Massachusetts Banker 2Q 2012

Dossier: Institution for Savings | Enterprise Risk Management for Your Bank SS EE CC O ON ND D Q QU U AA R R TT EE R R 22 00 11 22

TT H H EE M M AA G G AA ZZ II N N EE

O O FF TT H H EE M M AA SS SS AA CC H HU U SS EE TT TT SS B B AA N NK K EE R R SS AA SS SS O O CC II AATT II O ON N

Focus on

Commercial Lending

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FEATURES

Enterprise Risk Management for Your Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

COVER STORY

Commercial Lenders Break New Ground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 COLUMNS

Chairman’s Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Legislative Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 26 DEPARTMENTS

26

Dossier: Smooth Sailing in Newburyport . . 6 On the Move . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Good Neighbors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 MBA Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

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OFFICERS Chairman: Norman S. Seppala, President

Massachusetts Banker is the official publication of the Massachusetts Bankers Association, which is solely responsible for its written content. The magazine is produced quarterly by

Granite Savings Bank, Rockport

One Washington Mall, Boston, MA 02108-3906 Phone 617-523-7595 • Fax 617-523-6373 www.massbankers.org

Vice Chairman: Dorothy A. Savarese, President Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, Orleans

Treasurer: Michael E. Tucker, President Greenfield Co-operative Bank

Subscribe: (toll free) (866) 931-7933

Editor Bruce E. Spitzer Associate Editor Barbarajean Adams

President: Daniel J. Forte

Design / Production / Advertising www.thewarrengroup.com custompubs@thewarrengroup.com ©2012 The Warren Group Inc. All rights reserved. The Warren Group is a trademark of The Warren Group Inc. 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.

Second Quarter 2012 n M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R

3

CHAIRMAN’S COLUMN

by Norm Seppala

Looking Ahead, and Saying Good-bye

W

e are hopefully seeing the beginning of positive change in the outlook for the economy, housing and job creation. Over the past four years we all were challenged by, and successfully responded to, multiple events that ultimately caused the failure of many banks in other parts of the country. While the risks to a recovery are still out there, let’s focus on the positives and some recent MBA activities: Much of what the Association does to enhance our interests and reputation is the result of many months, and sometimes a year of more of work on the part of Dan, Kevin, Jon, the board, and the capable staff at MBA. New issues emerge, legislation is filed and the political process moves on.

Perhaps no subject has received greater attention over the last year than that of housing and foreclosures.

Considerable time is being spent by Association staff and the board of directors to insure a reasonable solution can be crafted to deal with a multitude of title, foreclosure and abandoned property bills currently under legislative consideration.

In Washington, we continue to monitor a wide range of issues, including regulatory concerns, continuing fallout from Dodd-Frank and Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae. A viable secondary market for investment quality residential mortgage loans is vitally important to a housing recovery.

Additionally, the now-operational Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) bears continued watching as new mortgage disclosure statements and potential for a “model”

4

mortgage billing statement take the stage. All of this ultimately leads to increasing costs for compliance, a topic that all of us and the Association continually emphasize when speaking with our legislative delegation.

One theme that has been consistently maintained by the Association while commenting on and advocating on our behalf is that there is a significant difference between banks on Main Street versus Wall Street. So much negative publicity surrounding the term “bank” requires that we continually differentiate ourselves from others. Much work has been devoted to this subject, but there is still more to do.

Political action at the grassroots level is vitally important. Recently, legislation was filed that would increase the commercial lending limits at credit unions. If enacted, this would benefit only the largest bank-like credit unions. MBA has sent comment letters opposing this increase and urged members to send letters to their respective legislators so that our side may be considered. Simply put, we must become more active in expressing our opinions and getting our staff and board members energized to contact legislators. We must also support our Mass Bankers PAC. In January, State Treasurer Steve Grossman updated those attending the CEO/Senior Management Conference on the success of his Small Business Lending Initiative. A number of MBA members have participated in this initiative, and during the conference we heard success stories from borrowers and their sponsoring banks. It is good to see our funds invested locally.

The MBA Charitable Foundation continues to provide much needed assistance to an increasing number of worthy organizations. So many

M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R n Second Quarter 2012

groups try to do so much with such limited resources. Please continue to support the foundation and its mission. This year the foundation donated $125,000 to deserving organizations.

This is my final Chairman’s Column and I enjoyed having a role in authoring a quarterly column. Thanks to Bruce Spitzer for coaching and reminders that we need to start thinking of the next column.

I have greatly enjoyed working with all of the Association staff. The MBA is regarded by many as one of the best in the business. I am exiting with a greater appreciation of the complexity of what it takes not only to get things done, but done correctly.

The board is composed of bankers representing all facets of the industry. I appreciate the support they have shown to me and the industry through their service as members of the Board of Directors.

Dorothy Savarese, president and CEO of Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, will follow me as chairman when my term expires on June 30. Dorothy is an extremely talented banker. Our Association will continue to do well under her capable leadership and foresight.

I was told that my term as chairman would go by quickly, and it has.

I am most encouraged that over this time the economy appears to be improving and with it a hopeful return to more normal conditions.

I have been honored to serve as your chairman and I extend my thanks to all members, colleagues and friends in the MBA for your kind words and encouragement. n Norman S. Seppala is chairman of the MBA and president of Granite Savings Bank, Rockport. He can be reached at nseppala@verizon.net.

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DOSSIER

Smooth Sailing in Newburyport

by Jay Fitzgerald Bank:

Institution for Savings

Headquarters:

Newburyport

CEO:

Michael J. Jones

Charter:

State, mutual savings bank

Assets:

$1.3 billion (2011)

Branches:

6 full-time (plus 3 high school branches)

ATMs:

8 (and member of SUM)

Founded:

1820

Employees:

110 full-time Michael J. Jones

M

ichael J. Jones has many reasons to be proud these days.

His bank, the Institution for Savings of Newburyport, is up against some worthy rivals when it comes to measuring the overall performance of banks across Massachusetts.

Yet, somehow, his $1.3 billion-asset institution, the state’s 20th largest Massachusetts-based bank, managed last year to become the fifth most profitable bank in the state in total dollars, at $16.1 million, despite having only one-fifth of the assets of the top-ranked bank and half the assets of the fourth-ranked bank.

This year, Jones sees continued profitable growth – which may well push the Institution for Savings up a notch or two in coming rankings.

“It’s been a nice run,” said Jones, who became president and chief executive officer of the 190-year-old Institution for Savings in 2010. “It really comes down to having the right mindset and philosophy about growth and service. I think we have it.”

Some of the recent growth at the Institution for Savings can be attributable to the 2007 merger between Ipswich Co-operative Bank, at which Jones was CEO, and the

6

larger Institution for Savings, creating a $810-million asset institution in the process.

But the newly combined Institution for Savings has also continued to grow since the merger, by about 60 percent in assets, indicating there’s a lot more going on than just a mere combining of two respected institutions.

What’s going on, says the 44-yearold Jones, is a “change in philosophy” at the bank to more aggressively grow deposits and loan business.

