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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MARCH 9, 2026 15 www.borghesibuilding.com 2155 East Main Street, Torrington, CT 06790 860.482.7613 Check out our new website! © 2011 BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Butler Manufacturing ™ is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. Building Ideas That Work... Building Ideas That Work... With an aractive design, we will present to your clients a comfortable, relaxing environment. For more than 80 years, Borghesi Building & Engineering Co., Inc has provided quality and reliability with design and energy efficient construction. PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: NORTHWEST HILLS JEEP — TORRINGTON M&A impact Those gains come amid continued consolidation in Connecticut's banking sector, a shift PeoplesBank exec- utives say is creating openings for smaller institutions. Among the most significant pending deals is Banco Santander's planned $12.3 billion acquisition of Webster Bank, while earlier combinations — including M&T Bank's purchase of People's United Bank — reshaped the competitive landscape. "We see a tremendous opportunity with what's happening with Webster, with what happened to People's United Bank, to really penetrate that market," said Frank A. Crinella, PeoplesBank's chief banking and chief credit officer. That environment also informs PeoplesBank's longer-term growth strategy, which could include acquisitions in Connecticut if suitable opportunities emerge. The bank has already pursued that approach in Massachusetts. In early 2025, PeoplesBank completed a merger of holding compa- nies with Worcester-based Cornerstone Bank. While the parent companies consolidated back-office functions, creating significant savings, the banks continue to operate independently under their respective brands. Cornerstone separately merged with north-central Massachusetts-based Athol Savings Bank late last year, with both institutions also maintaining their own branding. Those deals, Crinella said, were driven both by cultural alignment and the benefits of scale. "Culture is such a critical component to any merger talks that we have," Crinella said. PeoplesBank MHC — the holding company that includes PeoplesBank, Cornerstone and Athol Savings — has approximately $6.7 billion in assets. Marketing bet Alongside physical expansion in Connecticut, PeoplesBank has also made an unusually visible marketing investment in Hartford through its arena naming-rights deal. Executives described the roughly $20 million commitment as a long-term brand-building strategy rather than a short-term customer play. "We knew what we were going to get from it," Canina said, adding that the expense has been offset in part by reductions elsewhere in the bank's advertising budget. Increased brand awareness, he said, is expected to translate into deposit and loan growth over time. Early returns include greater name recognition and anecdotal evidence of customers referencing the arena when opening accounts. The bank is also tracking business generated through client engagement tied to arena events. The naming rights deal includes three reserved seating areas: a floor-level bunker suite, a semi-exclusive loge box and an upper-level executive suite. The bank's policy guidelines call for the seats to be used for business development 50% of the time, donated to nonprofits 20%, allocated for associate recognition and team-building 15%, and reserved for personal associate use 15%. "We're four months into the arena, so we don't really have a benchmark to base it on yet," said Matthew Bannister, senior vice president of marketing and corporate responsibility. "But, over time, we're going to have pretty detailed statistics on who uses the tickets and what happens to their business as a result." (From left) PeoplesBank executives Matthew Bannister, David Ference, Brian Canina and Frank Crinella stand inside the bank's new Hartford branch at CityPlace II, in front of artwork of downtown Hartford. HBJ Photo | Greg Bordonaro