Hartford Business Journal

12 Hartford Business Journal • August 24, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com Winfield Van Saun, at $10.5 million. After Smith, Con- necticut's other most- compensated banker is, at No. 6, People's United Financial CEO John P. Barnes. In 2014, Barnes' base pay was $994,712 as part of his overall $3.7 million pay pack- age that year, down from $3.9 million in total compensation in 2013, the SNL pay survey showed. Nationally, the median total com- pensation for bank CEOs has climbed steadily over the last few years, bank com- pensation experts say. In fiscal 2014, median bank CEO compensation was $644,452, com- pared to $565,169 in 2013. In 2010, the median was just over $400,000. Agha Sibtain Ali, banking analyst with SNL Financial, of Charlottesville, Va., said SNL's bankers' pay data is regularly gleaned from lenders' annual filings with bank regu- lators and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The compensation analysis only looked at publicly traded banks. Mutual or savings- bank lenders like Middletown's Liberty Bank or Thomaston Savings Bank weren't included in the analysis. Total pay includes any bonuses, non-equity incentive plan pay, the fair value of any option and stock awards, pension value and non-qual- ified pay, and any other remuneration. The data is used by banks' customers, inves- tors and stockholders, Ali said, to gauge how their top executives' pay and performance ranks against their peers. Bank boards' compensation committees and talent recruiters also rely on pay surveys and other data to assemble pay packages for sitting or incoming executives. Branford financial-executive recruiter Tim Loughlin said bankers in Connecticut and across America are beginning to see their paychecks climb again following the near global financial collapse and subse- quent recession that gripped the U.S. and global economies, starting in late 2008. But in the last several years, as the economy has strengthened so have bankers' pay- checks, Loughlin said. Their pay since has "gone up fairly quickly from year to year, especially in the money- making portion of the business — the lend- ers,'' said the CEO of Bankers Search. Pay hikes for top bank executives also typi- cally filter down to their lieutenants, Loughlin said. The bustling turnover among top execu- tives, as rivals poach each other's talent, too, has spurred higher salaries across the board. For instance, senior vice presidents at community banks, ones with assets of $1 billion or less, now command $175,000 to $225,000 a year, he said. More bankers' pay Also making it onto SNL's 2014 regional total compensation survey of 44 top bank executives were six other Connecticut bankers. William H.W. "Bill" Crawford IV, CEO of Glastonbury's United Bank and its parent United Financial Bancorp, drew $1.65 mil- lion, up 24 percent from a year earlier, includ- ing base pay of $565,865. John J. Patrick Jr., CEO of Farmington Bank and parent First Connecticut Bancorp, last year saw his total compensation increase 36 percent to $1.4 million, including a base salary of $500,000. Both Patrick's and Crawford's 2014 pay ranked among the middle of the pack among CEOs at New England banks with assets between $1 billion and $10 billion, SNL's com- pensation survey showed. Meantime, 2014 pay for Rheo A. Brouillard, CEO of Savings Institute Bank & Trust and par- ent SI Financial in Windham, totaling $647,309 — $388,630 as base pay — put him at the bot- tom of New England banks in the $1 billion-$10 billion asset cohort. In 2013, Brouillard got $639,866, of which $370,385 was his base. William C. Calderara, CEO of Naugatuck Valley Financial Corp., which is being acquired by Liberty Bank, took home $607,839 last year, nearly doubling his total compensation of $336,513 from a year earlier, SNL data shows. Rounding out Connecticut bankers on the pay survey: Salisbury Bancorp CEO Richard J. Cantele Jr.'s 2014 compensation of $535,875, was down 3.5 percent from a year earlier, while Simsbury Bank CEO Martin J. Geitz saw his compensation dip 14.8 percent to $390,163 from $458,171 a year earlier. Geitz, Patrick, Crawford and Daly, indi- vidually or through bank spokespeople, declined comment; the other Connecticut bankers whose pay is listed failed to respond to requests for comment. n from page 1 Bankers' post-2008 pay 'up fairly quickly' CT Banker's Compensation Total compensation Officer Name Company (Ticker) Assets 