And the deposits have indeed grown, to $1.05 billion last year, up 77 since the 2007 merger.

Commercial lending has also increased, to $110 million last year, up about 190 percent since the merger five years ago and up 26 percent over 2010. Much of the commercial lending activity involves small businesses and commercial real estate. Restaurants, gyms, medical offices and others are either buying up properties or refinancing past loans, he noted.

Numerous community banks, including Institution for Savings, have reported a spike in individual and small-business activity over the past four years, despite the Great Recession.

M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R n Second Quarter 2012

Some of the Institution for Savings’ growth has also come as the result of a more aggressive marketing campaign in local newspapers and via online strategies, said Jones. And the Institutions of Savings added a new branch last year, in Ipswich, bringing to six its total number of full-time branches.

Jones said the Institution for Savings has also been aggressive in offering customers “very competitive” interest rates, especially on the bank’s CD and money-market products. “Depositors don’t just walk in the door,” said Jones. “They want a reason to bank with you. They need a reason.”

The bank has only 105 employees, a competitively low figure as measured against deposits, assets, profits and other standards.

Though its payroll is comparatively small, Jones said he takes great pride in the Institution for Savings being recently named by The Boston Globe as one of the top places to work among small employers.

A native of Portland, Maine, Jones, a Bryant College graduate with an MBA from Bentley University, said he’s also proud of the Institution for Savings’ role in the com-

munity – and how that’s benefited both the bank and its customers.

Among other things, it now has three part-time branches in area high schools, offering non-loan services to mostly faculty members at Ipswich High School, Newburyport High School and the Triton Regional High School. “Believe me, they’re not a money maker for us by any means,” he said of the high school branches.

“But they’ve been incredible for us.

It’s also been a great training ground for future employees.”

He noted that Institution for Savings now has on its payroll three fulltime employees who used to be student workers within a high-school branch. “In some respects, it’s our way of influencing kids about finances,” he said of the branches.

Institution for Savings also underwrites a local “Credit for Life” Fair for high-school students, who learn about finances by being put on a simulated household budget and told to balance their books. Jones also personally visits local high schools to

talk to seniors about “Get Smart About Credit.”

Though Jones is optimistic about the Institution for Savings’ future, he said there are nonetheless industry challenges and economic storm clouds facing all banks, not just his institution.

One challenge is the current low interest rates and the spread. “There’s just no yield out there,” he said.

In addition, the demand for loans is still somewhat tenuous – and it’s hard to find new loan customers, despite the slowly improving economy in Massachusetts. That’s the paradox facing banks, he says: Community banks may have more customers these days, but the demand for loans isn’t keeping pace.

As for the economy, he noted that “corporate America is in good shape,” with historically high profits. “But there’s a reluctance to hire out there,” he said. “I fear the economy is still fragile, despite the recovery.”

As for the banking industry, he said community banks are generally doing

well, even though they were unfairly tarnished along with other banks after the Wall Street debacle of 2008.

“It’s really too bad,” he said. “We’ve always been preaching trust and respect. Unfortunately, that’s something Wall Street missed. It’s disheartening.

But that’s the way of the world right now, I guess.”

Jones has seen his share of ups and downs in the banking industry over the decades.

And he’s convinced that “banking isn’t rocket science.”

As long as banks offer excellent service and products to customers, and as long as bankers keep a clear eye on their portfolios and the economy, there’s no reason why banks shouldn’t do well, he said.

Despite potential hardships tied to the economy and the industry moving forward, Jones said he’s optimistic about the immediate future for the Institution for Savings. “This bank will have very strong earnings,” he said.

“We’re quite optimistic.” n

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7

LEGISLATIVE REVIEW

by David Floreen

Clear as the Potomac

A

nyone who has taken a cruise on the Potomac knows that the water makes the Charles in Boston sparkle by comparison. Yet, metaphorically speaking, can the same be said about the current political process in the capitol cities through which they flow?

We are well into the 2012 election season. The Republican presidential primaries are almost over.

Mitt Romney is the presumptive candidate. Most key indicators and anecdotal evidence suggest that the national and Massachusetts economies are improving, although unevenly, with significant geographic and demographic sectors still facing real challenges.

In recent speeches, both Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and Eric Rosengren, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, stated that the national and New England economies are moving forward; unemployment rates are falling; the stock market is strong and employment is up. At the close of the first quarter the S&P 500 jumped 12 percent, the Dow expanded by 7.6 percent and the techheavy NASDAQ surged 21 percent, while the bond market generally was flat. April and May results were less robust, given European uncertainty. Nevertheless, business confidence is stagnant as most business owners remain skeptical of Washington policies.

Leaders in both parties and both branches of Congress seem to acknowledge the deep frustrations most Americans hold toward politi-

8

cians and, with a wary eye toward November, show faint signs of progress on some issues. Elections are still won (and lost) by voters in the middle. In 2008 they veered toward President Barack Obama and the Democrats on the themes of hope and change. For many, however, the change they hoped for was not what they expected. So in 2010, conservative, Tea-Party Republicans captured many of those votes. This November, it’s a jump ball as to who’ll win at this point. Gas prices, unemployment rates, the Middle East, tax cuts and reforms, and the upcoming Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of the health care act mandating individuals to purchase insurance are just a few of the many factors likely to influence this November’s elections.

Even though Mitt Romney will secure the Republican presidential nomination, the scrappy performance by Rick Santorum, the former Republican senator from Pennsylvania, suggests that the conservative base of the Republican party prefers a sharp contrast to President Obama. Will that change in November through an Etch-aSketch reset strategy? What about all the newly redistricted Congressional seats mandated by the 2010 census? Who will win those primaries later this spring and summer – true ideological conservatives or more pragmatic politicians who recognize that governing is not a monolithic exercise?

Major business groups strongly supported many Republican candidates in 2010 only to find that many of those newly elected members of Congress have not been supportive of traditional business interests, such as extending the federal road and bridge programs. As of mid-

M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R n Second Quarter 2012

May, about 40 incumbent House members announced that they were retiring, seeking another office or had been defeated in a primary.

These elections are very important and incumbent congressmen are closely watching their own and other districts for any discernible signs of voter sentiment. Thus far voter turnout has been lower than normal; is that voter apathy or little enthusiasm for the candidates?

The Massachusetts situation is no different. Recent polls suggest the race between Sen. Scott Brown and the presumed Democratic nominee Elizabeth Warren is a dead heat and will remain so. The race for the open seat vacated by Rep. Barney Frank and the challenge to Rep. John Tierney by Republican Richard Tisei may also be attention-grabbers.

Then there’s the fiscal situation. The nation still faces a $1 trillion deficit with no commitment to adopt a rational, sustainable and fiscally reasonable package to address that deficit. While House Republicans pushed through a budget with many spending cuts last March, the Senate leadership has no plans to do so, relying on continuing resolutions as the mechanism to finance the federal government through the fiscal year. Sloganeering, posturing and pandering are common. Real tax reform is essential, yet elusive since reform, simplification and rate reduction means reduction or elimination of credits, deductions and exemptions; each is a sacred cow to some powerful interest group.

