When William J. McGurk started as CEO of Rockville Bank 30 years ago, the community lender was a tiny spec on the banking radar with $90 million in assets.
As the 69-year-old longtime banker prepares to step down, he’ll be leaving behind a $1.7 billion financial institution that’s in a position to double or even triple in size over the next few years.
Undoubtedly one of the most recognizable community bankers in Connecticut, McGurk will retire April 26, stepping away from a chief executive position he’s held since 1980.
Although McGurk will stay on board in a consultant role as vice chairman of public affairs for two more years, his departure marks the end of the longest-serving bank CEO currently in Connecticut.
During his tenure, Rockville Bank evolved from a small mutual savings lender into a fully public company and Connecticut’s eighth largest bank.
And McGurk said he’s leaving with no regrets. “I never made a bad loan,” McGurk said jokingly. “Maybe one or two went bad after I made them, but I never made a bad loan. But in all seriousness, I’m happy with what I’ve done right down the line.”
McGurk is probably most well-known for his public persona. During most of his tenure, Rockville Bank operated a public relations machine not matched by any of its Connecticut competitors of similar size.
Whether it be TV commercials, newspaper ads, or press releases, it was hard to miss McGurk and the Rockville Bank logo. His quirky commercials even got airtime during Super Bowls and other major sporting events. Always a showman, McGurk consistently made appearances at public or charitable events and celebratory dinners across the region.
He was not afraid to pick a fight, like when he took out an ad criticizing credit unions tax-exempt status.
“He is one of the most ubiquitous bank CEO’s we’ve had in Connecticut,” said Gerald Noonan, president and CEO of the Connecticut Bankers Association. “He’s always all over the place. The bank is probably well-known in areas well outside of its footprint and that is attributable to Bill’s promotion.”
Creating that brand awareness, McGurk said, has been a cornerstone strategy to help grow the bank over the years.
“Just like fertilizer on the farm, we try to be everywhere,” McGurk said.
Of course, sometimes it worked, other times it didn’t.
McGurk remembers one newspaper ad in 1999 that created some backlash. As an April fool’s joke and an attempt to poke fun at its larger competitors, McGurk published an ad that told customers the bank was going to start charging a $5 fee for using a human teller. Even though it was only a joke, several angry customers closed their accounts at the bank.
But McGurk said he thinks the ad eventually worked in their favor.
“I think that advertisement really turned the corner for us because it made us different and unique,” McGurk said. “We treat banking seriously but we try not to take ourselves too seriously.”
McGurk credits the growth of Rockville Bank — formerly known as The Savings Bank of Rockville — during his tenure to maintaining its strong reputation and management team, focusing on customer service, and sticking to sound financial decisions.
McGurk never hides the fact that Rockville Bank didn’t make subprime loans during the recent financial crisis or that the company didn’t accept a bailout from the federal government.
There were several key turning points for the bank, including the decision to form a mutual holding company in 1997, do an initial public offering in 2005 and then become a fully public company this year.
McGurk said the stock offerings raised significant capital for the bank, helping it to maintain its independence and expand its footprint with new branches and greater lending capabilities. The most recent capital infusion of $171 million could lead the bank to grow to $3 billion to $5 billion in assets over the next five years, banking officials said.
Another key time for the bank, McGurk recalls, was when The New Haven Saving Bank went public and bought the Savings Bank of Manchester and Tolland Bank, taking out two of Rockville Bank’s closest competitors at the time.
McGurk said Rockville Bank grew by $152 million in assets in the year after the merger was finalized. “That deal cleared the decks for a community type bank like us,” McGurk said. “Maybe it will happen again,” he added, referencing the recent decision by NewAlliance Bank to sell itself to First Niagara Financial Group based in Buffalo N.Y.
McGurk’s executive office in South Windsor is already partially packed. He has nearly a half-dozen boxes filled with banking how-to books that he’s giving away to willing takers. Fittingly one was titled the “Going Public Handbook.”
Although he officially retires as CEO April 26, McGurk will stay on for two more years as vice chairman of public affairs. As the largest shareholder in the company, McGurk said he’ll do what he can to help his replacement, William H.W. Crawford, but he will not micro-manage the company.
In retirement, McGurk said he wants to continue to travel, one of his lifelong hobbies. He’s already been to many exotic locations around the world including China, Haiti, Tibet and Uzbekistan. Machu Picchu, however, is still on his bucket list. “I’d like to visit there before it’s too late,” McGurk said.
