At the end of the day, mergers are truly about people.

As with any transaction, sellers have a certain amount of leverage prior to signing the DA. Nevertheless, once the DA is signed and the transaction is announced, 100 percent of the leverage shifts to the buyer. Anything that is not included in the DA is

OVER

M

By KIMBERLY B. SNYDER, Special To Banking New England

250

now up for determination by the buyer.

A PREPAREDNESS PLAN

We believe it is best practice to develop a M&A Preparedness Plan, not necessarily to “plan” for the sale of the company, but to be prepared in the event that an offer comes your way that you cannot refuse, similar to a Crisis Communication Plan. You hope you never have to execute one, but it is a good feeling to know you have one in place if necessary.

Here are a few human element considerations that if handled incorrectly, or not planned for appropriately, could negatively impact the overall transaction’s chance for success: • What percentage vote is required for a merger or acquisition? Do non-votes count as no-votes?

• Do your key employees have active employment agreements that have change-in-control protection? Does everyone (board members and those key executives) understand the financial implications of this protection? Are change-in-control triggers single or double?

• How will the severance amount that exceeds the IRS 280G

# OF BANK ACQUISITIONS ANNUALLY.

limitation be handled? Do you know who may be negatively impacted by the 280G limit? • Do those employees understand the limit and how it is calculated? Have you considered how to increase the 280G limit for key employees?

• What role does your current CEO want to have with the surviving entity?

• Who will be responsible for preparing due diligence materials and how will it be handled in a confidential manner? To be clear, most likely it will not be your CEO. • How important is reverse due diligence?

• Do your company-wide compensation plans work as intended under the lens of a sale?

Do they protect the employee base as a whole?

• Which employees are critical to “tie up” to make the merger successful?

• Have you identified the critical operational employees to ensure a successful conversion to the new core system? How will you retain them when they most likely will not be offered permanent positions with the surviving entity?

IF DEVELOPED PROPERLY, YOUR M&A PREPAREDNESS

PLAN WILL BECOME A DETAILED ROADMAP TO FOLLOW THAT WILL ENSURE THE IMPORTANT ISSUES WILL BE ON

THE TABLE FOR DISCUSSION DURING THE NEGOTIATION. • How do you want the process and timeline for the purchaser to decide on which employees will be displaced to be handled? Do you want input? If so, be prepared!

issues in a thoughtful manner. If this decision is made, it will be the most important decision in the company’s history.

Don’t be like an ostrich and get caught with your head in the sand by letting unpreparedness re-write the bank’s legacy. ■

These items truly represent a small fraction of the number of issues that should be considered when developing your M&A Preparedness Plan. If developed properly, your plan Kimberly B. Snyder is president will become a detailed roadmap to and founder of Roanoke, follow that will ensure the Va.-based KBS Results, important issues will be a financial services on the table for discussion consulting firm with the during the negotiation. focus of helping banks solve While it doesn’t guarantee problems. Prior to founding you will get everything you KBS, Snyder was with Valley want out of the negotiation, Financial Corporation and it does guarantee you will Valley Bank in Roanoke, Va, be prepared and will have Kimberly B. Snyder worked through the various where she was EVP and CFO. Summer 2019 | BANKING NEW ENGLAND 25

M&A

How Unconscious Bias Hurts Your Organization COULD CAUSE TALENT AND FINANCIAL DEFICITS

By KAREN KIRCHNER, ELLEN KEITHLINE BYRNE, and DENISE D’AGOSTINO, Special to Banking New England

H

aving a diverse workplace has been proven to result in greater creativity, better decision making and a healthier bottom line. And yet, despite many well-intentioned diversity efforts, we still find mostly white men at the top of organizations.

WHAT’S GETTING IN THE WAY? Unconscious bias is one important factor. According to Catalyst, the global non-profit focused on women’s advancement, “Unconscious biases can have a significant negative impact on workplaces, leading to differences in who gets hired and recruited, who gets offered new opportunities, and whose voice is listened to in meetings.”

Although we focus on gender bias in this article, unconscious bias is equally harmful in the areas of race, ethnicity, and other ways in which we are different.

