Stamford-based Patriot Bank has named Robert G. Russell Jr. as president and CEO of the bank and its parent company, Patriot National Bancorp, following several leadership changes this year.
“We’re pleased to welcome Robert Russell to lead the Patriot team,” Chairman Michael Carrazza said in a statement. “Mr. Russell has a strong community banking track record that overlaps with the leadership Patriot needs to continue its growth and unlock the intrinsic value of Patriot’s banking franchise. His skill set and the community banking experience he brings will allow us to continue building our franchise and enhance the banking services and experiences for our clients.”
Russell joins Patriot from Millington Bank in New Jersey, where he was executive vice president and chief operating officer. He has more than 30 years of community banking experience and was previously president and CEO of NJM Bank, where he had also been chief financial and investment officer.
“I am excited to be joining the Patriot Bank team, having watched its consistent growth and performance over recent years and its current positioning in asset classes and technology,” Russell said in a statement. “Patriot has cultivated very strong ties to the communities that it serves, with assets, loans and deposits all growing 25 percent or better over the last three years. The institution has invested significantly to build new platforms in customer-focused technologies, deposit gathering strategies and SBA lending. It’s a great opportunity to leverage these investments and lead Patriot to its next level.”
The new leadership comes after the bank made leadership changes earlier this year. Patriot Bank in April announced in an SEC report that Richard Muskus Jr. had resigned as president and director. A separate SEC report revealed that the bank had eliminated the role of president and also the chief lending officer position, held at the time by Scott Laughinghouse.
The bank said in the SEC report that the decisions, along with other profit improvement strategies, were made “to build regulatory capital buffers and to strengthen Patriot Bank’s profitability ahead of uncertain times.”
Carrazza, who had been board chairman since 2010 and Patriot’s CEO since 2016, was then the bank’s interim CEO in recent months.
Patriot Bank had total assets of $999.6 million at the end of the first quarter. Its net loan portfolio increased to $808 million that quarter, and deposits grew 4.4 percent, or $33.7 million, to $803.2 million. Net interest income was up 1.9 percent. The bank had delayed reporting first quarter earnings due to circumstances related to the pandemic, according to SEC reports.