All these mixed messages on the economy, government spending (both on big issues like Medicare, Medicaid, defense, etc. and specifics like medical research that deeply continued on page 10

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Legislative Review continued from page 8

impact Massachusetts), tax policy, energy, and others simply encourage business owners and bankers to hold back. The lack of any firm direction regarding so many policies inhibits decisions. Conversely, elected officials also sense this uncertainty and with so such at stake in the November elections, do not want to offend voters so legislators avoid the tough decisions, creating a vicious circle of indecision.

One final political note. The filing deadline for all state legislative candidates was May 1 and relatively few incumbents announced they did not plan to seek re-election, nor had as many challengers filed nomination papers to contest incumbent members of the Senate or House as might be expected. The primary is not until the Thursday after Labor Day, so we have time to assess impact of these developments.

Beacon Hill Report With just over two months remaining before formal 2012 legislative sessions end on July 31, key priorities are emerging. Aside from enacting a state budget for fiscal year 2013 that contains no changes in taxes or fees, by the end of July we anticipate that the Legislature will enact a health care payment reform plan that moves the state toward accountable care organizations (ACOs) that shift the method of paying doctors from a fee for service to an overall patient care model.

Also on the list is a major sentencing/parole reform package that has generated spirited discussion over penalties for minor drug possession convictions; a new round of initiatives to stimulate jobs; an energy bill designed to update the 2008 Green Communities Act; restructuring the role and coordination of the 15 community colleges; possibly a bill mandating employers to offer paid sick leave; and a mechanism to bridge a temporary one-year financing gap to sustain 10

the MBTA while a more significant, long-term transportation financing plan is developed for consideration early in 2013. Certainly other bills will advance, but the legislative leadership is managing a tight control on the overall agenda.

By far the biggest banking-related issue is a comprehensive mortgage/foreclosure package developed by the Committee on Financial Services, with considerable input from other legislative committees, the Attorney General’s office and advocacy groups. The House unanimously approved a revised bill, H. 4057, on May 16. As the bill moves to the Senate, the key issues focus on providing additional assistance to distressed borrowers; clarifying the laws to address the impacts of the Ibanez and Bevilacqua Supreme Court Judicial Court cases regarding title issues; and developing a uniform set of property maintenance standards for abandoned properties throughout the commonwealth.

Perhaps the most difficult challenge for the Legislature is determining the scope of individuals and lenders to whom these new statues would apply. Final action on a foreclosure bill may not occur until the closing days of the session.

We are pleased to report that the various joint legislative committees referred to study nearly all of the negative bank fee, product restriction, or other bills seeking to impose new mandates on banks. The Financial Services Committee also sent to further study bills that would have authorized credit unions to accept public deposits and establish branches throughout Massachusetts and New England. Consistent with its longheld position of supporting free, fair and open competition on a level playing field, the Association strongly opposed these bills as long as credit unions continued to remain exempt from federal and state income taxes.

While the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (MUPC) finally took effect on March 31, 2012, the

M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R n Second Quarter 2012

Legislature has yet to enact a companion bill that includes several important technical corrections to the MUPC as well as the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code. We anticipate that issues regarding a new court fee schedule will be resolved soon so that this important bill will be enacted by the summer.

Regulatory matters are always a concern and this spring the Association devoted considerable attention to three key areas. First, the attorney general filed the first revisions to the state debt collection rules since 1978. While most updates had modest impact, one provision concerning the need to validate debt to an existing debtor before a creditor could proceed in collecting an obligation if the debt was more than 30 days past due generated considerable concern.

Further clarification to that policy change is expected shortly.

Second, on May 4, the new law governing the use and availability of criminal records of potential employees to employers took effect. This law is governed by an 86-page set of regulations recently finalized by the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services. Coupled with other new federal rules and the increased attention to privacy issues generated by use of Facebook and other social media, this topic will be a growing concern within the financial services and business community.

Finally, all state agencies are undertaking a once-a-decade review of all regulations and regulatory issuances under their jurisdiction with a deadline for action later this year.

Washington Update Breaking through nomination politics, at the end of March, the Senate approved by unanimous consent the nominations of Thomas Curry to be comptroller of the currency and Martin Gruenberg, Thomas Hoenig and Jeremiah Norton to be direccontinued on page 12

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Legislative Review continued from page 10

tors of the FDIC. The Senate must separately confirm Gruenberg to be FDIC chairman and Hoenig to be vice chairman. The Senate also confirmed several other senior undersecretaries to Treasury and HUD. Congress enacted and President Barack Obama signed a small business jobs bill (H.R. 3606) that includes language raising the current 500 shareholder threshold for Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registration to 2,000 for financial institutions and raising the deregistration threshold from 300 to 1,200 shareholders. The law also permits small firms to use advertising to solicit investors and phase in SEC regulations that apply to “emerging growth companies” with less than $1 billion in annual sales revenue.

In April, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) pulled a bill (S 2231) sought by Sen. Mark Udall (DCO) that would have more than dou-

bled the small business lending capacity of the larger credit unions.

Bankers across the state and nation lobbied hard to explain that these credit unions paid no taxes and, if the bill did pass, would not increase small business lending, but simply exacerbate the federal deficit by taking business away from local community banks. Given the many other pending issues and the necessity to obtain 60 votes to pass almost anything, Capitol Hill sources suggest that very little else may pass this session until after the elections when Congress must return to act on a plethora of tax and spending matters.

Most of the banking industry energy in Washington this year is directed toward the many initiatives introduced by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to implement its mandate to streamline existing banking regulations and adopt new protections for consumers.

The Association and the Massachusetts Division of Banks submitted a comprehensive list of recommendations and are continuing our dialogue with the CFPB as this process creeps forward.

Finally, one potential sleeper issue that could emerge either in legislation or regulatory action is consumer personal privacy. The uproar across the political spectrum over who is collecting enormous personal data and with whom they are sharing it with (think Facebook, Google, and various consumer businesses) just might generate action prior to the November elections.

Paraphrasing the Standells, gotta love that dirty water! n David Floreen is senior vice president at the MBA. He can be reached at df loreen@ massbankers.org.

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ERM for Your Bank

by Michael D. Cohn

I

n the current business climate and regulatory environment, enterprise risk management (ERM) is fast becoming a common practice in financial institutions as a means to better align exposure and tolerance to risk with business objectives. By implementing a robust ERM program utilizing a bottom-up approach, community-based financial institutions can reduce costs, improve delivery of their products and services, and survive in an increasingly competitive and regulated environment.

Implementing an ERM program is not hard – many of the elements needed to create a program exist in community banks today. It’s a matter of reorganizing and reorienting the institution at all levels to embrace and practice ERM.

The Best Approach to Enterprise Risk Management Enterprise risk management programs start with risk assessments, and the results should be reported by product and service. This bottom-up methodology breaks down silos and encourages coordination among departments.

