People's United Financial, Inc. is a diversified financial services company providing consumer and commercial banking services through a network of more than 300 branches in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and New York. Through its subsidiaries, People?s United Financial provides equipment financing, asset-based lending, asset management, brokerage and financial advisory services, and insurance services.
- Dec. 24, 1842 - Originally chartered as the Bridgeport Savings Bank, the institution accepts its first deposit. Deposits at the end of the first week of business totaled $97.
- 1852 - Hires a clerk at $2 per week. (The first employees were leading citizens in Bridgeport, and they accepted no salaries.)
- 1880s - Loans P.T. Barnum $10,000 to build a model community of homes complete with an 8-acre park for recreation on Bridgeport's East Side.
- 1880s - Loans P.T. Barnum $10,000 to build a model community of homes complete with an 8-acre park for recreation on Bridgeport's East Side.
- Circa 1900 Hires its first female employee, believed to be the first female staff member employed by any bank in Connecticut.
- 1917 - Begins Save Where You Work program at Remington Arms. The program makes it easier for blue collar workers to save a portion of their pay by sending bank staff directly to factory. Grows into a large, on-the-job banking program, at one time serving as many as 150 companies.
- 1927 - First merger and a new name: People's Savings Bank.
- 1930s - Advances $1 million to pay delinquent taxes of mortgage borrowers, thereby enabling them to keep their homes. Every dollar was repaid by the borrowers.
- 1945 - Pays depositors a victory dividend after the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II.
- 1953 - Opens first branch in Stratford.
- 1960s - Boasts largest Christmas Club customer base at a savings bank in the U.S.
- 1976 - Introduces Telephone Banking, becoming the first bank in the U.S. to offer this service.
- 1983 - Another name change: People's Bank. People's Securities, Inc. opens for business.
- 1985 - Establishes Commercial division, and Trust and Credit Card departments.
- 1988 - Forms a mutual holding company and does IPO on Nasdaq.
- 1989 - Builds 16-story headquarters in Bridgeport.
- 1995 - Introduces PC Banking and begins partnership with Stop & Shop Companies.
- 1998 - Acquires People's Capital and Leasing Corp., Olson Mobeck & Associates, Inc. and Norwich Savings Society.
- 1999 - Serves as lead bank for financing on Adriaen's Landing project in Hartford;Acquires insurance firms RC Knox & Co., Inc. and Beardsley, Brown & Bassett.
- 2000 - Opens first People's Financial Center - in Trumbull.
- 2002 - Announces partnership with UConn. People's United will support UConn's nationally recognized sports programs as "the official banking partner of the UConn Division of Athletics," and will serve the university community's financial needs through a new branch office in the state-of-the-art UConn Co-Op.
- 2004 - People's sells its credit card business to Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS).
- 2006 - People's switches to Federal Savings Bank charter to pursue business expansion. People's announces plan to convert from a mutual holding company structure to a full public stock savings and loan holding company in a second-step conversion.
- 2007 - People's completes second-step conversion. People's Bank and its holding company, People's Financial Inc., change their names to People's United Bank and People's United Financial, Inc., respectively. People's United Financial Inc. announced plans to acquire the Chittenden Corp.
- 2008 - People's United Financial Inc. completes acquisition of Chittenden Corp. on January 1, 2008 and announces restructuring of executive management team.
When members of the media need a source to discuss any aspect of the financial world, please remember that the professionals at People's United Bank, the largest Connecticut-chartered bank, are regularly contacted for expert insights on a wide range of subjects. To arrange an interview, please call Brent
Di Giorgio, director, External Communications, at (203) 338-3135.
Among the subjects People's United experts deal with every day are:
Vince Woodward, vice president, Finance. Mr. Woodward can discuss economic issues as they relate to the banking industry and New England.
Wayne C. Walker, senior vice president, manager, Residential Lending. People's United is the top mortgage lender in Connecticut, according to The Commercial Record.
Hank Mandel, executive vice president, Organization Effectiveness. People's United is an innovator in workplace and employee benefits issues and is committed to leadership and performance development through its People's United Corporate University.
Angela DeLeon, coordinator, People's United Bank Masters Program. The Masters Program is recognized nationally for its leadership in initiating crime prevention and awareness programs for senior citizens. DeLeon is a member of the board of directors of the Crime Prevention Association of Connecticut and is the only person in the State of Connecticut certified to teach senior sensitivity and senior crime prevention to police officers.
Ted Josephson, first vice president, manager, Direct Banking. People's United Banking, brokerage and insurance Internet site, peoples.com, is widely recognized as a leader in online financial services. People's United built the site in-house and People's United Internet professionals continue to maintain and improve it.
Robert R. D'Amore, senior executive vice president, Marketing and Regional Banking;People's United Financial has more than 300 branches, including more than 60 seven-day-a-week Super Stop & Shop branches, throughout Connecticut.
Peter J. Scotch Jr., senior vice president, Consumer Deposit Products (checking, savings, CDs).
William T. Kosturko, executive vice president, general counsel.
Kathleen Morales, vice president, Wealth Management and Trust.
Patricia A. Manion, senior vice president, Direct Banking. In 2001, People's United participated in the first Internet-based person-to-person funds transfer via the NYCE network.
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