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February 23, 2015

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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 17 F E B R UA R Y 2 3 , 2 0 1 5 Debit cards with the new chips could cost double to produce and mail to customers, that is, compared to . now, and it's still unclear how much money banks will end up saving on fraud. "We lose several , a year in debit fraud," Montgomery-Rice says. "e chip will stop [magnetic strip] swipe fraud, but not online dummy cards." Changing times e new technologies, along with changes in how banking is done, are signs of the changing times in banking, notes Christopher Pinkham, president of the Maine Bankers Association. "We've had new CEOs in the past [four years], and four alone in the first month of this year. In general, the industry is having a generational change in leadership," he says. Montgomery-Rice is one of the four new bank presidents who took the reins in January. He is replacing longtime Bangor Savings' CEO James Conlon, who retired. Elsewhere, Andrew W. Silsby took over as CEO of Augusta-based Kennebec Savings Bank on Jan. after being named president last June. First Bancorp, based in Damariscotta, named Tony C. McKim president and CEO of the corporation and its wholly-owned banking subsid- iary, e First, replacing Daniel R. Daigneault. And Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution named Bob Quentin as president, while CEO Kevin Savage plans to retire in May . "[Montgomery-Rice] symbolizes this generational change of leadership. ere's a shift going on now within most banks of realizing the retail systems we've grown in the past to years have plateaued, and customer use of branches is changing and Internet competitors are huge now," Pinkham says. "High on the list for CEOs is trying to be relevant as a bank going forward. ere's some level of urgency to this." Some banks, he says, like Ally Bank (formerly GMAC) have no branches at all, but exist completely online as competitors to brick-and-mortar banks. He added that banks have to figure out how, in , to be relevant to their customer base. And cus- tomers can vary greatly, from banks serving influxes of seasonal visitors to those interested in local busi- ness hours or those serving commuters to Boston who need more mobile services. e other change coming to banks is their com- position of executives. Already, Norway Savings Bank and Lewiston-based Northeast Bank have top female executives, and boards of directors are getting younger, Pinkham says. "e traditional, gray-haired male and often-retired group of directors has seen dramatic change in the last half dozen years in gender, age and, frankly, attention span," he says, adding that many still have jobs, so board meetings are shorter as well. Differentiators Montgomery-Rice cites the bank's people and way of doing business as differentiators, saying custom- ers do get attached to tellers and other workers. He also is pushing to improve pay to workers. Everyone now makes at least an hour, compared to hourly a year ago, and he wants to keep improving that going forward. Leading you to better health. M ID C OAST Center for Community Health & Community Health Community Health Community Health Wellness Explore our offerings. For quality health information, classes, workshops, support groups, and literature on a variety of topics to help you stay healthy and well, visit www.midcoasthealth.com/wellness C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E ยป

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