Webster Names Laurence C. Morse to Its Board of Directors

Jan 05, 2004

WATERBURY, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 5, 2004--Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE: WBS), the holding company for Webster Bank, announced today that its Board of Directors has elected Laurence C. Morse to membership on Webster's board, effective January 2004.

Morse is the co-founder and co-managing partner of Fairview Capital Partners, Inc., in Farmington, CT. Fairview Capital Partners is an investment management firm that oversees venture capital funds, some of which invest capital in venture capital partnerships and similar investment vehicles that provide capital primarily to minority-controlled companies. Morse previously was a co-founder and principal of TSG Ventures, a private equity investment fund based in Stamford, CT, and also served as a senior venture capital advisor to Coopers & Lybrand International Consulting Services in Arlington, Virginia. In this capacity he analyzed previously established development-oriented venture capital projects worldwide and advised the United States Agency for International Development on its proposed "Enterprise Development Fund" for the eleven-country southern Africa region.

Morse received a B.A. in economics summa cum laude from Howard University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University. He also was a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University.

Morse is a director and current chairman of The National Association of Investment Companies, a private, not-for-profit trade association that represents 40 private equity and specialty finance investment firms.

He resides in Stamford, CT with his wife and two children.

Webster Financial Corporation is the holding company for Webster Bank and Webster Insurance. With more than $14 billion in assets, Webster Bank provides business and consumer banking, mortgage, insurance, trust and investment services through 119 banking offices, 234 ATMs, a Connecticut-based call center and the Internet. Webster Financial Corporation is majority owner of Chicago-based Duff & Phelps, LLC, a leader in financial advisory services. Webster Bank owns the asset-based lending firm Whitehall Business Credit Corporation, the insurance premium finance company Budget Installment Corp., Center Capital Corporation, an equipment finance company headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut and Webster Trust Company, N.A.

For more information about Webster, including past press releases and the latest Annual Report, visit the Webster website at www.websteronline.com.

CONTACT: Webster Financial Corporation
Clark Finley, 203-578-2429
cfinley@websterbank.com

SOURCE: Webster Financial Corporation