NBT Bank Seeks Home in Greater Hartford as Banking Shuffle Continues

One bank’s merger is apparently another’s opportunity.  With the recent consolidation of some key players in Connecticut’s banking market, new players – large and smaller - from neighboring New York are joining the financial landscape of the Constitution State.

Just days after the Bridgeport-based subsidiary of People’s United Financial finalized its deal to absorb United Financial Bancorp, parent company of United Bank, and less than two months after Chase Bank returned to Greater Hartford with a downtown branch, Norwich, N.Y.-based NBT Bank has announced that it plans to establish a regional office in Greater Hartford to continue its recent growth in New England.

NBT, a publicly traded bank with $9.7 billion in assets, has hired Andreas Kapentanopoulos, who has almost three decades of banking experience, to lead its Connecticut expansion. Kapetanopoulos will establish a regional office for NBT Bank in Greater Hartford, and recruit a team of commercial bankers to support the bank’s continued growth in New England.

His is second recognizable name to appear on the NBT letterhead.  In April, NBT added John Patrick as Vice Chair of NBT Bank’s New England Advisory Board.  Patrick is former Chairman, President and CEO of Farmington Bank, which he led from 2008 to their merger with People’s United Bank in 2018.

A location for NBT’s first foray into Connecticut’s Greater Hartford region has yet to be determined, but the company’s website has been advertising for a full-time Commercial Banking Relationship Manager, Sr. Commercial Banking Relationship Manager, Commercial Banking Specialist and Senior Credit Analyst to work in an unnamed West Hartford/Farmington location. NBT is reportedly looking to hire about a dozen workers for a space up to 5,000 square feet. One former Farmington Bank branch that remains vacant is located in West Hartford Center.

NBT Bank is an independent, community bank based in Norwich, N.Y. which traces its roots back to 1856.  With just under 200 employees, $10 billion in assets, and $1.5 billion in loans regionally, they have been extending their reach into New England in recent years, and now have 150 locations across New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Pennsylvania.

“Andreas is cultivating a Connecticut team with the experience and flexibility to deliver high-quality, responsive commercial banking service to customers ranging from small to mid-sized and more,” said NBT Bank President of New England Matthew K. Durkee. “We’ve supported New England for 10 years and have built strong relationships with new customers across the region. We’re excited to have Andreas lead the team as we expand our local presence and the robust financial solutions we offer to this region. We expect to be announcing more new team members over the next several weeks and a regional headquarters location in the first quarter of 2020.”

Patrick will be advising Kapentanopoulos as they survey the Greater Hartford region for a place to plant the NBT flag.  He brings over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. He served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of First Connecticut Bancorp, Inc. from 2011 to 2018 and as Chairman, President and CEO of Farmington Bank from 2008 to 2018. Prior to that, he was President of Connecticut Operations at TD Bank. He is a graduate of Central Connecticut State University.

 Over the course of his 27-year banking career, Kapetanopoulos gained experience in many facets of the banking business, including commercial, small business, municipal and retail banking. His roots in Connecticut are deep, having worked in the greater Hartford area for 25 years. Prior to joining NBT, he was Senior Vice President of SBA and Small Business Lending for People’s United Bank. Kapetanopoulos earned his MBA and Bachelor of Arts from Boston University. Active in the community, he is serves on the Boards of the Farmington Bank Community Foundation, AHEPA National Housing Corporation Inc., and the Women’s Business Center affiliated with the University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business.

 NBT Bank is ranked #14 in the United States on the Forbes 2019 World’s Best Banks list—achieving top spot for banks in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and New York State. NBT began to serve the New England region in 2009 with the opening of its Vermont Regional Headquarters in Burlington. Since then, the bank has expanded in the region through organic growth and acquisitions.

Chase Bank recently opened its first Hartford branch in downtown’s CityPlace II in space previously occupied by Bank of America, at 185 Asylum St., at the corner of Trumbull and Pearl streets.

United Bank, which debuted a street-level branch in the same 18-story building last summer, is in the midst of its own merger, with People’s United.  It previously had acquired Rockville Bank.

Earlier this year, Hartford was described by Chase officials as an important market.

“We’ve been anxiously watching the city revitalization and now that we have” federal “approval we’ll be able to better service our clients with a retail presence in the state Capitol,” officials told the Hartford Business Journal.  An Avon branch has also been added, along with new branches opened or planned for South Windsor, Cheshire and Ridgefield, joining locations in New Haven and Waterbury.  Chase has announced its plans to open 400 new branches and hire up to 3,000 workers by 2023.  The bank currently reports 5,000 branches and 16,000 ATMS serving 62 million households and over four million small businesses nationwide.