Hartford Business Journal

8 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | August 1, 2022 On The Record | Q&A Matthew Hummel (right) was recently named KeyBank's market president in Connecticut. He's shown volunteering recently at the New England Air Museum. KeyBank Middle Market Relationship Manager Brad Hardy (left) reports to Hummel. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Matthew Hummel was an All-American college basketball player; Now he's looking to jump-start KeyBank's CT growth By Greg Bordonaro gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com K eyBank was a relatively unknown player in Connecticut when it first entered the market in 2016 with its acquisition of First Niagara Bank. That $4.1 billion deal immediately gave the Ohio-based commercial lender a major footprint here, with more than 70 branches spread across Hartford, New Haven, Middlesex, Fairfield, Tolland and Windham counties. But building brand awareness has been a key challenge and opportunity for the $181.2-billion asset lender as it has tried to grow its local deposit and commercial banking portfolio. Now that responsibility falls on the shoulders of Matthew Hummel, who KeyBank hired in 2020 to lead its commercial sales team. In July, he was promoted to Connecticut market president. The 58-year-old Hummel, who previously spent most of his 30-plus- year career at Bank of America, is replacing James Barger, who was also recently promoted. Barger is now leading commercial banking for all of New England and will be based out of Boston, where KeyBank sees a major growth opportunity. Growth is on Hummel's mind as well, particularly in the middle market commercial lending space, which he was originally hired to jump-start two-and-a-half years ago. Since then, Hummel said he's helped build out a six-person commercial banking team that he's looking to expand amid a tight labor market for top talent. KeyBank focuses on banking companies with $25 million to $2 billion in revenue, he said. Hummel has been in Connecticut his entire career and life, having grown up in Southbury. His first job was with Connecticut National Bank. He said he's a big UConn fan and men's basketball season ticket holder. He has strong basketball roots going back to college, where he was an All-American basketball player at Colby College. He currently lives in Glastonbury with his family and is splitting most of his time, when he's not on the road, between KeyBank's Hartford and New Haven offices. "I'm a huge fan of Connecticut," Hummel said in a recent virtual interview with the Hartford Business Journal. "I think it's if not the best, then one of the best states to raise a family in and live in. And a big part of that is you need to have a successful economic backbone, and banking is the economic heartbeat of the economy." As of June 30, 2021, KeyBank had $4.9 billion in Connecticut deposits across 54 branches, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data. Since June 2017, it's been able to grow its Connecticut deposit base by 16.2%, while it has shrunk its branch footprint by 21.7%, FDIC data shows. Here's what else Hummel had to say about his new role and KeyBank's growth plans in Connecticut. Q. After a long career at Bank of America, what prompted you to join KeyBank in 2020? A. At the time, KeyBank [in Connecticut] hadn't developed at the level they wanted to in the middle market space, which has driven my entire career, working with companies with sales between $25 million and $2 billion. I felt like I could come over here and make a difference. There was a value proposition here that I hadn't seen from other banks in the market, with a focus on commercial and middle market banking, and having a capital markets and investment bank that focuses on middle market and a common sense approach to providing credit and solving problems. Q. What are KeyBank's key focus areas in Connecticut? A. Consumer and retail banking are a huge driver, gathering deposits and selling products to the consumer. Commercial banking is a big part of what we do. Private banking is also important. Q. What prompted KeyBank's recent leadership shake-up in Connecticut and New England? A. KeyBank has $181 billion in assets, making us the (19th) largest commercial bank in assets. We're are the No. 1 bank in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest. Here in the east region, we're a player, but I wouldn't describe us as a formidable player as we build out all of our franchise. We've identified Connecticut and all of New England as a growth market. Jim Barger came in about three years ago from the Midwest to try to get our Connecticut operations jump-started, to have us look in the East, like we do in the rest of the country where we do business. That's about hiring people and hiring talent, bringing the right people into the market. We've had reasonable success over the past two-and-a-half years since Jim MATTHEW HUMMEL Market President, Connecticut and Massachusetts KeyBank Education: Bachelor's degree, Colby College; MBA, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Hartford Age: 58

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