Centrix Bank & Trust CEO Interview: Joseph B. Reilly

• On 2:32 pm EDT, Tuesday October 6, 2009

67 WALL STREET, New York - October 6, 2009 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Banks Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This 130 page feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs, Equity Analysts and Money Managers. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.

Topics covered: Residential Mortgage Situation -- Regional Banks Mergers and Acquisitions Timing Strategy -- Commercial Mortgage Portfolio Decay -- Timing Of Commercial Mortgage Portfolio Bad Debt Write Offs-- FDIC Hit List For Bank Closings -- Mutual Holding Company Structure -- Interest Rate Scenarios -- Banking Pricing Power -- Expensive Bank Valuations -- Tangible Book As Guide For Bank Stock Pricing -- Distressed Sales Of Community and Regional Banks -- TARP Program -- Attitude Of Institutional Investors Towards Resurgence in Community Banking -- Unique Business Models -- Regional Bank Boards Looking For Exit

Companies include: BB and T (BBT); Colonial (CNB); First Niagara (FNFG); PNC (PNC); National City (NCC-PA); Harleysville National (HNBC); Citizens First Bancorp (CTZN); Regions Financial (RF); Bank of America (BAC); SunTrust Banks (STI); Pinnacle Financial (PNFP); Northwest Bancorp Inc. (NWSB); Beneficial (BNCL); Investor Savings Bancorp (ISBC); Territorial Bancorp (TBNK); FNB Bancorp (FNBG.OB); National Penn (NPBC); Trustco Bank (TRST); KeyBank (KEY); M and T Bank (MTB); New York Community Bancorp (NYB); Bank of New York Mellon (BK); Wells Fargo and Company (WFC); JPMorgan Chase and Co. (JPM); Wachovia (WB); Harleysville Savings Bank (HARL); SVB Financial (SIVB); Signature Bank (SBNY); Provident Bank (PBKS); Valley National Bank (VLY); Community Bank System (CBU); NBT Bankcorp (NBTB); Fulton (FULT); Citibank ©; Allied Irish (AIB); Bank of Hawaii (BOH); First Horizon Bank (FHN); Comerica (CMA); Synovus (SNV); Zions (ZION); South Financial Group (TSFG); Bancorp (TBBK); Legg Mason (LM); IBERIABANK Corp. (IBKC); Wilmington Trust (WL); S and T Bancorp (STBA); PHH (PHH); Goldman Sachs (GS); Citigroup ©; U.S. Bancorp (USB); Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB); KeyCorp (KEY); Lehman Brothers; Colonial; Washington Mutual; TD Banknorth (TD), Lakeland (LBAI), Westfield Financial, Inc. (WFD), United Financial Bancorp, Inc. (UBNK), Chicopee Bancorp, Inc. (CBNK)

In the following brief excerpt from the 130 page , Joseph B. Reilly, CEO of Centrix Bank, discusses the outlook for the sector and for investors.

Joseph B. Reilly is the Co-Founder and President/CEO of Centrix Bank, where he is responsible for the overall direction and coordination of the bank's efforts. With more than 30 years of experience in the New Hampshire banking industry, Mr. Reilly served as the Chief Operating Officer and Senior Lending Officer for a former "startup" community bank known as Centerpoint Bank. Upon the acquisition of Centerpoint, Mr. Reilly became Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking, with Bank of New Hampshire, an affiliate of the BankNorth Group, Portland, Maine. Prior to joining Centerpoint in 1990, he was employed in various capacities for 12 years at Fleet Bank. Mr. Reilly holds an MBA from the Whittemore School of Business and Economics, University of New Hampshire. He is a former Chairman and Director of the New Hampshire Bankers Association (NHBA) and former Chairman of the NHBA Legislative Committee. Mr. Reilly also served as the State of New Hampshire Captain for Team 21, a national organization of the American Bankers Association (ABA), and as a member of the Government Relations Council of the ABA.

TWST: Please give us a summary of Centrix Bank and what you see as your business today?

Mr. Reilly: We're celebrating our tenth year in business. We were a "de novo" formed in 1999 with a very strict focus on providing high-quality commercial banking services on both sides of the balance sheet. We've stuck to that and have grown from a concept on a piece of paper to about a $550 million organization. We have worked very hard over these formative years to build a solid foundation, and developed a very strong reputation and image as a good competitor in the commercial banking landscape in southern New Hampshire.

TWST: What do you see as the key trends or issues that regional banks face today? How are you adapting your strategies and goals over the next two years based on those trends?

Mr. Reilly: I think, given the dislocation that has taken place in the market over the last 12 to 18 months for many if not all of our national competitors, regional and community-based banks have been able to take advantage of that development. Specifically, we have been net benefactors on both the depository and lending side, as very attractive borrowers have not been appropriately managed by some of our larger competitors. I see that trend continuing for the foreseeable future, as national banks maintain their internal focus.

TWST: Looking at the region you serve, what are the economic and demographic estimates that would be important to Centrix Bank?

Mr. Reilly: We're very fortunate to operate in a vibrant marketplace. Our broader market is defined as the State of New Hampshire and into northern Massachusetts and into southern Maine. New England, as a region, has fared much better than the rest of the country during this recession. This is so because our growth during the boom period was more moderate and, therefore, just from an overall pricing, housing and other related perspectives, we had less far to fall. And that has certainly proved to be the case. Just to give one example, while unemployment nationally is now about 10%, the unemployment rate in our state is just under 7%. We have a marketplace that continues to be vibrant and is dependent upon a plethora of small businesses. Here in the state of New Hampshire, there is no single large employer that dominates our landscape and, therefore, could threaten us adversely should they close. I think the diversity and overall quality of life in New Hampshire, with easy access to the Boston marketplace and the seacoast, continues to be very attractive.

The Wall Street Transcript is a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs and research analysts. This 130 page special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online .

The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse the views of any interviewees nor does it make stock recommendations.

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