Peyton R. Patterson, who led NewAlliance Bancshares Inc. into its acquisition by First Niagara, has been named CEO of a small bank holding company in Fairfield County, Conn.
NewAlliance had 13 branches in Massachusetts, mostly concentrated around Springfield, when it was acquired about a year ago. The company also had 75 branches in Connecticut.
Since the acquisition, First Niagara hasn’t been shy about its desire and ability to lure employees away from competing banks, and Patterson may bring the same opportunistic bent to BNC Financial Group, where she was named CEO last week.
Merrill Jay Forgotson, current CEO of BNC Financial Group, says he expects the company to be "very, very opportunistic" once Patterson takes over as CEO in early September.
BNC Financial Group, the holding company for three community banks in Fairfield County, Conn., announced Wednesday that it hired Patterson as its CEO. She is the former chairman and CEO of New Haven-based NewAlliance Bancshares Inc.
"If you asked me could we get somebody of that caliber with that experience six months ago, I would’ve said I don’t think so, but that she chose to join us speaks well of us," Forgotson told Banker & Tradesman.
Patterson left NewAlliance upon its acquisition by New York-based First Niagara about a year ago. While she was there, NewAlliance made six acquisitions and more than quadrupled in size.
Forgotson said Patterson is likely to bring that aggressiveness to BNC and its subsidiary banks: The Bank of New Canaan, the Bank of Fairfield and Stamford First Bank.
"The growth that’s ahead of us with her is going to be major," Forgotson said. He said it is likely that within the next few years, BNC could become a regional power.
Forgotson will remain with the company as president of the Bank of Fairfield and a member of the board.
Patterson takes over as part of a planned succession. Forgotson has been head of BNC since 2008. At that time, he agreed to serve as CEO for three to five years.
"I’m getting older, and the operational side… is a lot of day-to-day work," Forgotson said.
Prior to NewAlliance, Patterson was an executive vice president at New York-based Dime Bancorp. She has also held executive positions at Chemical Bank and Chase Manhattan. She attended Kenyon College and George Washington University and holds board positions at several Connecticut civic and advocacy organizations.
BNC reported earnings of $2.2 million for 2011 and during that time surpassed the $500 million mark in total assets.
