Hartford Business Journal

18 Hartford Business Journal • June 3, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS 2019 By John Stearns Special to the Hartford Business Journal M artin J. Geitz loves the connections asso- ciated with running a community bank — from having a hand in all departments to providing a hand to local communities through loans, donations and volunteerism. For Geitz, president and CEO of SBT Bancorp Inc. and Simsbury Bank, joining the lender 15 years ago was the "best decision of my life." He's over- seen roughly 250 percent growth in earnings, assets, net loans and core deposits at SBT, which had $507 mil- lion in assets at the end of March. He's also proud of the bank surviv- ing the "hurricane" that was the 2008 financial crisis. "We prospered and we're one of the top-performing banks in the state of Connecticut," he said, also proud of rec- ognition for the bank's work culture. The bank, seen as a safe haven dur- ing the crisis, was flooded with depos- its and, as a result, needed capital to maintain its "well-capitalized" stand- ing with regulators, he said. Because capital markets for small banks were closed, the bank borrowed $4 mil- lion in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) money in 2009. In retrospect, Geitz regrets not taking more TARP money to grow the bank faster through the acquisition of troubled banks and assets and branches they sought to sell. "We still did OK," he said. The bank's abil- ity to withstand the recession and grow since then, also made it an attractive acquisition target. Geitz's most recent big move was agreeing to a $71-million buyout by Middletown's Liberty Bank, a deal cur- rently awaiting regulatory approval. Community oriented Geitz cut his teeth at big banks, starting in 1981 as a banking officer with Continental Illinois Bank & Trust Co. in Chicago for three years, then FleetBoston Financial Corp. in various roles spanning 16 years. He was then recruited to Cigna to launch Cigna Bank & Trust Co., where he developed and implemented the business strategy to in- tegrate banking capabilities in the retirement- benefits business. He later joined MassMutual in Springfield to establish a savings product division to help people man- age retirement income. Career-wise, his time at the insurers exposed him to community banking. Simsbury Bank's Geitz puts 'community' in community banking Martin J. Geitz President & CEO, Simsbury Bank Size of organization: 70 employees; $500 million in assets Education: Bachelor's degree, Johns Hopkins University; MBA, Cornell University Johnson School of Management Previous job(s): Continental Illinois National Bank; Fleet Boston Financial Group; Cigna Bank; MassMutual PHOTO | J. FIERECK PHOTOGRAPHY "My proudest accomplishment is clearly my family, and Brenda and I are both proud of our kids."

• Cover