Five Questions With: Leland Merrill

Leland Merrill recently joined Centreville Bank as senior vice president and chief lending officer. Merrill has more than 25 years of banking experience, including several leadership roles, most recently with BankNewport. He has a master’s degree in business administration specializing in finance from the University of Rhode Island and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont.

PBN: What prompted your move to Centreville Bank? Tell us about your new role as chief lending officer at the bank.

MERRILL: The move to Centreville Bank was an opportunity for me to get back to my roots as a commercial lending manager and continue my career with a great team of commercial and business lenders.

Centreville Bank, under CEO Hal Horvat’s leadership, has transformed into a significant commercial lender in the Rhode Island and eastern Connecticut markets over the past five years. In addition, the bank is one of the most well-capitalized banks in the region – that means we have the ability to expand the bank and its commercial lending business at a pace that will have a real impact on the communities we serve.

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In my new role as chief lending officer, I oversee both the Rhode Island and Connecticut lending teams and help develop strategies to increase and diversify our commercial business lines throughout the region.

PBN: Where do you expect to see the biggest areas of loan growth this year? What areas will be harder to expand?

MERRILL: Commercial real estate will continue to be a growth area for the bank, however, a primary goal will be to expand the bank’s small-business lending, commercial and industrial lending, as well as some new niche lines of business, such as Dunkin’ franchise lending.

We have added some top lending talent to the team in the past three months, doubling the size of the commercial lending team to 13 very experienced and professional commercial and business lenders.

Regarding growth strategies over the next few years, the biggest challenges that most banks will face will likely include inflation, supply shortages, a possible recession, and the ramifications all those issues will have on prospective and existing customers.

PBN: How will inflation and rising interest rates impact Centreville (and the industry generally) in terms of commercial and consumer loans?

MERRILL: Rising inflation and interest rates have historically had a dampening effect on the economy and businesses in general. Centreville Bank has been in this market and experienced many economic cycles for almost 200 years and knows how to navigate these challenges while continuing to support its communities.

Financially, the bank is very strong and that allows us to continue lending to both businesses and consumers in both good and bad times. In reality, many smaller community banks do quite well in tough economic periods. As some of the larger banks typically pull back from lending in down cycles, a strong community bank like Centreville has a unique opportunity to gain market share and new business from the larger banks.

PBN: Besides inflation, what do you see the biggest challenges for bank lending? Are those challenges different at community banks than fintech firms or bigger companies?

MERRILL: With record low unemployment throughout the country and in the region, labor continues to be a challenge. Few businesses are not feeling the effects of the labor shortage post-pandemic.

In the financial sector, and especially when you talk about business lending, the labor shortage is especially acute in that the big bank training programs of the past are long gone. There is a distinct lack of new, professionally trained credit analysts, lenders and business specialists in the banking world. As a result, most banks have had to start internally developing these professionals, at much time and expense to the organization.

PBN: How has the increasing use of technology and mobile/digital banking affected the way businesses seek or want service on their loans?

MERRILL: Similar to almost any customer of any type of business today, the desire is for quick, easy, digital solutions to satisfy customer needs. In small-business lending, Centreville Bank is moving toward an all-digital lending solution, comparable to what you might see at a much larger institution.

For larger loans, such as commercial real estate loans, speeding up the lending process is also a priority, but to some degree we will always want to work face to face in those situations, as do our customers. We think the consultative approach we take to that type of commercial lending adds value to the relationship and the process. It’s about offering the ideal combination of personalized service and convenient digital capabilities that makes the lending process easier and really speaks to our mantra of “Banking the way you want.”

Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.