Courtesy photo / File

Patriot Bank has hired Thomas E. Slater to be its next chief credit officer.

Slater, who is also executive vice president, joins Patriot Bank from New Jersey-based Investors Bank, where he was senior vice president and senior credit officer. Investors Bank was acquired earlier this year by Providence-based Citizens Financial Group and will soon go through conversion.

In Patriot Bank’s third quarter earnings statement last week, President and CEO Robert Russell said he was pleased to add Slater to the leadership team.

“Mr. Slater has extensive experience in commercial real estate, as well as commercial and industrial lending, and has led teams successfully through growth and change,” Russell said. “I am pleased to add someone of Tom’s caliber and pedigree to the Bank’s leadership team. Tom brings a strong and diverse background to the Bank, and I look forward to his contributions.”

Before joining Investors Bank in 2017, Slater spent 13 years at TD Bank, where he had multiple positions, including assistant vice president, credit department manager, vice president, credit policy administrator, credit officer, and commercial credit manager, according to a securities filing about Slater’s hiring. He also worked at PNC Bank and Trust Company Bank and spent nearly five years as a bank examiner in the Office of the Controller of the Currency.

Slater replaces Karen Rojeski, who retired from Patriot Bank in early September after joining the bank in January 2021 as executive vice president and chief credit officer.