Ken Weinstein, the president & CEO of Newtown Savings Bank, was elected vice chairman of America’s Mutual Banks, a national association of prominent mutual banks dedicated to the preservation and advancement of mutuality for depository institutions.

“Newtown Savings Bank was founded as a mutual savings bank in 1855,” Weinstein said in a statement. “We believe that the mutual form of ownership, which is locally focused and woven into the community, continues to differentiate us and benefits our customers and communities.”

Newtown Savings Bank has more than $1.3 billion in assets and 14 branches in Newtown, Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, Monroe, Oxford, Shelton, Southbury, Trumbull and Woodbury, as well as the New Haven Regional Lending Center in Hamden.

“In the United States, the first mutual savings banks were founded in the 1800’s by local philanthropists, for the purpose of teaching the virtues of thrift and self-reliance to the working class by allowing them to securely save their money,” the bank said in the statement. “While these institutions have evolved over the years into full-service financial institutions, they retain the community-minded focus that comes from mutuality.”