Robert Russell Jr. named president/CEO at Patriot Bank

Robert G. Russell Jr. has been named president and CEO of both Patriot Bank and its parent company, Patriot National Bancorp, based in Stamford.

Russell joins Patriot from Millington Bank of Morris and Somerset counties of New Jersey, where he served as executive vice president and COO. Previously, he was president and CEO of NJM Bank, and before that, as its chief financial and investment officer.

The president/CEO slot at Patriot had been vacant since April, when Richard Muskus Jr. left to become senior vice president and chief revenue officer at Carver Federal Savings Bank in New York City.

In June, Patriot reported that its total assets, as of the first quarter, increased 2% to $999.6 million; its net loan portfolio increased to $808 million; deposits grew 4.4%, or $33.7 million, to $803.2 million; and net interest income was up 1.9%.

“I am excited to be joining the Patriot Bank team, having watched its consistent growth and performance over recent years and its current positioning in asset classes and technology,” Russell said. “Patriot has cultivated very strong ties to the communities that it serves, with assets, loans and deposits all growing 25% or better over the last three years. It”™s a great opportunity to leverage these investments and lead Patriot to its next level.”

In addition to Stamford, Patriot operates branch locations in Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich, Milford, Norwalk, Orange, and Westport, as well as in Scarsdale, New York. It also operates Express Banking locations at Bridgeport/Housatonic Community College, downtown New Haven and Trumbull at Westfield Mall. Further, the bank maintains SBA lending offices in Jacksonville and Stamford, along with a Rhode Island operations center.