SMITHFIELD – Freedom National Bank, a two-branch bank based in Smithfield, has appointed a former Citizens Bank executive as its new president and CEO.
Anthony A. Botelho was most recently the senior vice president of commercial real estate finance for Citizens. He was responsible day-to-day management of the bank’s $8.5 billion commercial real estate portfolio in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions.
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By comparison, Freedom National is tiny. The bank’s total loan portfolio amounts to $63.87 million, according to its most recent regulatory filing. The bank has $85.33 million in assets.
By deposits, Freedom National is No. 14 among banks in Rhode Island, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
“I’m honored to have been selected as Freedom National’s new president,” Botelho said in a statement. “And I look forward to the bank’s continued commitment to the communities it serves by offering the very best in both retail and commercial banking products and services. Freedom prides itself on being a local bank that can quickly be responsive to our customers’ needs.”
The bank announcement did not specify who Botelho replaces and the reason for the job opening.
Botelho began his career at the now-defunct Eastland Bank, in Woonsocket, where he helped to develop a contractor lending group and was part of Eastland’s mortgage underwriting department, Freedom National said.
Botelho also worked at former Fleet Financial Group in Providence and U.S. Trust Bank in Boston.
At Citizens, he managed the Rhode Island commercial real estate team and the Rhode Island private banking group.
Botelho holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Rhode Island and an MBA from Bryant University. He lives in Lincoln.
