August 26, 2003

PEOPLE'S BANK PROVIDES $36.2 MILLION LOAN FOR LATHAM (NY) CIRCLE MALL

BRIDGEPORT, CONN. - People's Bank recently closed a $36.2 million financing package to Latham Circle LLC for the 672,433 square foot Latham Circle Mall, located in Latham, NY. The developers are utilizing the loan from People's to refinance and reposition the mall with the construction of a 169,678 square foot Lowe's Home Center.

People's is the lead lender on the financing which also includes participants Cape Cod Bank & Trust and Eastern Bank.

"The Latham Circle Mall is a vibrant and growing retail center with a superb location and strong demographics," said Robert Trivella, vice president, Commercial. "We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with Eugene Weiss and the Latham Circle LLC team to continue to reposition the mall to better serve the needs of area residents."

The Latham Circle Mall is a regional shopping mall with 50 retail stores including its anchor stores ? Burlington Coat Factory, Regal Cinemas and JCPenney. The Lowe's Home Center construction will not only significantly expand the size of the mall, which opened in 1957, but it will become the third anchor store as well.

"We have one of the best retail locations in the capital district and the new Lowe's will make an outstanding addition to our shopping center," said Eugene Weiss, Latham Circle Mall's owner/developer. "Having the support of People's Bank allows us to expand our offerings and better support the needs of the community."

Construction began in June for the new Lowe's with a November opening targeted.

People's (peoples.com) is a diversified financial services company providing consumer, commercial, insurance and investment services. Founded in 1842, it is the largest state-chartered bank in Connecticut with assets of $12 billion;155 branches, including 60 in convenient Super Stop & Shop locations;and more than 230 ATMs. People's is a leader in consumer and commercial banking, residential lending, insurance sales, supermarket banking and is the nation's 19th-largest issuer of MasterCard and Visa credit cards. People's subsidiaries offer brokerage services, asset management, equipment financing and leasing, and insurance services.