Research shows us that if unchecked, our biases cause us to underestimate women’s performance and overestimate men’s. In one study, replacing a woman’s name with a man’s name on a resume improved the odds of getting

26 BANKING NEW ENGLAND | Summer 2019

hired by more than 60%. If your organization is falling into this trap, you’re probably not hiring the best people for the job. And your results are likely suffering as a result.

Business professors Cristian Deszö of the University of Maryland and David Ross of Columbia University studied the effect of gender diversity on the top firms in Standard & Poor’s Composite 1500 list, a group designed to reflect the overall U.S. equity market. First, they examined the size and gender composition of firms’ top management teams from 1992 through 2006. Then they looked at the financial performance of the firms.

In their words, they found that, on average, “female representation in top management leads to an increase of $42 million in firm value.” They also measured the firms’ “innovation intensity” through the ratio of research and development expenses to assets. They found that companies that prioritized innovation saw greater financial gains when women were part of the top leadership ranks.

HOW CAN WE LESSEN THE IMPACT? If we accept that unconscious bias has a negative impact on organizational performance, what do we do to lessen its impact, or eliminate it altogether? The tricky thing about biases is that we all have them.

In her Harvard Business Review article, “How to Reduce Personal Bias when Hiring,” Ruchika Tulshyan explains, “we are, in fact, biologically hardwired to align with people like us and reject those whom we consider different.” This comes from the days when a quick judgment about friend or foe meant the difference between life or death. Now, those primitive parts of our brain aren’t so helpful. Increasing our awareness of when biases may be influencing us and questioning our assumptions is critical. We can do this by inviting others to challenge our thinking, or by “flipping the script” and asking ourselves if we’d be making the same decision if someone of a different profile were involved.

For example, if you are hesitating to promote a female team member because you’re not sure she has what it takes to succeed at the next level, ask yourself: • What skills are critical in the new position?

• What opportunities have this candidate been given to demonstrate these skills?

• What kinds of challenges has she successfully overcome in the past?

• And most importantly, if she were a man, would I have the same doubts?

UNWITTING BARRIERS Here at Her New Standard, we have developed a sixmonth women’s leadership acceleration program with the goal of helping women to increase their influence.

Companies send their high potential women to us because they want to fast track their development. And yet our participants tell us about the barriers that organizations unwittingly put in their way.

One woman who works on the trading floor of a global financial firm explained how her male peers invited a client she works closely with to play golf and didn’t think to include her. When asked why she wasn’t invited, they told her they assumed she didn’t play golf. Being left out of these informal bonding opportunities makes it hard for women to build the trust and relationships that

result in lucrative deals and subsequent advancement.

Executives often believe they are hiring and promoting people fairly when in fact, they are missing the mark. In the Harvard Business Review article, “Numbers Take Us Only So Far,” Maxine Williams cites research that shows that individuals who believe they are objective are often those most likely to apply unconscious bias. So, what can leaders do to ensure they are making decisions based on the criteria that really matter?

Catalyst suggests taking these actions to combat unconscious bias: 1. Enlist stakeholders from a range of backgrounds to help make decisions more inclusive, including equal numbers of men and women.

2. Give others – particularly those different from you – a chance. Be open to learning from them as much as they can expect to learn from you.

3. Intentionally mentor and sponsor people who are not like you.

4. Call it out when you see others making judgments based on vague criteria such as cultural fit. Find out what’s really at the root of their discomfort.

The more we question our assumptions and become aware how we use unbiased information to make our decisions, the greater the chance we will give opportunities to those who can get the best results for our organizations.

That way we can all thrive. ■ Her New Standard LLC was founded by, from left, Denise D’Agostino, Karen Kirchner and Ellen Keithline Byrne, a team of organizational leaders, executive coaches and a PhD, who create programs specifically for women leaders to help them rise up in today’s competitive world and make their mark.

For additional information, visit www.hernewstandard.com.

Summer 2019 | BANKING NEW ENGLAND 27

DID YOU SEE?

Banking New England publishes a weekly digital newsletter that rounds up the latest news and information about, you guessed it, banking in New England. Here are a few stories from recent editions.

If you would like to subscribe to, share your news, or advertise in the Banking New England newsletter, contact us at info@ambizmedia.com.

