Page 15 - BusinessWest March 20, 2023
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 “We’ll look to continue to
grow the bank
in Western Massachusetts, looking for opportunities to grow not only in Hampden County, where the bank has started to grow in recent years — we’ll look to continue that strategy
— but also with our commercial business within the bank.”
will mark the occasion in a number of ways and over the course of the year, he said, adding that the planning process is well underway, and details will emerge in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the institution that started as Florence Savings Bank to serve that growing village has moved well beyond
its roots, most recently with a push into Hampden County. Where the next steps in that progression will take place have yet to be determined, but they will likely be in that corner of Western Mass., said Garrity, adding that, like most institutions, Flor- ence is eying controlled, orderly growth, not growth for growth’s sake.
“We’ll want to continue that growth pattern in Hampden County,” he said, not- ing that branches opened the past several years in Springfield, West Springfield, and, most recently, Chicopee. “That’s certainly on the drawing board for us.”
For this issue and its focus on banking
and financial services, BusinessWest talk-
ed at length with Garrity about his new assignment and his vision — still very much in the formative stages — for the next 150 years for this Western Mass. institution.
Points of Interest
Garrity said he’s spent his entire career in financial services, most of it focused on the commercial-banking side of the spectrum. It was at Premier Financial Corp. that he started taking on addi- tional responsibilities and work in areas “other than the one I grew in,” as he put it, which put him on a path to the corner office at Flor- ence Savings.
Among these areas was residential lending, he said, adding that gaining traction in this and other realms created learning experi-
Florence Bank’s branch on Allen Street in Springfield is one of three in Hampden County, where additional expansion is expected in the coming years.
ences on a number of levels, not just adding lines to a résumé. “That was a real step in my career,” he said. “Being able to
work effectively and work with the team and run that business suc- cessfully was something that was really important in my career development.
“As careers go on their paths like they do, and your responsi- bilities begin to grow and you get exposed to new businesses that maybe you weren’t the subject-matter expert in, and you begin to show your ability to effectively manage those businesses and work
          Michael Barbara-Jean James Michael Henry “Hank” Joe Doug
Lynch
DeLoria Montemayor Davey Downey Kulig Gilbert
We get Valley businesses.
Takes one to know one. florencebank.com/business-banking Member FDIC | Member DIF
 BusinessWest
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