In the past, each department or business unit may have reviewed and worked on the risks present only to them, and then moved on without thinking of the effect on the rest of the institution. This type of orientation introduces the possibility that threats that span organizational silos can be missed or under-appreciated.

Financial institutions currently conduct a long list of functional risk management efforts that include: • • • • • • • • 14

Credit risk Liquidity risk Interest rate risk Information security risk Privacy risk Third party/counter party risk Regulatory compliance risk Financial reporting risk

• • • • •

Strategic risk Reputation risk Multifactor Authentication risk Remote deposit capture risk ACH risk

The successful practice of bottom-up enterprise risk management occurs when all of the efforts above are integrated into a cohesive program that is managed with a comprehensive strategy.

The key to this management approach is that results of the assessments must be reorganized by product and service to provide information not previously known or understood. Knowing exactly which threats are most significant for each product is key.

The execution of a bottom-up enterprise risk assessment will not only highlight the high and moderate risks and threats, it will change the questions your management team asks, make them better informed about present risks, and more invested in managing them. Moreover, executive management will be able to articulate and describe to auditors, regulators, and the board, the process and elements of a sustainable management program.

Measuring the Cost of ERM If an institution can measure the cost of risk management, then it can take steps to make it cost less. Institutions are wondering how much they should spend on risk management and how much will it cost as new and increased regulatory requirements come into play. There are no hard and fast rules, because there are no formal guidelines or benchmarking data.

The first exercise should measure the sufficiency of current spending so the chief risk officer can assure the board and others that risks are being managed and mitigated to the best of the institution’s ability. In other words, resources must be com-

M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R n Second Quarter 2012

mitted to areas of high risk, and resources must be rationed or curtailed from areas of low risk.

The second exercise should evaluate the total resource allocation from one year to the next, to ensure the level of risk management resources is commensurate with changes to business strategy and external events.

Level spending from one year to the next may be appropriate for many institutions, but aligning the threats and costs of risk management allows the chief risk officer (CRO) to pose questions and develop strategies not easily identified when using an ERM approach based on the COSO model or CAMEL ratings.

To effectively maintain an ERM program, the interaction of the CRO and others such as the internal auditor and the compliance officer must be re-examined to ensure that they are operating together for the benefit of the institution.

In many cases, the executive suite and board will incorrectly equate ERM and threat management with internal audit and control testing and look solely to the internal auditor for guidance. For an ERM program to be effective, the CRO must persuade the executive suite to own the risk and be responsible for controlling it. The CRO should guide

management to document controls and classify them as key or secondary. The internal auditor then independently validates management’s identification and rating of risks and classification of controls. Control testing is performed to ensure controls are designed to mitigate the related risks and operate effectively.

Moving an ERM Program Forward To begin an effective ERM program, an institution must first take stock in its current activities and organize them along the areas of the functional risks. The institution should evaluate each risk assessment and control testing result and convert or append the analysis to create a consistent residual risk measure that is used at all levels. When a common measure and language is created to communicate risk, the reporting out by the various products and services becomes much clearer and more effective.

The second step is for the institution to take an honest look at its practices. There will be major threats within the institution that are not being sufficiently addressed. These must be brought to the surface for the entire organization to see. The good news is that once transparent, they can be mitigated.

If expertise is required that is not present, such as information technology and security, the expertise must be acquired. If the volume of data and the time to produce comprehensive reports and analysis is overwhelming, automated tools and support must be deployed. If a financial institution is understaffed and overwhelmed, it should consider measuring what it is spending now, which threats current resources are addressing, and then realign the resources based on the clearer picture of the level of threats in each area. The larger the management team, the more important it is to let the analysis derived from the ERM program guide the decisions to allocate resources.

Because an ERM program must cover the enterprise, governance cannot be ignored. To successfully implement an ERM program it is essential to create a risk committee or

further empower an existing committee. When operating optimally, the risk committee will hold an enterprise-wide view of risk assessment

If expertise is required that is not present, such as information technology and security, the expertise must be acquired. and management and provide guidance, oversight, and approve funding requests to allow the ERM program to operate optimally.

As for compliance issues, a bottom-up approach to ERM will complement and continue to support the regulatory requirements of each functional risk assessment. Implementing a COSO version of ERM is a top down approach. If a financial institution believes it must implement this version, and it has the resources to do so, a bottom-up and top-down ERM approach can be deployed. The results from each approach should be complimentary but the institution should recognize that the results are used for different objectives.

Emerging Benefits of ERM Program Three major benefits will emerge from the institution’s early efforts.

The first benefit is that the very nature and behavior of the financial institution will change as enterprisewide awareness of major threats and the purpose of controls become evident. Line management will be more involved in threat assessment, handson with risk assessment issues, and assume ownership for the rating of threats and designation of key controls. Day-to-day decision making will likely change as risk across the institution is more frequently considered before actions and projects are started, not after implementation or kickoff begins.

When this happens, risk management then becomes everyone’s job,

not just the risk officer’s. Even for a small financial institution it is difficult for any executive to maintain comprehensive knowledge of all operational and transaction activities. But when more risk-oriented decision making is allowed and empowered in the lower parts of the organization, it results in greater speed, agility, and safety for the institution.

The second benefit is the productive alignment of internal activities such as risk management, internal audit, regulatory compliance, information security, vendor management, business continuity, credit administration, and asset-liability management. This alignment will eliminate silos and reveal gaps in threat identification through integrated, bottomup risk assessment.

Lastly, and most important, ERM will reduce costs. When there is overlap, extra resources are spent unnecessarily and when there are gaps, losses occur and extra resources are subsequently required to fill it. Both situations are expensive and unnecessary. When the institution takes an integrated bottomup ERM approach and measures the costs of risk management, it will plug any holes from which the institution is leaking resources.

Avoiding ERM no Longer an Option The current state of the economy and the increasingly complex regulatory climate requires smaller institutions to find cost savings to compete in the marketplace. The cost saving opportunities become evident when aligning high- and moderate-level risks to current-year budget amounts, and analyzing emerging and receding risks to year-over-year resource commitments.

Practicing enterprise risk management, especially when structured in a bottom-up approach, will change the DNA of an institution in a positive way and make it more successful today and into the future. n Michael D. Cohn serves as director of WolfPAC Solutions group and is a principal at Wolf & Company, P.C. He can be contacted at mcohn@ wolfandco.com or (617) 439-9700.

Second Quarter 2012 n M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R

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Commercial Lenders

Break

Ground NEW

by Jay Fitzgerald

A New Price Chopper Supermarket financed by Rockland Trust goes up in Hopkinton, Mass.

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M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R n Second Quarter 2012

Photos by Chitose Suzuki

A

fter three long years of lackluster commercial loan demand, Massachusetts bankers are finally beginning to see signs of economic recovery on the horizon as business customers gingerly seek out potential loan deals to buy equipment, real estate and other long-needed items for their slowly growing operations.

