February 16 ~ March 1, 2011 the Resident 860.599.1221 www.theresident.com


residentPresident An Advocate of Community Banks


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(l-r) Thomas Switz, President of Switz Insurance & Real Estate and Chelsea Groton Bank Board of Trustees member, Allyn Brown, Owner & Operator of Maple Lane Farms and Chelsea Groton Bank Corporator, Michael Rauh, President & CEO, Chelsea Groton Bank, and Rob Valenti, Vice President of Bob Valenti Automall and Chelsea Groton Bank Corporator, chat at the reception to welcome Michael Rauh, held at the Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa, Groton, on January 19th.


Michael: They did what they thought was right at the time. It kept things from getting worse. In some respect, I think it would have been better to let some of the bigger banks get broken up. I’m not sure that we’ve restructured the system enough to prevent this from happening again 20 years from now. Alexis: How has globalism


affected community banking? Michael: Good question. We have more customers, today, who travel overseas, work overseas, trade overseas -- sourcing goods from foreign countries or selling goods to foreign countries. For our bank, it means we have a lot more international transactions. There are lots of things taking place far away from our little corner of the world. Alexis: What’s your favorite thing about the job? Michael: People, both employees and customers. I love getting out and meeting with customers about their businesses. I like to go to a branch and interact with our employees. Seeing the benefits that accrue for customers from their relationship with us is also


(l-r) Pat Magao, Senior Vice President of Deposit Service Systems & Facilities, Chelsea Groton Bank, Rich Morelli, Senior Vice President, CFO & Treasurer, Chelsea Groton Bank, and George Strouse, past Executive Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary & CFO of Chelsea Groton Bank and Chelsea Groton Bank Board of Trustees member, enjoy the reception for Michael Rauh.


very rewarding. A customer is selling a home, retiring, selling a business, traveling (in retirement), enjoying the fruits of his or her labors, sending their kid to college, buying their first home, starting a business, etc. It’s personally satisfying.


I love my job. It’s very stimulating for me intellectually and it’s a lot of fun. I enjoy meeting new people, going to new places – it’s all very energizing. Alexis: What are your plans during the first half of the year? Michael: During my first six months, I’m concentrating on my job


Community Banks:


Lifeblood of Small Towns, Businesses by BauerFinancial, Inc. Coral Gables, FL


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n the past two decades, the total number of banks in the U.S. shrunk by 50%. We once had over 10,000 banks and 57% were small banks with assets of $100 million or less. These small community banks were hit the hardest by consolidation and now represent just 34% of a much smaller industry. Based on September 30, 2010 financial data, the smallest banks had 290,000 small business loans on their books. Another 850,000 small businesses hold loans from banks in the next tier - assets between $100 million and $500 million. That’s over a million business owners that may not have gotten the help they need from a larger bank.


Small banks tend to know their customers, the local business community, when to grant a loan… and when not to grant one. They have better balance sheets than their larger counterparts. The average leverage capital ratio at the smallest banks (assets less than $100 million) was over 11.5% as of the September 30th data, much higher than the 9% industry average. Their risk- based capital ratios are just as impressive as are their nonperforming asset ratios. These are clearly not the banks that threaten our economic well-being. On the contrary, they are the lifeblood of it.


and then I’ll move out into committee work. I’ve got big shoes to fill and I want to make sure I do that right first. I’ve got to be the best Michael I can be. Footnote: Michael Rauh lives in Narragansett and Mystic with his wife, Annette DeSilva, and 14 year old son, Ben, a freshman at Narragansett High School. Recently, Bauer-Financial, Inc., Coral Gables, FL, the nation’s bank rating firm, recognized Chelsea Groton as one of the strongest banks in the nation. To post your comments, visit:


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resident On the Street


Den Kalinoski Ledyard “Ronald Regan. He made a difference in this world.”


Miriam Johnson asks area residents: “If you were a U.S. President,


which one would you be and why?”


Alex Gonzales Mystic “Barack Obama because he stands up for all people.”


Neritza Aquino Noank


“Abraham Lincoln. He believed in peoples rights.”


Justin Knight Groton “Barack Obama because he is honest and moral based.”


www.theresident.com


Mary Nicolas Groton “Abraham Lincoln because he made decisions for all people based on morals and with God in mind.”


Lynsey Broudbent Groton “Barack Obama. He is a people man.”


Sara Knickerbocker Groton


“Ronald Regan because he was a powerful man.”


Maryellen Driscoll Groton


“Ronald Regan because the world listened to him.”


photos by Alexis Ann


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