Mary Noons |
President and chief operating officer, Washington Trust Bancorp Inc.
1. What significance does it hold for you, personally and professionally, to be Washington Trust’s first female president and COO in company history? I am truly honored. There have been many highly skilled, competent and successful women at Washington Trust. I feel fortunate, but I know I won’t be the last because we have incredible talent here.
2. Has your gender been an obstacle or source of discrimination in work within the male-dominated banking world? For the past 30 years, I have been extremely fortunate to work in a forward-thinking company that truly cares about their employees and values their contributions. I personally have never suffered systemic discrimination or felt I was denied or overlooked for advancement because of my gender.
3. How does your expertise in mortgage banking inform your goals and strategies in your new role? What do you see as the biggest challenges to growing Washington Trust’s mortgage banking sector in the year ahead? Our success in mortgage involved reexamining our process, removing any nonessential steps that did not add value to the customer, and empowering employees to enhance and change tasks. Regarding the challenges in the mortgage industry … we have been purchase-market-focused for decades and have a well-established network of contacts in that business. So, our challenges will be driven by inventory concerns in our market area. The lack of building over the past 10-12 years has resulted in a genuine lack of home supply for which there is no easy or quick resolution.
4. Local banks, including Washington Trust, are expanding outside of Rhode Island with branches and loan offices, etc. Why is it important to have a physical presence in the communities you serve? When something significant happens in your life, you want someone you can depend on and trust, so having a local branch or loan office that our customers can walk into and meet with a person to help them is important.
5. How is the bank preparing for a potential economic downturn this year? We have very good communications with our customers and have always been there, able to provide solutions for those affected by market downturns. We do the things that make sense and help our customers to prosper in the long run. This disciplined approach also applies to how we manage the bank. We do not chase fads or take undue risk.
