Name: Robert O. Pare
Occupation: President, chief executive officer and chairman, Centreville Savings Bank.
Backround: First employed at Centreville 37 years ago as a teller and worked his way through the ranks, becoming president 12 years ago.
Education: Graduate of Johnson & Wales University and Stonier Graduate School of Banking
Age: 56
Residence: Coventry
Family: Wife and three sons
PBN: What was your position when you came to the bank 37 years ago?
PARE: I came in here as a teller in March 1963. I worked my way up to president, which is very difficult to do today. In those days you could still do it.
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I guess it says something about persistence and loyalty.
It does. If you go back to my high school yearbook they asked you what you wanted to be and I put in, ‘a banker’, and my teacher at the time, I always remember saying, ‘you don’t want to be a banker, you want to go into banking. It takes a long time to be a banker.’ I guess even she would have to admit right at this point that I’m a banker.
Describe how Centreville Bank differs from the other banks.
Centreville Bank was established in 1828. During the years we were two banks in one – Centreville National Bank and Centreville Savings Bank. We started as Centreville Bank and grew into the national bank during the years when money was printed, and money was printed through the national charter, so we became Centreville National Bank. That was until 1888, until Centreville Savings Bank came into existence as a mutual savings bank. In 1994 we merged Centreville National Bank and Centreville Savings Bank. Centreville National Bank was about a $50 million organization and it was the smaller of the two and we felt, because of the laws of the state of Rhode Island and the country, that there was a need for the two banks at that time.
Both operating under the same management?
Same management, different charters. The national charter was a stock company for Centreville National Bank, which is a state chartered mutual savings bank.
To go back to your question, we are a mutual savings bank, one of the few left in Rhode Island.
Newport is another one.
Savings Bank of Newport is another one and I believe there’s a small one in Westerly. So there are only three mutual savings bank. We are not a stock held corporation. The next question coming from you will be do you intend to, no we don’t intend to go stock. There is no reason to go stock.
Centreville’s main branch is in West Warwick.
Centreville’s main branch is in West Warwick. We have a branch in Coventry that was opened about 33 years ago and that’s quite a sizable branch. During my regime we opened a branch in West Greenwich. We opened a branch when the credit union crisis came about and Davisville had closed a small bank there. We went into that small bank and then about two years later built our own branch in West Greenwich, Route 102. The latest branch is the East Greenwich branch that opened a few years ago on Main Street in East Greenwich. We have looked to put another branch up, and we’re looking at Western Cranston.
What about other expansion beyond that?
For us growth comes slowly. Growth in building branches. It was 30 years between branches in Coventry and West Greenwich, and then quicker in East Greenwich and quicker in Western Cranston. We try to put branches in the area that knows us. We service Central Rhode Island. The Kent County area. We go north to Foster and Johnston, south, follow 138 south. We don’t go farther south than that, we don’t go farther north than that.
Whom do you see as your competition?
I don’t see the larger banks as my competition. Fleet/BankBoston merger is great for us because we pick up customers who are unhappy with the name changes. Our competition is probably the smaller credit unions.
How about Bank Rhode Island?
Bank Rhode Island is in the area. Bank Rhode Island is only a few years old. We are a mutual savings bank and do home mortgages, and that’s our strongest point. Our portfolio of commercial is about 10 percent. Bank Rhode Island is growing their commercial line. We do compete with them, no doubt about it. We do compete with everybody out there. But we don’t define ourselves as a commercial lender. But I do want to stress we do commercial loans, but we’re not looking to be a commercial bank.
In sense of size, how large?
We’re approximately $560 million right now. That’s grown considerably in the last 12 years. Last year’s profits were $7.7 million. We’ve done, very quietly, very well here.
If in the Fleet/BankBoston merger any of the branches were offered to community banks, would Centreville have an interest?
I would tell you that we’re not interested.
If you look at the whole banking market, do you think we need another large bank here to replace the Hospital Trust franchise or can community banks fill the void?
If you look at the state of Rhode Island , you’ll find that we’re very well banked in a sense that I think the Bank Rhode Island’s are out there doing their job, Bank of Newport, Washington Trust in South County and us here, and then there are many other financial institutions. If you look at the regulators what I would think they would be better off is to sell pieces of that to Bank Rhode Island, Washington Trust or whoever would like to bid into it, versus getting another large institution in here.
What makes a community bank, like Centreville, different from a BankBoston or Fleet?
If you were going to get your mortgage, you probably would call me. You could call the president of the bank if you want a mortgage. I may not do the closing for them, but I certainly would walk them through it. If you look at Centreville, we’re probably one of the few that do the mortgage closings from beginning to end. We do our mortgages from beginning to end with the same mortgage officer. It gives you a personal relationship. I think that’s what makes us different than most.
First of all we’re not trying to reach out to the whole state of Rhode Island. Centreville Bank is very well known in this area. If you go to Woonsocket they would probably say who’s Centreville Bank. We are who we are and we recognize that. We try to service our people in our area, the best that we can. If you get a mortgage from a larger bank, the next thing you know it’s sold somewhere. It’s not around, it’s gone. You call a 1-800 number.
Do you get a sense of a slowing of the economy, as some economists suggest?
We see a slowdown in mortgages. We are a very big refinance bank, and I’ve seen that slow down. Mortgage rates are still hovering in the 7 percent range. I go back to when the mortgage rates were 17 percent. So you look at 7 percent, mortgage rates are still a pretty good deal. Slowdown a little, but certainly not stopped. The economy is still alive and well.
What’s Centreville’s outlook for the future?
I believe we have a very strong institution. We’re one of the top 10 percent strongest institutions in the country and that’s published regularly in Money Magazine. We’re at a capital asset ratio of 26 percent. That’s unheard of in the industry. Do I see the outlook for Centreville as positive. Yes I do.
You are in the center of a community that has not done well economically, and now comes a casino proposal that many in the community are embracing. What’s the bank’s position?
We will not take a stand on the casino, for or against. The bank is neutral. If the casino comes we’ll work with it, if it doesn’t come we’ll survive.
What impact do you think it will have on the bank and the community?
I have to say quite honestly that I think that gambling has a negative impact on the community. Gambling has a negative impact to where if you’re sitting at the bank and you see people’s finances. You see some of them aren’t making it because of gambling; there’s no question about it. What percentage that is, I have no idea. I believe it has a long term negative impact. I don’t believe that gambling is the answer to the long term financial health of the state of Rhode Island.
In terms of West Warwick, what are its other alternatives for economic development?
We have an industrial park that is second to none. We have the Arctic District that is getting revitalized. We’ve finally torn down the Majestic Building. They are talking about putting a park there. It’s kind of a focal point in the town. We’re in the process of putting in over a million dollars in the building next door to rehab that building. The Post Office is also moving to the other end of town and putting up a new building. I believe all this is revitalization of the Arctic District, which I think is good, because the Arctic District has been in tough shape. The town of West Warwick is doing what they need. They’re looking at rehabbing the mills. They’ve rehabbed the Phenix Arena. One of the mills there has already been rehabbed. It’s slower but it’s economic revitalization, and it is revitalization done through the business community, through building more businesses in the area. I believe that can be done here.
Centreville has been a bank that has been very quiet out in the real world, not seeking the same kind of publicity as other institutions?
We’ve a very silent bank sometimes. We do service, we do a good job serving the central part of Rhode Island. We are a low key operation. We’ve been here a long time. We’re a mutual savings bank and we don’t have to answer to stockholders. We do what we do, and we do it well and we don’t want to change the recipe.
