Carolyn Welch
Title: Vice President, Commercial Loan Officer, Chelsea Groton Bank
Age: 59
Experience: 30-plus years
Carolyn Welch hit the ground running when she joined Chelsea Groton Bank’s commercial team this summer. She previously worked for Citizens Bank and Community Investment Corp., where she amassed a wealth of experience in Small Business Administration (SBA) loan products. Now she’s tasked with helping Chelsea Groton broaden its footprint beyond New London County. The unflaggingly positive Welch told The Commercial Record she tries to live by Dale Carnegie’s words, “Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.”
Q: Tell The Commercial Record’s readers about your SBA experience and what you’re aiming to bring to Chelsea Groton.
A: I’m actually trying to bring a couple different things to Chelsea Groton. The SBA experience, I think, is certainly very valuable to the bank. Having worked for the CDC for a number of years, I think having that experience is huge. When you take a look at the statistics and when you take a look at some of the numbers, certainly one of our goals and objectives is to increase our SBA lending. I also have 7(a) experience as well, but I’m more prolific in the 504.
Certainly we hope to increase our SBA exposure and our SBA lending. The SBA has a fiscal year that ends in September, so when you look at the August numbers, we’re ranked right now 17th [for the 7(a)] and if you take a look at our 504 numbers in the state, we’re ranked #5. We certainly think that we have the ability, and we’d certainly like to become the #1 bank in the state for 504s and I do believe we have the team to do that.
The other thing that I’m planning on accomplishing: we have the loan production office in Glastonbury, so we’re hoping to be able to expand beyond our traditional footprint. Through my centers of influence and the network that I have, we’re going to be focusing quite a bit in New Haven, Middlesex and Hartford [counties], so hopefully getting the brand out, the brand recognition and expanding into the markets beyond our traditional footprint.
Q: What does your typical day look like in this new role?
A: Our days aren’t really typical. Every day is different. Part of what we’re trying to do is getting the word out that we’re here. So I’m reaching out to all of my contacts and letting them know where I’m at. Sometimes it’s a phone call, sometimes it’s a coffee meeting, sometimes it’s a lunch meeting. And the bank has done a really good job of having the marketing collateral to support us in those endeavors.
One of the things I really like about the bank is the fact that we will entertain any commercial loan that makes sense, so we don’t just have a small little window of opportunity. We can look at any company that makes sense. Certainly, we love manufacturers, professionals – as do all the banks – but we’ll also do commercial real estate, we’ll do the investment commercial real estate. Quite frankly, a lot of our portfolio is commercial real estate, so we really want to expand out into C&I and really expand, as well. We’re hoping to tap into my resources to be able to accomplish that. And I’m confident we will.
Q: What sort of challenges do you anticipate in this job?
A: Certainly, there are some economic challenges, and every situation is different. I think the one challenge that we have that we’re working on overcoming with moving into a new footprint, it’s the brand recognition. That is absolutely a challenge.
However, we have a tremendous cash management platform, so we have all the products we can give to a customer that they don’t have to have that brick and mortar branch. We have remote deposit capture, we have fraud prevention, we have all of those products and we can meet our clients’ needs. It’s world-class.
It’s a challenge in some cases because you have to make sure the client is comfortable with that. That’s one of our obstacles, but we’re not naïve to that fact. We understand that and we recognize that.
We also have the solution. Any time there’s a challenge, you have to have, in my opinion, the solution to go with it. We have all the cash management products that can meet our clients’ needs, but it’s absolutely an area of opportunity for us.
Q: What’s on the horizon for Chelsea Groton Bank?
A: I think we’re waiting to see what happens with the LPO in Glastonbury. I think that certainly we would like to continue to expand and certainly, commercial is an area of growth for us, but before we make any financial commitment, we want to see that become successful.
I wouldn’t be surprised in the future, although I’m not in a position at this point to really comment on anything specific because I’m not privy to anything specific and I don’t believe that anything has been concretely decided, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see perhaps some more of the same as we continue to grow.
We all need to look at alternative ways of doing business. Brick and mortar, we all know, is the most expensive way to do business. While we need the brick and mortar, it’s really important to certainly look at alternatives and additional ways to generate revenue. We’re very fortunate that our senior leadership team is terrific, and they’re always looking at alternatives. The things that [President and CEO Michael Rauh] has done for the bank since he’s taken over as president, he’s hired great people to surround him in all the different areas so that the bank can continue to grow. That’s one of the reasons that I chose Chelsea, to be honest with you.
Welch’s Top Five Connecticut Gems:
- The Mystic Art Festival in early August
- The Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam
- The Oakdale Theater in Wallingford
- The Travelers Championship PGA Tournament
- The Mystic Seaport & Aquarium