PEOPLE’S UNITED TO ACQUIRE UNITED BANK FOR $759 MILLION People’s United Bank announced an agreement to acquire United Financial Bancorp, Inc. the holding company for United Bank, in a 100 percent stock transaction valued at approximately $759 million.

People’s United said in a statement it expects the transaction to be $0.07 accretive to earnings per common share based on fully phased-in cost savings, with a tangible book value earn-back of approximately 2.3 years and an IRR of approximately 18%. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2019.

Under the terms of the agreement, which has been approved by both companies’ boards of directors, United Financial Bancorp, Inc. shareholders will receive 0.875 shares of People’s United Financial stock for each United Financial Bancorp, Inc. share. The transaction is valued at $14.74 per United Financial Bancorp, Inc. share, based on the closing price of People’s United’s common stock on July 12, 2019.

28 BANKING NEW ENGLAND | Summer 2019

Jack Barnes, chairman and CEO, People’s United Financial, said, “With the fourth largest deposit market share in the combined Hartford and Springfield market, a complementary array of commercial and retail capabilities and a shared legacy of community giving, United will solidify our presence in the Central Connecticut market and strengthen our franchise in Western Massachusetts.”

WILLIAM MCGURK: PEOPLE’S UNITED DEAL IS “LOUSY FOR UNITED BANK” William McGurk, the longtime face of Rockville Bank that would later become United Bank, has been quite outspoken about People’s United Bank’s acquisition of United Bank.

“It’s a great deal for People’s United and a lousy deal for United Bank,” William McGurk said in a phone interview with Patch, a short time after the two institutions announced a byout by People’s United. “That’s not my bank.”

Those were strong words coming from the man who led Rockville Bank for 31 years. He retired in

2011 at nearly 70. The “new” United Bank was formed by a merger of Connecticut-based Rockville Bank and Massachusetts-based United Bank in April 2014 in a deal touted as a “merger of equals.”

McGurk said equality went by the wayside in the $700-plus million deal.

McGurk has never pulled any punches, whether in the role of bank exec, an economic development adviser in Vernon or while wearing Navy whites at veterans events.

But he is most recognized for being at the helm of Rockville Bank.

He was Rockville Bank and Rockville Bank took on his personality. He seemed to be at every community event and Rockville adopted the advertising slogan, “That’s my bank.”

During his tenure, McGurk would hand a Connecticut Lottery scratch ticket to customers who came up to him to say the slogan out loud.

WHAT ARE THE BEST OPTIONS FOR NEW ENGLAND CU CREDIT CARDS? Credit unions across the six states that make up New England are

pretty competitive when compared to the rest of the nation, but which credit cards offer the best rates and perks?

While connected to the huge Mid-Atlantic credit card market, the New England area has been a hot bed of competition where current interest rates are as low as 8.75% and nearly all the fees charged the big national issuers are nonexistent, notes Robert McKinley, Senior Analysts for CardTrak, CardFlash and CardData.

Pawtucket Credit Union has about 120,000 members and offers ten credit cards. The best credit card is Visa Signature Real Rewards card.

The Pawtucket Credit Union Visa Signature Real Rewards card offers a variable interest rate as low 15.99% based on risk. There is no annual fee; 0% interest on first 6 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers.

The Real Rewards program offers 1.5 points for every spend dollar you spend with no cap or limit on the points, plus five years to redeem

points for rewards. Also, 2,500 bonus rewards points are awarded after first purchase3, redeemable for $25 cash back, merchandise, gift cards or travel savings.

CREDIT UNION LEAGUE OF CONNECTICUT NAMES NEW PRESIDENT AND CEO Bruce Adams is the new president and CEO of The Credit Union League of Connecticut and will be officially joining the league on August 19.

“Selected from a strong field of candidates, the board is excited that Bruce will be leading the next chapter of our success. He brings an impressive blend of legal, policy, and business experience which will be extremely valuable to furthering the credit union movement in Connecticut,” said Michael Hinchey, Board Chairman.

Adams is currently the deputy commissioner of the Department of Revenue Services. Prior to his current service, Adams was general counsel to former Lieutenant

Governor Nancy Wyman where he provided legal, policy, and strategic counsel to the lieutenant governor and her staff. He also assisted the lieutenant governor in her role as president of the Connecticut State Senate, which, for the first time since the late 19th century, was evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.

