9:19 on AM 1490 WGCH, WGCH.com anywhere. I’m Tony Savino with Greenwich Chamber of Commerce, Andrea Bloom, and now joined by the new CEO of First County Bank Nitin Mhatre, who was, assumed his role as CEO April 15th. And and then I guess, what, July 31st you take over full time, or w- what’s going on?
There’s a transition period in place? Good morning. Yes, there’s a transition, and Bob Granata, who’s the chairman, and I’ve started my stint as the CEO starting April 15th. Okay. So where did you… Where were you before this? I was with Berkshire Bank. I was running Berkshire Bank based out of Boston.
Out of Boston? Yes. Okay. So from… In Boston. Were you in Boston? In Boston, but prior to that I was here for almost 19 years in Connecticut, so this is home for me. Okay. So what drew you to First County Bank? Oh, First County Bank has been around, as I was just mentioning to Andrea, it’s been around for 175 years.
It’s an incredibly purpose-driven, community-dedicated, values-guided institution. It has served the clients for 175 years, and my goal is now to make sure I do my part for it to serve the clients in Connecticut for the next 175 years. It’s a great institution where purpose and performance and community focus aligns really well, and that aligns with my valu- values as well, so I thought this is a great opportunity for me to come back to Connecticut.
All right. So tell us about the support that First County Bank has for local businesses and nonprofits. First County Bank has, as I said, served the community for 175 years. We have a foundation that’s been around for 25 years, and between the foundation and the sponsorships, we contribute about a million dollars every year.
But beyond that, what I define to be as time, talent, and treasure is what our bankers give. The time that is given by our bankers by being involved in different parts of communities, whether it’s the chamber, whether it’s the not-for-profits, whether it’s the charities, whether it’s the libraries, they’re incredibly engaged.
They’re on the boards and the committees of all of these institutions. And the time and the talent and the the grants that are given have been around. And I think we also support businesses in different ways. Our products and services are designed for businesses and are not driven by shareholder value, but what drives value for the businesses.
It’s a mutual bank, which means big chunk of the profits that are given by public companies back to the shareholders, we don’t have to, so we’re able to reinvest into communities and our bankers and our clients. I remember back in the day, we used to go to the branch in Stamford for Toys for Tots.
Yes. You still doing Toys for Tots? Not, not- Oh, come on … not currently. I think we- All right … we may bring it back. Yeah. Good idea. Always have a great time. We’d camp out at a donut store across the street. And always look forward to that. Anyway, all right let’s see. Give us programs, resources for small businesses and local organizations, nonprofits.
Yes. I think the programs and product services are like I mentioned, there are different products and services that are unique to us. We’re also free checking type of accounts that are designed for not-for-profits that charge no fees, no minimum balance, and things of that nature. And then there are custom designed products that allow them to borrow funds when they need to without having to go through a difficult process or, usurious fees of any sort.
So I think that’s how we support the businesses. Everything is done online these days and, people mo- mostly might get us to an ATM to draw cash if anybody uses cash anymore. So how do you keep that kind of personal relationship with clients? It is, and I believe to my core, life is all about relationships.
And yes, I think the transactions part of banking can be digitized, and we’re very good at it and gonna get better at it. But at the core of the relationship is still that personal touch, knowing the banker, knowing the trusted advisor that you know, in some cases for generations, and we’re gonna retain that.
And I think that’s how it’s gonna make First County Bank even more exceptional institution that it is by building those exceptional digital experiences, but marrying that up with that incredibly local, personalized touch of a trusted advisor, and that’s how we win. All right. So on that note, what are some priorities or opportunities as you begin your tenure as CEO?
I think all of our priorities start with how much impact can we make on the communities- And within that, underlying that is, how do we improve our client experience? I believe if we have an exceptional client experience, everything else takes care of itself. So how do we invest in our client experience, whether it’s the digital experiences, whether it’s the process, streamlining the processes.
There’s a lot of talk about AI and technology, and how do we deploy that to be able to provide great exceptional service to our clients? And on the other side, how do we invest in our bankers to be able to serve our clients better by making their job easier so that they’re able to do what they do seamlessly.
So I think those would be the high priorities. Did you mention how many branches you have? We have 13 branches. 13 in just Fairfield County? Yeah, Fairfield County. From Greenwich to Fairfield. How do you survive in a world where there are so many big national branches or banks and things like that?
Yes, the big banks. The largest bank in the country, JP Morgan, spends almost $20 billion in technology, but what they don’t have is the localized touch. They don’t have the roots in the communities. They don’t have relationships that go back generations. They don’t really focus as much on the small businesses in the community as we do.
So I genuinely think that the best way to win is to continue to do what we do, but sharpen our pencils around how do you deploy the digital experience and retain that personal touch. I think you’ve talked about it already, but what’s the message you’d like to get to the local businesses and the listeners about First County?