2013 2014 Difference % Change James Copenhaver Smith Webster Financial Corp. (WBS) $22.5B $4,905,520 $5,159,486 $253,966 5.2% John P. Barnes People's United Financial Inc. (PBCT) $36B $3,870,953 $3,698,122 $(172,831) -4.5% William H. W. Crawford IV United Financial Bancorp Inc. (UBNK) $5.5B $1,329,276 $1,645,750 $316,474 23.8% John James Patrick Jr. First Connecticut Bancorp Inc. (FBNK) $2.5B $1,059,699 $1,437,777 $378,078 35.7% Rheo Arthur Brouillard SI Financial Group Inc. (SIFI) $1.35B $639,866 $647,309 $7,443 1.2% Richard J. Cantele Jr. Salisbury Bancorp Inc. (SAL) $855M $555,394 $535,875 $(19,519) -3.5% Martin J. Geitz SBT Bancorp Inc. (SBTB) $409M $458,171 $390,163 $(68,008) -14.8% William C. Calderara Naugatuck Valley Financial Corp. (NVSL) $495M $336,513 $607,839 $271,326 80.6% Totals $13,155,392 $14,122,321 $966,929 7.4% S O U R C E : S N L F I N A N C I A L IN BRIEF Ex-S. Windsor Ten Pin to auction The site of a former South Windsor bowl- ing alley is headed for an online realty auction on Aug. 26, with a $1.2 million listing price. The four-acre property at 95 John Fitch Blvd., just off of I-291, was once home to South Windsor Ten Pin. Despite the listing price, the property has a reserve price of $362,500, meaning once bidding hits that mark, the reserve drops and the property goes to the highest bidder, according to auctioneer AuctionAdvisors. The auction will be conducted online from 1 to 4 p.m. Eligible bidders must submit a $25,000 deposit. Mohegans extend sub franchise play to CT The Mohegan Tribe said it will open a Jer- sey Mike's sub sandwich location this week in Meriden. The South Broad Street (Route 5) restau- rant, which debuts Aug. 26, is the first of a dozen franchise locations the casino-owning tribe intends to open. The tribe reached a deal in February to open 10 locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It later added two Connecticut locations to the agreement, including Meriden and at its Uncasville casino. Bloomfield virtual currency firm under SEC investigation The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commis- sion confirmed it has launched an administra- tive investigation of Bloomfield's Gaw Miners for potential violations of securities laws related to its sale of "mining" computing power and its own virtual currency, Paycoin. According to court documents filed in Mas- sachusetts, the SEC authorized an investigation in February into whether Gaw may have engaged in fraud by selling securities that purported to entitle their holders to a share of profits from the company's virtual currency mining operation. The securities in question come in the form of "Hashlets," which the SEC said are effectively shares in the profits the company said it would make from its virtual currency mining comput- ing power. Gaw sold $10 million worth of Hash- lets, the documents claim. The agency is probing whether Gaw sold more computing hardware power than it had available, and whether it paid some investors with other investors' money, which are characteristics of a Ponzi scheme. The commission is also looking into Gaw's own virtual currency, Paycoin, which launched last year. The SEC said Gaw told the public that the currency would have a floor price of at least $20, but that its value declined to just pennies. The SEC has asked a judge to compel Gaw CEO Josh Garza's brother, Carlos Garza — a former employee — to testify and pro- duce documents for the investigation. According docu- ments, Carlos Garza recently appeared before commission officials, but refused to answer questions. "Any further delay is unwarranted in this ongoing investigation, in which there are potentially vast investor losses," the SEC's court filing says. Farmington firm takes college virtual tour to next level Farmington marketing and digital agency Primacy said it has created a virtual reality tour for a Colorado university that uses Face- book's Oculus Rift technology. Denver's Regis University plans to use the virtual reality tour for student recruit- ment. It said it will have Oculus Rift head- sets at a number of college fairs starting in September. Oculus VR, which Facebook acquired last year for $2 billion, has released several devel- opment versions of its headset. A consumer release is planned for next year. The firm's local clients include ESPN, The Hartford, Sikorsky, Yale-New Haven Hospital and others. The firm also has New York and Boston offices. Josh Garza, CEO, Gaw Miners

• Cover