Photo courtesy of The Village Bank
Joe De Vito
President and CEO, The Village Bank
Age: 58
Years experience: 27
The Village Bank is rethinking what a bank branch looks like. The Newton-based bank will be working with UpNext – a company that connects local brands with “spaces that bring communities together” – on a 725-square-foot retail incubator storefront for the bank’s branch on 579 Washington St. in Wellesley, planned to open in the summer of 2026.
As banking becomes a more digital experience, more banks and credit unions are reimagining their branches. The Village Bank President and CEO Joe De Vito believes this model could be one that the bank looks to utilize elsewhere and is something that other banks should latch onto if successful.
Q: Where did the idea come from to mix a retail incubator and banking in TVB’s new branch?
A: It really came out of a group of employees. Amy Werner, our senior vice president and chief retail and marketing officer, and Chris Letourneau, our vice president of marketing, stepped back and thought about how we could utilize the space differently and connect even more with our community and help support local businesses, particularly those that are just starting up. [They were thinking about] founders looking for some pop-up space, who are feeling their way in the retail world, and how we could reposition the way a bank branch presents itself. So, it’s something new and we’re very excited about what it will look like and how it will show us to our customers, our community – and the business community as well.
Q: Why not eliminate physical branches, and instead evolve how they look?
A: I certainly feel it’s very important for us to continue to evolve the branch. The way we deliver banking, it’s all relationship-based, and the branches are an extension of that. Clearly, we want to welcome our customers and the public to come in and bring people together and be available for them, be accessible to them, answer their questions, be a place to go. It’s an investment in our community. That’s how we look at it. It’s a long-term commitment for us to be there. Yes, we do transactions, but it’s about so much more than that. It’s where we build relationships.
The Village Bank’s planned new branch in Wellesley includes a 725-square-foot storefront incubator space (left) for local retail startups. Image courtesy of The Village Bank and New Phase Design
Q: How did the collaboration with UpNext come about?
A: [UpNext founder and CEO] Allison Yee has been wonderful in the community, and this is an expertise that she brings. So, we connected with her, and we’re looking forward to the partnership. She helps us align with up-and-coming brands and retailers looking for pop-up space. It’s going to be very exciting. We’re looking forward to it and all that it can be. We view this, again, as a long-term commitment. It is relationship-building with the business community, as well as with customers, and prospective customers, and the community at large.
Q: How important is it for a bank such as the Village Bank to support the small business community?
A: I think, as there’s more uncertainty, it’s an opportunity for us to lean in even more and be more committed to bringing people together to add into the vitality of the community, being accessible, to bring people together. More uncertainty brings more opportunity for us to build more relationships. That’s how we see it.
Q: What are the business benefits of this collaboration?
A: We look at it as a long-term investment. As we connect with partners to help us build our business, as we go forward and commit even more to the community and the business community, that’s a wonderful opportunity for us, and it makes sense. I see this if it goes the way we expect it to, I see us bringing this model to other locations as we continue to expand little by little over time, I’m also hopeful that it’s a model that other banks consider and look to implement as well. I don’t think there’s any downside to it. We’re a community bank, and it’s all about community and building relationships, connecting and being there.
Q: What’s the future of bank branches?
A: I can certainly speak to how we’re looking at it: as a place where we will always be there to welcome customers, welcome the community, welcome the public, to be available, to be accessible. We want it to be a place that brings people together for the long term. We certainly see that, yes, we absolutely want to design it so that we can offer services as efficiently as possible, so that that side of the experience works well, but we also know that if someone’s coming into a branch, they’re coming into a branch for a reason, and we want them to feel good about that, that they are there and they are welcome, they can build a relationship. We will certainly build a relationship and it will be there for them anytime.
De Vito’s Five Favorite Hobbies
- Spending time with his family
- Reading
- Cooking
- Peloton workouts
- Watching soccer on TV