I think the simple message would be for all our existing clients, thank you. Thank you for your relationship. Thank you for being with us for all these years. And for clients that haven’t tried us, please give us the right to earn your business. We are here to serve you, and we’ll continue to do that with passion of all the bankers that we have.
What is it like taking over a situation where, How long has Bob Granata been in- been involved? Say that again. How long has has Bob Granata been involved as CEO? He’s been involved for almost 19 years. Okay. So you take over somebody like that a pr- successful tenure. You come in here, you’re reinventing the wheel.
You’re just moving things forward. How do you approach it from that standpoint? I think what you do is take all the good that you have in the institution and try to make it better. And I think what I generally believe is when you stop trying to get better, you stop being good. So the notion is try to get better every day to become the best version of yourself, and that’s the message I’m conveying to my team, and everybody’s energized by it.
Andrea, any questions for Nitin? You asked all my questions. Oh, I did. Oh, okay. They’re fantastic. But no. You could tell us where you’re located, and I- I mentioned that- I just moved back to Stamford. So when I moved from St. Louis back in 2004, I moved to Stamford, then I lived in Norwalk and Wilton, and now we’re back to Stamford, and just excited to be back in Stamford.
Very good. And your branch here in Greenwich is on- … Mason Street. Yes. And as I mentioned, when I worked at Scouts, I used to- Yeah. I wouldn’t say I was stalking, but I was looking out the windows, and I could see this branch below me, and I always wondered what was in there. So I went in, and it’s a cool building.
It’s architecturally it’s very cool. It is. It’s ve- it’s ’60s, wouldn’t you say? Yes. Is that when it was built? Yes, I believe so. It’s very interesting, so just if you even wanna see the architecture. But the people inside, very nice. Yeah. Lovely. The branch manager is fantastic. Everyone I met has been so friendly and welcoming, and I think that is what sets community banks apart from the big banks, right?
You’re getting that attention. People know you. I think, I grew up in the Midwest, and I remember going to the bank with my grandmother every week. We went to the same teller. We knew Judy. We always went to her. And that was just, I still remember that to this day. That’s good.
And my grandmother trusted her, and that’s important nowadays especially, is to have that trust. It is, and it is that’s why if you were to, imagine a persona of a bank, we wanna be the George Bailey of the modern times. Sure. I know. Yeah. And I think that’s what we wanna be.
And I think the chamber’s done a great job in, under your leadership, Andrea, and I know our bankers, our team members, Rick Muskus, Tripp Moore, they are deeply engaged with the work that you do, so we’re looking forward to continue to support that. Thank you. Yeah, they’re wonderful. Thank you so much.
I really appreciate it. I appreciate you being here today. And also, congratulations on your new role. Thank you. I understand what that’s like to take over, you know- Yeah. … a position. And I agree, it’s like you build on what you already have and just improve those things. And then if certain things don’t work, then you look at other things you might wanna bring in.
Absolutely so it’s a process, right? It is. Takes a little time, but it’s- Sure is … fantastic. We’re always moving forward. Yes, we are. All right. It’s interesting they say Cos Cob is the bank central here, but we got three banks I can throw a, rock to, so you guys are, you guys are all here, so right here, right up the street, right?
Yes. Next, as you mentioned, next to the- Yeah. Wait, he, … Mason Street. Did you walk here? You could walk here if you wanted to. I did. I did. Yeah. There you go. Yeah, she, ’cause Andrea, you say, Andrea, you say you’re right across the street. Where is it? Yeah. Your time. If you hopefully you’ll join us at the Business After Hours event at the- Yes
Historical Society. Do I have time to talk about that real quick? Real quick. We got about 30 seconds. Okay. Go. Okay. Historical Society this Wednesday. Join us. We’re having a Business After Hours event. It will be beautiful. It’s catered by Taqueria, which is one of our members, and they will have the exhibits open for people to walk through, so it’s really gonna be lovely.
All right. Looking forward to it. Yes. Yeah. Thank you. Andrea Bloom, Nitin Mhatre, CEO of First County Bank. We’ll talk to you next month and we’ll get even closer- See you next month. Yeah … even closer to all the things with, Don’t make me nervous. Okay. … sidewalk sales. Thank you, Tony. We got the day for it today, right?
No, it’s perfect. And hot. Yes. Thank you. All right. Thanks very much. Okay. Okay. And that’s our segment with the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce. And next Monday is Memorial Day, so no Greenwich Police Chief James Heavey. We’ll do that again in the month of June. I’m Tony Savino. Thanks for joining us, and stay tuned.
Joe Thomas takes you up to Sportsline America 10 and the Franke Boyer Show at 11 on AM 1490 WGCH, wgch.com anywhere.