No one is boasting of a robust recovery, and a number of bankers warn there may still be storms ahead for the industry and economy, from concerns about the price of gasoline, to historically low yields on business loans. High unemployment also remains a major concern, dampening consumer demand for housing construction, and keeping business owners nervous about the future and hesitant about borrowing.

There’s also a geographic imbalance to the tepid recovery, as some areas of the state, such as towns and cities close to Boston, see commercial business rebounding a bit faster than other regions, such as communities well outside I-495.

Still, there’s a word that seems to be cropping up more in banking conversations, a word not used very much since Lehman Brothers went belly-up in 2008 and the Great Recession took hold of the economy: confidence.

“There seems to be a little more confidence out there,” said Chuck Withee, executive vice president of The Provident Bank in Amesbury. “It’s not a terrific [increase] in confidence. But it’s there. We’re definitely getting more business inquiries about loans.”

Massachusetts Banker magazine recently talked to executives at six different banks, geographically spread out across the state, to gauge what they’re seeing on the roiling sea of economic recovery and, specifically, how their commercial loan businesses are faring.

The Savings Bank, Wakefield Like other smaller community banks, The Savings Bank, with eight full-time branches and $441 million in assets, has seen its share of new clients coming in the door in recent years.

Larry Andrews, senior vice president and senior commercial banking officer, said there’s no doubt his bank benefited from an influx of new customers, especially commercial clients.

But as the bank’s assets and deposits swelled immediately after the 2008 Wall Street crisis, a major problem still hovered over the banking industry and economy as a whole: weak commercial loan demand from both old and new customers.

“There was not a lot of confidence in the economy,” said Andrews of the three years following the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. “There was a lot of money to lend. But there were a lot of people waiting to see how things played out in the economy. They were also waiting, frankly, to see if interest rates would fall even lower, and oftentimes they did fall more.”

The low-demand environment for commercial loans began to shift, ever so slightly in 2011. The Savings Bank’s commercial portfolio grew by about $30 million last year and so far this year has grown by about $50 million, said Andrews.

Some of the commercial business has involved refinancing previous commercial real estate loans. But some of it also includes commercial and industrial (C&I) loans. “Larger builders are starting to perk up and they’re proposing ideas,” said Andrews. “There’s a mood out there that seems to say, ‘Well, you might as well do it now,’” he said of commercial customers inquiring about loans.

One area of strength is commercial borrowers seeking loans for new apartment buildings, Andrews noted.

But any increase in commercial business presents its own unique set of problems, chief among them the low yields, caused by historically low interest rates.

“There’s been a compression of margins,” said Andrews. “There are a lot of banks going after fewer deals, and they’re all competing for that business. All of it is compressing the yields.” continued on page 18

Commercial Lenders continued from page 17

Compounding the low-yield problem is the uncertainty surrounding possible new banking regulations – and the potential for higher compliances costs, further cutting into margins, he said.

In some respects, the current recovery is tracking past geographical patterns. “Outside Route 128, it’s really a different story than what’s happening in Boston. Some parts of the 495 area have not had the same rebound in economic activity. That’s typical of a recovery, but this time it’s really slow [to unfold].”

The Provident Bank, Amesbury Chuck Withee, executive vice president of The Provident Bank, said his institution has also experienced a “great migration” of new business and individual customers to his bank – only to find those new customers didn’t necessarily bring with them that big a boost in loan demand.

“We just had to worker harder,” recalls Withee of the years immediately following the Wall Street meltdown in 2008. “We were seeing migration of customers to the bank, but there was little organic growth. The demand for loans didn’t [correspondingly] increase.”

18

That began to change a bit in 2011 for the Provident Bank, which today has $500 million in assets and seven branches, and the pace of business activity has picked up so far in 2012. Some of the more promising areas of commercial growth include the alternative-energy sector and small manufacturing.

“It’s not huge, but it’s there,” Withee said of his bank’s commercial growth areas.

A huge plus for Provident Bank is its proximity to Portsmouth, N.H., where the bank has a full branch and loan office. The entire seacoast area near Portsmouth, on both sides of the two states’ borders, is doing well, following past patterns of fasterthan-normal recovery, said Withee.

“There’s a lot of activity up here,” he said, noting his bank has been approached by a brewery thinking of building a new plant in southeast New Hampshire.

But like other banks, The Provident Bank is still seeing fierce competition for commercial loan business, amid low interest rates and small loan yields, said Withee.

One problem few bankers were thinking about a couple of years ago is a shortage of experienced loan of-

M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R n Second Quarter 2012

ficers. In the past, young loan officers used to get their training at larger banks, then they’d move on to other institutions. But those days – and those larger regional banks – are now gone, he said.

The Provident Bank now outsources some of its training, or finds talented employees that it can train in-house, he said. Hiring experienced loans officers is always an option. “But then you have to pay up, big time,” he said.

The Massachusetts Bankers Association is addressing this problem with a number of new initiatives and training programs.

As for new federal bank regulations, Withee said he is “very concerned” about new compliance rules and expenses.

“I don’t think we’ve seen the tip of the iceberg of what’s coming,” he said.

Bristol County Savings, Taunton Len Sullivan, first executive vice president and senior loan officer at Bristol County Savings Bank, said he’s happy to be seeing loan growth at his institution – from $50 million to $963 million last year alone.

“But it’s not really new business,” Sullivan said. “It’s growing by taking

business from other banks. We’ve been growing geographically.”

Ten years ago, Bristol County Savings pushed its way into the nearby Rhode Island market, then five years ago it moved into Dartmouth, and three years ago it entered New Bedford. The net result speaks for itself: Bristol County Savings today has $1.3 billion in assets and 13 branches.

“But demand for loans is not great,” he said, echoing the sentiments of other bankers.

Making matters worse is the region’s slower economic recovery compared to other areas of the state.

Rhode Island’s unemployment rate was still near 11 percent in March, the second-highest jobless rate in the nation and far above the national average of 8.2 percent. The Massachusetts unemployment rate stood at 6.9 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2012.

Already battered by the closing of textile mills and other old industries in recent decades, the southeastern Massachusetts region was hit hard by the recent recession. The downturn saw an increase in foreclosures and harmed retailers and other small businesses, Sullivan said.

Still, Bristol County Savings is seeing signs of recovery. “There are a lot more inquiries about commercial loans, and that’s a very good thing,” he said. Activity at a nearby industrial park seems to be perking up as well, he said.

Though there’s a clear pent-up demand for loans, Sullivan said many commercial customers nevertheless remain nervous. “They’re not sure if it’s a blip on the radar,” he said of increasing business activity. “Remember, we had a great April and May in 2011, but then it just dried up. People are waiting to see if this is a real recovery.”

He is blunt about what needs to be done to produce a full-scale, broad-based recovery: “We have to get the unemployment rate down.”

Like other banks, Bristol County Savings is facing fierce competition for commercial loan business.

“The yields are not working for us or anyone,” he said. “It’s a big concern for banks.”

