For years, it amounted to a mystery in New England banking that Providence, R.I.-based Citizens Bank lacked a major presence in wealthy Fairfield County where parent Royal Bank of Scotland has long been a big employer.
At least a few are wondering why Fairfield County”™s largest bank ”“ People”™s United Financial Inc. ”“ is not in Rhode Island.
People”™s United today has branches in every New England state, save Rhode Island, as well as a rapidly growing base in New York. Rhode Island represents a gaping hole on its map, however, and People”™s United passed up the opportunity to acquire Bank of Rhode Island there, which was sold to Massachusetts-based Brookline Bank. Bank of Rhode Island is a distant fourth in terms of a branch network in its home state, behind Citizens, Bank of America and Sovereign Bank.
People”™s United, meanwhile, recently acquired more than 50 Citizens branches in New York Stop & Shop stores, expanding on what has been a successful Stop & Shop relationship in Connecticut.
People”™s United CEO Jack Barnes addressed the question of Rhode Island this month at an investor conference sponsored by Barclays.
“I wouldn”™t say that there is an absolute that we were determined to stay out of Rhode Island, but we didn”™t think that opportunity at the time represented a priority, if you will, compared to what we did have going at the time,” Barnes said. “With our capital position and our strength in the New England market, we get an opportunity to look at most everything that comes down the pike.”
M&T Bank Corp. is now entering the Fairfield County market via its acquisition of Hudson City Bancorp, bringing another big competitor onto People”™s United”™s doorstep even as First Niagara Financial Inc. absorbs regional branches opened by HSBC.
And it is not impossible that People”™s United could see another familiar face while doing any due diligence on a future acquisition: late last year, former CEO Philip Sherringham set out to raise $500 million with the founding team of New Ground Capital in Rochester, N.Y., reportedly with an eye on investing in banks. As of mid-September, however, New Ground Capital had yet to file any progress with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the fundraising front.
A proponent of making post-crisis acquisitions in distant locales possibly to include California, Texas or Florida, People”™s United replaced Sherringham in 2011, hiring Barnes who for now has focused on smaller deals in the Northeast.
Despite the hubbub surrounding the Hudson City deal, Barnes said there is not a lot of action out there otherwise at present.
“I think things do remain relatively quiet,” Barnes said. “(That) does not mean we”™re not looking at building relationships and trying to position ourselves for the right opportunities ”¦ The M&T-Hudson City situation, I do think, is unique and I think they were uniquely positioned to take advantage of that and they did.”
People”™s United is opening this November what Barnes called a “flagship” Manhattan branch on Park Ave., in addition to New York expansions in Westchester County and on Long Island.
“We now have a lot of commuters that are coming into the city and we”™re very focused on building in and around the commuting, so that we”™re convenient to our customer base as they ”¦ work in Manhattan and return home,” Barnes said. “So that”™s the fundamental of our strategy. We”™re certainly not trying to catch up on branch count with the big players at all, but we want to be relevant and convenient to our customers.”
