SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
who to
Bank On
It can be hard to know who to trust with your finances.
That’s why we caught up with some of the state’s finest
banks, credit unions and lenders to let you get to know
them a bit more. EDITED BY KAITLYN MURRAY
How has your institution
grown over the years?
“Washington Trust was established in Westerly,
Rhode Island in 1800, and we have grown significantly
throughout our 200-year history. In the last
decade alone, we have opened seven branch locations
in Rhode Island and expanded our commercial
banking, wealth management and mortgage lending
presence in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Today,
the bank has more than 600 employees and more
than $5 billion in both bank assets and wealth assets
under management. But, at our core, we’re still
deeply and personally involved in the lives of the
local communities we serve. We have grown organically
by adding new, or growing existing loan, deposit
and wealth customers; physically by adding branches
in Rhode Island and wealth and mortgage offices
both in and outside of Rhode Island; and through
acquisition of both whole banks and wealth management
firms. Our growth has been steady over the
years and has enabled Washington Trust to maintain
our diversified business lines.” — THE WASHINGTON
TRUST COMPANY, WASHTRUST.COM
LOCAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
“The year 2020 is a significant one for Centreville
Bank in terms of growth. We have two new Rhode
Island locations — a loan office on South Main Street
in Providence and a full-service branch on Greenwich
Avenue in Warwick — and we’re in the early
stages of construction on a third in the center of
Rolfe Square in Cranston. In addition to our
increased Rhode Island footprint, we also recently
expanded our reach into the eastern Connecticut
market through the acquisition of Putnam Bank,
a very similar bank to ours with a rich history of
serving their local communities. The increase in
size, assets and visibility opens up a wide range of
opportunities for our organization and we expect
to see this growth continue in the years ahead.”
— HAROLD M. HORVAT, PRESIDENT, CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER AND CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD AT CENTREVILLE
BANK, CENTREVILLEBANK.COM
PHOTOGRAPH: GETTY IMAGES
*Note: Answers have been edited for clarity and/or length.
“BankNewport has served generations of families
and businesses since our founding in 1819. That’s
two centuries of Rhode Islanders trusting us as a
secure, local and friendly way to bank, and we continue
to provide new ways to do business and provide
value to our customers. In 2019, we proudly received
Rhode Island Monthly’s ‘Common Good Award,’
ranked Number 1 SBA 504 Lender in Rhode Island,
and were named one of Rhode Island’s ‘Best Places
to Work’ and ‘Fastest Growing Companies’ by Providence
Business News. We are also growing and serving
more customers than ever with two new branches
in Providence and one in Johnston having opened
over the past year. We also have commercial lending
offices in Cumberland and Providence. Additionally,
in 2019, the bank rebranded its marine lending
business to OceanPoint Marine Lending, a division
of BankNewport, specializing in consumer marine
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l AUGUST 2020 91