Further cutting into margins is the increasing cost of complying with federal regulations. Ten years ago, Bristol County had one person handling compliance demands. Today, about five people are committed part-time to various tasks of complying with regulations, he said.

Commerce Bank & Trust, Worcester Though conventional wisdom has it that business activity outside I-495 is comparatively weak, Michael Crawford, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Commerce Bank & Trust, said the Worcester market is doing surprisingly well, thank you.

The University of Massachusetts Medical School and Hospital and other local higher-education institutions, such as the Holy Cross College, remained major economic anchors and engines for the entire Worcester region, both during and after the recent recession, he said.

There’s also a major effort to redevelop Worcester’s downtown, while other sectors are doing relatively well, he said. “There’s a lot going on in Worcester. There are a lot of good things happening.”

With $1.4 billion in assets and 13 branches, Commerce Bank & Trust is expecting more good things to happen for the bank, after its pending acquisition of Mercantile Bank in Boston later this year, said Crawford. The Mercantile merger will add about $200 million in assets and three Boston branches to Commerce Bank & Trust’s operations.

But all the inherent strengths of the Worcester market – and the bank’s soon-to-be expanding Boston operations – doesn’t mean growth is robust. The commercial-and-industrial loan business is still lagging, though it’s picked up a bit in recent months, Crawford said.

“Those loans are tough to find,” he said of C&I loans in particular. “We’re not seeing a lot of people buying new equipment and expanding. I’m not sure anyone is predicting when it will really turn around. But business seems more stable and businesses

aren’t as nervous as they were a few years ago.”

Low interest rates have cut into yields, like they have at other banks, “but you never want to give up on good credit quality,” he said of his bank’s loan philosophy.

As is the case at other banks, Commerce Bank & Trust has a hard time finding young, qualified commercial loan officers. Crawford noted that the top management at Commerce Bank

The bankers all acknowledged there are a host of challenges that still lay ahead. & Trust hails from jobs and training programs at larger banks, such as RBS Citizens, Mellon and State Street.

But the days of larger banks training a lot of future loan officers are largely gone, forcing Commerce and others to either develop their own training programs or hire from outside. “It’s a very competitive situation,” he said.

Rockland Trust, Rockland By all indications, Independent Bank Corp. and its subsidiary, Rockland Trust Company, is a growing force with which to be reckoned.

The bank, with 57 branches and $5 billion in assets, recently announced the pending acquisition of Central Bancorp, parent of the Central Bank.

The size of Rockland’s commercial loan portfolio is in excess of $3 billion and expanding. Over the last three years C&I lending has experienced double digit growth. This year’s annualized growth rate in the construction portfolio is projected to be 17 percent, a very positive sign for the economy.

“That’s very encouraging,” said Rockland’s head of commercial lending, executive vice president Gerry Nadeau. “The construction growth is entirely new growth in our economy.

We started to see improvement in the continued on page 20

Second Quarter 2012 n M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R

19

Commercial Lenders continued from page 19

2nd quarter of 2011, and we’ve picked up at a faster pace since then.”

Rockland has nine distinct lending centers within its network of branches and service centers, a footprint that is now encircling greater Boston. Recent construction lending includes a 40,000 square foot Price Chopper Supermarket and, next door, a 30,000-square-foot retail/office space building in Hopkinton, Mass. (see cover and interior photos).

“We never had many troubled projects in the bad economy and that’s given us the ability to now ramp up quickly and react to new opportunities,” said Nadeau.

That’s not to say that Rockland is completely bullish. Like every other bank, it is concerned about historically low interest rates as a risk factor.

What’s going to happen when interest rates go back up? “We have to underwrite our loans to a more normalized interest rate environment, especially construction loans,” said Rockland’s Terry Theodosias, the commercial loan officer overseeing the Hopkinton project. “We use interest rate swaps to give customers longer protection, or hedge them for a longer period of time.”

Hampden Bank, Springfield Glenn Welch, chief executive of Hampden Bank in Springfield, said his bank’s commercial real estate and C&I business had been relatively flat over the past few years. “The growth just wasn’t there,” he said.

But eight months into the current fiscal year, Hampden Bank has already done more in commercial loans than it did the entire previous fiscal year, he said. With $570 million in assets and 10 branches throughout the Springfield area, Hampden’s total commercial portfolio now stands at about $190 million.

Some of the commercial areas of growth include manufacturing, machine and tools, and building equipment, Welch said. Senior-citizen housing developers also appear to

20

M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R n Second Quarter 2012

be gearing up for potential projects, he said.

“We’ve recently seen pretty good growth,” said Welch, whose bank also picked up a lot of new clients following the onset of the Great Recession.

“We’re seeing quite a bit of small-business loans, in the $200,000 range. It’s pretty widespread. Without a doubt, there’s a small recovery underway.”

Besides the small increase in C&I loans, a lot of commercial customers are refinancing loans in an attempt to lock in today’s historically low interest rates, he said.

One sector of concern for touristdependent western Massachusetts is the hotel industry, which has yet to recover from the downturn, as consumers continue to watch their household budgets and opt to vacation less.

As for profit margins, the yields on commercial loans are “just about as low as you can go,” said Welch.

“Yields are going to be a big challenge for everyone moving forward.”

Echoing the sentiments of other bankers, he said he’s frustrated with the increase in new federal regulations, even though community banks played little or no role in the subprime-mortgage fiasco last decade.

“It seems to trickle down and affect us all,” he said of the Dodd-Frank reform bill. “There’s going to be a big impact on all of us, I fear.”

The bankers all acknowledged there are a host of challenges that still lay ahead: low loan yields, a shortage of experienced commercial loan officers, increased compliance costs stemming from Dodd-Frank; and overall reputation management. They will be difficult problems to surmount. But assuming the recovery lasts and expands, there is a quiet confidence and growing optimism that commercial lending will continue to rise with the tide of an improving economy.

To paraphrase the words of another Fitzgerald, so we beat on, boats against the current, hopefully not, borne back ceaselessly into the past. n

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ABINGTON BANK – Hires Myra Polson, branch manager.

BAY COAST SAVINGS – Promotes Nancy Fernandes, vice president and credit manager; Donna Ganczarski, assistant vice president and retail loan officer; Sandra Resendes, assistant vice president and senior credit analyst; and Betty-Ann Mullins, senior vice president and commercial lending.

BERKSHIRE BANK – Promotes Shaun Dwyer, first vice president and commercial team leader; hires Stephen Malinowski, vice president and relationship manager.

CAPE ANN SAVINGS BANK – Hires Linda Pata, trust officer.

22

CAPE COD FIVE CENTS SAVINGS BANK – Hires Linda Vokey, investment executive, and Michael Dunford, branch manager.

COMMONWEALTH COOPERATIVE BANK – Hires Robert Drouin, vice president and chief financial officer, and Irine Athanasiadis, BSA administrator.

CHICOPEE SAVINGS BANK – Promotes Irene Alves, Gloria Faria, Clare Ladue, assistant vice presidents; Sarah Medeiros and Becky Elias, portfolio managers; and Susan Barbiasz, branch manager.

