WATERBURY, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 27, 1999--Webster
Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: WBST), the holding company for Webster
Bank, announced today that its Board of Directors has promoted William
T. Bromage to the newly created position of senior executive vice
president.
In his new position, Bromage will continue to have responsibility
for Webster's commercial banking activities and he will assume interim
responsibility for corporate development, including mergers and
acquisitions, and for the corporation's Best Practices initiative.
"Bill Bromage's has contributed significantly to the growth and
diversification of Webster Financial Corporation, and to the
development and implementation of our strategy for further growth and
success as a financial services provider. His promotion also
underscores the important role that business banking will play in our
strategy going forward," said James C. Smith, Webster chairman and
chief executive officer.
Bromage has held the title of executive vice president since
1997. He joined Webster as head of Business Banking in 1996.
For most of his career, Bromage was employed by the former
Shawmut National Corporation, where he served as executive vice
president for commercial banking. At Shawmut, Bromage held several
management positions in areas including credit administration,
specialized business lines and retail banking. Immediately prior to
joining Webster Bank, Bromage was a consultant at Aetna Life &
Casualty in Hartford where he focused on credit and risk issues for
Aetna's national real estate portfolio.
Pro forma for its pending merger with New England Community
Bancorp, Webster Bank has $10 billion in assets and operates through a
network of 125 banking offices, three commercial banking centers, and
200 ATMs, in addition to telephone banking, video banking and PC
banking. Webster has the number one or number two deposit market share
in its primary markets of Hartford, New Haven and Litchfield counties.
Webster is also a leading, full-service commercial lender and the
second-largest mortgage lender in Connecticut. Webster Trust, the
bank's trust and investment management subsidiary, is the
second-largest bank trust company based in Connecticut. Webster's
insurance subsidiary, Damman Insurance Associates, is one of the
largest agencies in the state. Webster's Access National Mortgage
subsidiary found at www.discountmortgages.com on the Worldwide Web,
originates low-cost mortgages over the Internet for customers across
the United States.
Subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, Webster expects
the NECB transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 1999.
For more information on Webster, including past press releases
and the latest Annual Report, visit the Webster Bank website at
www.websterbank.com.
CONTACT: Webster Financial Corp.
Media: Mike Bazinet, 203-578-2391
mbazinet@websterbank.com
or
Investors: James Sitro, 203-578-2399
jsitro@websterbank.com