Willimantic-based SI Financial Group said it has appointed Dennis Pollack to its board of directors as well as the board of Savings Institute Bank, under an agreement with activist investor Lawrence Seidman.
In return, Seidman and his affiliated investment entities — which own 4.6 percent of SI’s outstanding shares — have agreed not to do the following, for as long as Pollack is on the board:
- Oppose board proposals or recommendations
- Initiate or solicit shareholder proposals seeking to elect board members
- Oppose or vote against any directors nominated by the board
- Seek to exercise control or influence over management of the company and board
- Propose or seek a merger or sale of the company
- Sue the company
Pollack’s term expires in May, at which point he will be renominated for a term to expire in 2018. Both the bank and its holding company expanded their boards by one seat, to 11, to accommodate Pollack’s appointment.
Seidman first bought into SI in 2011, according to Institutional Investor, which said he has exerted his influence in the past on several dozen small banks he viewed as undervalued.
Pollack was previously a division president for Sony; CEO of the Connecticut Bank of Commerce in Stamford, which the state shut down in 2002 for having inadequate capital; and chief operating officer of New York hedge fund Paulson & Co.
“We are pleased to welcome Mr. Pollack to the board of directors and look forward to working with him to build shareholder value,” SI CEO Rheo A. Brouillard said in a statement.
The Willimantic bank’s core territory is eastern Connecticut, but it has branches in Enfield, South Windsor and Tolland.