THE PROVIDENT OPENS UP CRYPTOCURRENCY SERVICES The Provident Bank has joined exclusive company in offering deposit services for cryptocurrencyrelated clients.

CEO Dave Mansfield said the bank “is proud to be entering the digital asset space because it’s largely unbanked and clients want deposit services.”

He said the bank has “developed robust measures to ensure our strategy will not only be effective from a regulatory compliance perspective, but will also allow for our clients to have certainty in a long-term banking relationship.” ■

JUST RIGHT BANKING SINCE 1851. ®

BayCoast Bank is a community bank dedicated to serving the people and businesses of southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island for another 168 years.

Just Right® banking for all your needs including mortgages, investments, insurance and much more.

Insurance and Investment Products: Are Not Bank Guaranteed, Are Not FDIC or DIF Insured, May Lose Value

Summer 2019 | BANKING NEW ENGLAND 29

To do that, he said, The Provident is working with Treliant LLC, which advises the financial services industry on various compliance and regulatory issues, including policy, regulations and operational risk.

Expected Closing Date For Federal Savings Bank And First Seacoast Bancorp Announced Federal Savings Bank revealed its stock offering results and an expected closing date, after receiving regulatory approvals to close its mutual holding company reorganization, as well as stock offering by First Seacoast Bancorp.

Upon closing the reorganization and stock offering, the Bank will change its name to “First Seacoast Bank.” Closing is expected to occur at the close of business on July 16, 2019. The Company’s common stock is expected to begin trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “FSEA” on July 17, 2019.

As a result of the subscription offering that ended on June 18, 2019, the Company expects to sell a total of 2,676,740 shares of common stock, which includes 238,473 shares to be sold to the

First Seacoast Bank Employee Stock Ownership Plan, at a price of $10.00 per share. In addition, as part of the reorganization, the Company expects to contribute 3,345,925 shares of common stock to First Seacoast Bancorp, MHC (the “MHC”), the Bank’s proposed parent mutual holding company, and 60,835 shares of common stock to First Seacoast Community Foundation, Inc., a charitable foundation that has been formed in connection with the reorganization and will be dedicated to supporting charitable organizations operating in the Bank’s local community. A total of 6,083,500 shares of common stock of the Company are expected to be issued and outstanding upon closing.

CITIZENS BANK SUED FOR ALLEGED DISCRIMINATION The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued Citizens Bank, N.A. alleging it violated federal law by failing to reassign a long-term employee to one of several vacant positions after he became disabled and sought a reasonable accommodation.

According to EEOC’s complaint, Citizens Bank refused to provide a reasonable accommodation to a supervisor in the national banking company’s Cranston, R.I., call center after he developed anxiety and requested reassignment to a position that did not require him to field customer phone calls. The symptoms from the employee’s anxiety became so severe that he was forced to take a medical leave of absence.

CITIZENS BANK TOLD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IT DOES NOT COMMENT ON PENDING LITIGATION. The EEOC’s complaint alleges Citizens refused to reassign the employee to any of the multiple vacant positions for which he was qualified and which were located within 45 miles of the call center where he had worked. When Citizens refused to either reassign the employee or discuss alternative accommodations with him unless he returned to his job in the call center, he was forced to resign, EEOC’s complaint stated. ■

Katahdin Trust Helps Provide Backpacks and School Supplies Katahdin Trust, a community bank serving northern Maine and the greater Bangor and Portland regions, made a $2,500 donation to Penquis’ “We’ve Got Your Back” campaign. The funds were used to purchase backpacks and school supplies for children from families facing financial challenges. William P. “Bill” Lucy, Katahdin Trust executive vice president, commercial services, based out of the bank’s Springer Drive branch office in Bangor, made the check presentation.

“Katahdin Trust is pleased to once again be part of this effort and help children get ready for a new school year,” shared Lucy. “We are delighted to join others in the greater Bangor community in helping to ensure that all students have the supplies they need to be successful in the classroom.”