EAGLE BANK – Promotes William Nolan, vice president and senior commercial loan officer; Annarita Bottari, assistant vice president and retail branch operations; and Ashley DiSipio, marketing manager; hires Derek Delaney, vice president and senior credit officer, and Gayle Aponas, assistant vice president/controller.

CLINTON SAVINGS BANK – Promotes Majlinda Haxhiaj, vice president and administrative manager; Debra Minor, vice president and credit manager; Holly Connors, vice president of operations and contact center; Elizabeth Henry, compliance manager and officer; Linnea Miley, credit analyst; and Jamie Cortes, business analyst; hires Natalia Monsalve, collector.

M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R n Second Quarter 2012

EAST BOSTON SAVINGS BANK – Hires John Carroll, chief information officer.

EAST CAMBRIDGE SAVINGS BANK – Hires Cesar Viasus, business development officer.

Jamie Cortes

Natalia Monsalve

William Nolan

Derek Delaney

Gayle Aponas

Jo-Anne Corcoran

Brett Hill

Craig Nardi

David Nemeth

Shye Tzadok

Steven Ventre

Linda Firth

James Grattan

A. Justin McCarthy, III

Norman Hayes

Corinne O’Neill

Joseph Parisi

Carie Ann Bailey

David Boutelle

Michael Piemonte

John O’Connor

FIRST TRADE UNION BANK – Hires Jo-Anne Corcoran, senior vice president; Brett Hill, senior vice president and senior credit officer; Craig Nardi, vice president and residential portfolio manager; David Nemeth, vice president; and Shye Tzadok, credit anaylyst.

LOWELL FIVE CENT SAVINGS BANK – Hires Steven Ventre, vice president; Linda Firth, assistant vice president; and James Grattan and A. Justin McCarthy, III, investment representatives.

MANSFIELD BANK – Promotes Norman Hayes, vice president and team leader of commercial lending; Corinne O’Neill, assistant deposit operations manager; Joseph Parisi, vice president of marketing; hires Carie Ann Bailey, vice president and branch manager; David Boutelle, vice president and branch manager; Michael Piemonte, vice president and compliance

officer; and John O’Connor, chief information officer.

MECHANICS COOPERATIVE BANK – Hires Americo Pinheiro, vice president.

MUTUAL BANK – Promotes Daniel Trout, senior commercial loan officer.

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NEEDHAM BANK – Promotes Mark R. Whalen, president and COO; Barry Whittaker, executive vice president loan operations and analytics; Karl Ruuska, first vice president, investments; Danielle Walsh, first vice president, accounting; Michael Browne, first vice president, retail banking; James Gordon, first vice president, information technology; Stephanie Maiona, first vice president, commercial lending; Alyson Lobisser, vice president, operational support; Christopher Teachout, vice president, business development; Thomas O’Brien, vice president and director of marketing; Second Quarter 2012 n M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R

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OntheMove

continued from page 23

Daniel Trout

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Christopher Seidlich

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PEOPLES BANK – Promotes Brian Canina, first vice president; David Thibault, vice president and business banking officer; Wesley Tanner, vice president commercial and portfolio manager; Beverly Orloski, vice president; Meghan Gregoire, Michael Sugrue and Melissa Richter, assistant vice presidents; and Lucinda Brown, branch training officer.

ROCKLAND TRUST COMPANY – Hires Lawrence Reale, vice president, retirement plan services.

ROLLSTONE BANK & TRUST – Promotes Christopher Seidlich, bank investment officer.

SOUTHBRIDGE SAVINGS BANK – Hires Robert Mangan, cash management manager.

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UNITED BANK – Promotes Danielle Drapeau and Marlene Conlin, bank officers.

WEBSTER FIVE CENTS SAVINGS BANK – Hires Maria Harvey, assistant vice president and branch manager.

WESTFIELD BANK – Promotes Cathy Jocelyn, assistant vice president, and Tom Cebula, commercial loan officer; hires Dennis Keefe, vice president of commercial real estate, and Carole Desroches, assistant vice president and investment officer. n

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GoodNeighbors BAY COAST SAVINGS BANK – Donates $5,000 to Boys and Girls Club of Greater New Bedford’s Basketball Challenge.

COMMERCE BANK – Donates $67,000 to the United Way of Central Massachusetts.

BAY STATE SAVINGS BANK – Donates $1,600 to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette Santa Fund.

FRAMINGHAM CO-OPERATIVE BANK – Donates $5,000 to the Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly and $8,665 to Friends of Callahan.

BERKSHIRE BANK – Awards nearly $1.3 million to local non-profit organizations, and an additional $36,000 in scholarships to local high school students.

BRISTOL COUNTY SAVINGS BANK – Awards more than $1 million to 143 different organizations within the communities it serves, and donates and additional $17,700 to Hopewell Elementary School.

NEWBURYPORT FIVE CENTS SAVINGS BANK – Donates $6,000 to Roof Over Head Collaborative.

PEOPLESBANK – Donates over $1 million to local charities.

SPENCER SAVINGS BANK – Donates $505 to the American Heart Association.

BAYCOAST BANK donates $5,000 to the Fairhaven Bicentennial Committee to support its celebration in February. Pictured, from left: Angela Dawicki and Wayne Oliveira, chairmen, Bicentennial Committee; BayCoast Bank Branch Manager Kevin Melo; and Regional Branch Manager Paula Freitas.

CAPE COD FIVE CENTS SAVINGS BANK – Awards a total of $28,219 in grants to 84 local school teachers.

SOUTH SHORE SAVINGS BANK donates $5,000 to Weymouth Food Pantry to support its mission of feeding those in Weymouth who need assistance. Pictured, left to right: Weymouth Food Pantry Assistant Director Anne Mates and Director Pat Adams; South Shore Savings Bank President and CEO John C. Boucher; and Weymouth Food Pantry Financial Resources Manager Gael Sullivan.

ROCKLAND TRUST COMPANY donates $20,000 to New Hope, Inc. to support its 24-hour hotline and emergency shelter. Pictured, left to right: Rockland Trust First Vice President and District Manager Arthur Viana, New Hope Executive Director Kim Thomas, and Rockland Trust Branch Manager Patricia Pieranunnzi.

STONEHAM SAVINGS BANK donates $1,500 to the Center for Hope and Healing.

Pictured, left, President and CEO Don Fournier, Stoneham Savings Bank and Mahima Subramanian, executive director, Center for Hope and Healing.

MECHANICS COOPERATIVE BANK’s President and CEO Joseph Baptista, Jr. (right) presents a check in the amount of $10,000 to Robert Horne, executive director, United Way of Greater Fall River, to support its annual fundraising campaign.

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M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R n Second Quarter 2012

WEBSTER FIVE CENTS SAVINGS BANK donates $4,000 to Habitat for HumanityMetrowest/Greater Worcester to help build permanent homes for local families in need. Pictured, left to right: Harriett Lebow, executive director, Habitat for Humanity; Karen Kempskie-Aquino, vice president, Webster Five Cents Savings Bank; and Richard T. Leahy, president and CEO, Webster Five Cents Savings Bank.

