8 | HARTFORD BUSINESS JOURNAL • OCTOBER 2, 2017
Industry Lookbacks
Banking & Finance
The story of banking in the Hartford region for
the last 25 years is much like the story of banking
throughout the United States. It's all about
consolidation and growth to stay competitive.
Of the 10 largest banks in the state in 1992, only
two — Bridgeport-based People's United Bank
and Middletown-based Liberty Bank — are still
operating.
The remaining eight were acquired by larger
banks or merged to become new entities with
new names. For example, Savings Bank of
Manchester — No. 10 on the list in 1992 — joined
with New Haven Savings Bank and Tolland Bank
to form NewAlliance Bank in 2004. That entity
was later acquired by New York-based First
Niagara Bank in 2010, which was in turn acquired
by Ohio-based KeyBank in 2015.
Bank of America is Connecticut's market share
leader these days, followed by Webster Bank and
People's United, all of which have been active in
the M&S landscape.
Hard times
While most lenders have survived the past 25
years, perhaps as part of larger banks, the early
and mid-'90s were a tough time for banks in
Connecticut thanks to the savings and loan
crisis that swept financial institutions across
In banking consolidation wave, bigger seen as better
By Christina H. Davis
Special to the Hartford Business Journal
"I think a lot of our
growth has been
helped by some of the
consolidations that
have occurred."
- Rheo Brouillard, CEO,
Savings Institute Bank
"
"
Jim Smith is CEO of Waterbury's Webster Financial Corp., which has grown
into the second-largest Connecticut bank. Smith is retiring at the end of 2017.
Rheo Brouillard is the CEO of Willimantic-based Savings Institute Bank &
Trust, which has grown its assets from $250 million in 1995 to $1.6 billion today.
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