Easing the financial burden of back to school expenses is a priority for Penquis. “It can be cost prohibitive for many families to get all the things kids need,” explains Renae Muscatell, Penquis community relations manager. “We have parents say that despite working full time, making ends meet is difficult and back to school expenses competes with other expenses such as housing, food and utilities. In some circumstances, parents and grandparents alike shared if it were not for this program the children would not have any school 30 BANKING NEW ENGLAND | Summer 2019

supplies or a backpack when they return to school this year. Teachers have also expressed their appreciation, saying that having new supplies greatly impacts a child’s confidence.”

Penquis will distribute all 1,625 backpacks and basic school supplies, just in time for the start of a new school year. For more information about the “We’ve Got Your Back” or other children’s programs provided by Penquis, please contact them by email at info@penquis.org or by phone at 1-800-215-4942. ■

Join us October a 11,deserving 2019 Nominate

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Summer 2019 | BANKING NEW ENGLAND 31

ANYTHING BUT BANKING

Greg Buscone,

Executive Vice President / Senior Commercial Banking Officer, Eastern Bank, Boston, Massachusetts

Greg Buscone, who has a BA in math from Holy Cross, as well as an MBA with a concentration in finance from Northeastern, joined Eastern Bank two years ago to help lead its commercial banking business and client experience: the latest stop in a banking career spanning 33 years. Banking New England caught up with him for a chat about his life outside of banking.

“Work hard and play hard.”

By KEITH GRIFFIN FAVORITE SPORT: Tennis, which I play a couple of times a week throughout the year with a group of friends and my children.

As a sports fan, I enjoy watching the New England Patriots. It’s a family tradition; I watched them with my dad growing up and have done the same with my children as they were growing up. What my kids don’t realize is the badge of honor I’ve earned watching the Patriots for decades before they became Super Bowl champions.

MUSIC: My kids tell me I have to say Zach Brown. But it’s really Jimmy Buffet and Billy Joel. I saw them both a number of times.

The last concert I went to was Billy Joel in Fenway Park—I convinced all my kids to go and it was extra special seeing a music icon with them in a beloved New England landmark.

TELEVISION: My favorite shows are great classic comedies like “Cheers” and “The Office.”

Cheers ties into the whole theme of supporting our local community and neighborhoods.

I live in Medfield, Massachusetts and grew up two towns away in Medway.

I didn’t go far away, and supporting and being local mean a lot to me.

BOOKS: I enjoy the Freakonomics series for pushing new ways to think about our day-to-day business world. My favorite business book is “Good To Great” by Jim Collins because he shows that all successful and great companies have a “social” purpose.

HOBBIES: My children are grown now (the oldest is 26

32 BANKING NEW ENGLAND | May/June 2019

years old and the youngest is 17). When they were growing up, my wind down time was playing sports games in the backyard with them or other games in the house after I got home from work. Now I’m enjoying spending more time either playing tennis or going to the gym.

FAVORITE PLACE TO VISIT: Cape Cod. My parents were school teachers and had their summers off. We lived on Cape Cod as a family in the summers when I was growing up. I met my wife there. We now spend our summers there with our children, another family tradition that has been passed along through different generations.

MOTTO: Three quotes come to mind that drive me personally and professionally. I like one from Bill Belichick, coach of the New England Patriots, which no doubt formed from my years of watching the team as a fan. He says, “Be humble or be humbled.” I always tell my kids, “Work hard and play hard.” The final would be, “The harder I work, the luckier I get,” credited to Thomas Jefferson.

ADVICE: The advice I like to give revolves around teamwork. Being a team player is really important in the workplace because it helps us all be more successful.

SOMETHING YOUR CO-WORKERS DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME: I have six children, and the summer of 2019 is especially busy for my family. I had a daughter graduating college Memorial Day weekend, another daughter getting married the same weekend, a son graduated from high school in June, and my oldest son gets married the first week in August. Two graduations and two marriages in the span of a couple of months. ■

CSI KNOWS EXPERIENCE COUNTS. In its recent core vendor report, Aite Group recognized CSI’s NuPoint® core platform for “providing the best user experience.”* Come meet the core that the industry—and our customers—can’t stop talking about. www.csiweb.com/experience * Source: Aite Group, “AIM Evaluation: The Leading Providers of U.S. Core Banking Systems”

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