ABINGTON BANK donates $10,000 to the Abington Tricentennial Committee to support its celebration in June 2012. Pictured: Damien Cahill (left) accepted the donation on behalf of his late father, Henry “Hank” Cahill, former emeritus director. Also pictured, Andy Raczka, president, Abington Bank, and Jack Bailey and Jan Prall, co-chairs, Abington Tricentennial Committee.

NORTH SHORE BANK donates $1,000 to the Peabody Education Council to support its funding of teacher initiated and requested enrichment programs that fall outside of the school department’s budget.

Pictured, from left: David Gravel, chairman, Peabody Education Council; Chris Pesce, vice president of marketing, North Shore Bank; and Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt.

ROCKLAND TRUST COMPANY donates $12,000 to The Salvation Army’s Massachusetts Good Neighbor Energy Fund to support its energy assistance program for those in temporary crisis. Pictured, from left: Jeanne Cherry, chairman, 2011-2012 Massachusetts Good Neighbor Energy Fund campaign; Lt. Rebecca Kirk, The Salvation Army; and Bill Matteson, senior vice president, Rockland Trust Company.

NORTH BROOKFIELD SAVINGS BANK donates $6,300 to the North Brookfield Bicentennial Committee to support its 200th anniversary celebrations throughout the year. Pictured, left to right: John “Bud” Lane, chairman, North Brookfield Savings Bank board of trustees; North Brookfield Savings Bank’s President and CEO Donna Boulanger and Trustee Betsy Cuddy; town of North Brookfield Selectman Mary Walter; Town Clerk Sheila Buzzell and Dr. Louis B. Grace, members of the North Brookfield 200th Anniversary Committee.

COMMERCE BANK’s Senior Vice President Michael Roy (right) presents a check in the amount of $2,500 to Scott Larson, president and co-founder of Straight Ahead Ministries, to support its new money management and job readiness course for youthful offenders who have recently been released from incarceration.

EAGLE BANK’s Vice President Christine Falzarano (right) presents a check in the amount of $3,000 to Anne Dooley, marketing director of Caritas Communities, to support its programs.

Second Quarter 2012 n M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R

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GoodNeighbors continued from page 27

EASTHAMPTON SAVINGS BANK donates $25,000 to the Friends of Agawam Senior Center to help with the purchase of a new 15 passenger mini-bus. Pictured, left to right: William S. Hogan Jr., president and CEO, Easthampton Savings Bank; Richard Cohen, mayor of Agawam; Emile Cote, president, Friends of the Agawam Senior Center; George Bitzas, Agawam City Counselor; and Sue deVillier, branch officer, Easthampton Savings Bank.

CLINTON SAVINGS BANK donates $1,000 to the Hillside Restoration Project to support the preservation and restoration of the John Bartholomew Gough Estate, a National Historic Landmark in Boylston.

Pictured, from left: Clinton Savings Bank President and CEO Robert J. Paulhus Jr.; Hillside Restoration Project Treasurer Patrick Healy; board member Janet Carpenter; and secretary Judy Haynes.

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M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R n Second Quarter 2012

STONEHAM SAVINGS BANK’s CEO and President Don Fournier (left) presents a check in the amount of $1,500 to Macy DeLong, executive director of English At Large, to support its English conversion group, which helps immigrants acquire English language skills so they can become self-sufficient, provide support for their family and become fully engaged in their communities.

BANKGLOUCESTER donates $50,000 to the Newell Stadium Renewal Project, organized and coordinated by the Gloucester Fishermen’s Athletic Association (GFAA). Pictured, from left: David Amero and Roger Corbin, GFAA members; Patrick Thorpe, president and CEO, BankGloucester; Tim Philpott, treasurer, and Jonathan Pope, president, GFAA; and Robert Muniz, chairman of the board, BankGloucester.

SOUTHBRIDGE SAVINGS BANK donates $2,500 to Habitat for Humanity Metrowest/Greater Worcester for a new build in Worcester. Pictured, from left: Chrisy Jones, development manager, Habitat for Humanity; Caron Dooley, assistant vice president, regional branch manager, and Emily DeGray, branch manager, Southbridge Savings Bank.

ROCKLAND TRUST COMPANY donates $10,000 to Women of Means, Inc., to support its nursing programs in two family shelters located in Waltham. Pictured, left to right: Daisy Siddiqui, assistant vice president, Rockland Trust Company; Joseph Morray, chairman of the board; Dr. Rosanna Means, founder, and Mohammed Siddiqui, board member, Women of Means.

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ABINGTON BANK donates $1,000 to the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry to help families in need. Pictured, left to right: Joan Ridge, volunteer, St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry; Andy Raczka, president, Abington Bank; and Moe Oullette, volunteer, St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry. n

Second Quarter 2012 n M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R

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2012 MBA Calendar Dates are subject to change. Announcements are mailed approximately six weeks prior to event.

For additional information, contact the education department at 617-523-7595. Visit our website at: www.massbankers.org

June 4

Charitable Foundation Golf Tournament Worcester Country Club, Worcester

5

Comprehensive Director Certificate Program Session 2: Elements of an Effective Lending Function Marriott Courtyard, Marlborough

7

Annual Bank Technology/Retail Banking Conference Holiday Inn Boxborough Woods, Boxborough

8

Write to the Point Middlesex Savings Bank Training Center, Westborough

10-15 The New England School for Financial Studies-Senior Class

Babson College Executive Conference Center, Wellesley 13

Employment Litigation Mock Trial Marriott Courtyard, Marlborough

15

Risk Forum Marriott Courtyard, Marlborough

20-22 MBA Executive Conference

Wequassett Resort, Chatham 21

Branch Managers School Marriott Courtyard, Marlborough

22

Consumer Protection and Regulatory Issues Sheraton Hotel Framingham

September 6

Writing an Effective Credit Memo Marriott Courtyard, Marlborough

7

Risk Forum Marriott Courtyard, Marlborough

10-14 Annual Bank Compliance Academy

Marriott Courtyard, Marlborough 19-21 New England Conference

Equinox Resort, Manchester Village, VT

30

M A S S A C H U S E T T S B A N K E R n Second Quarter 2012

October

5 Professional Development Forums

for Sr. Mortgage Lenders

Middlesex Savings Bank Training Center, Westborough 16

IT Workshop Marriott Courtyard, Marlborough

18-19 Advanced School of Commercial Lending

Sheraton Hotel Framingham 18

Annual Bank Security Certificate Program and Webcast

22-26 School of Commercial Lending

Sheraton Hotel Framingham

November 9

CFO Forums Middlesex Training Center, Marlborough

15

BSA/AML Conference Doubletree Hotel, Westborough

16

CFO Forums Middlesex Training Center, Marlborough

30

Annual Trust and Wealth Management Conference and Exhibit Sheraton Hotel Framingham

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