Q&A With Tom Venables, Ben Franklin Bank, Franklin
Photo/Christina H. Davis
Thomas R. Venables
President and CEO, Benjamin Franklin Bank.
Thomas R. Venables, president and CEO of Benjamin Franklin Bank, is no stranger to bank mergers. In fact, during his lifelong career in the Massachusetts banking industry, he’s lived through two acquisitions. And once the recently announced merger between Ben Franklin and Rockland Trust (and its parent corporation Independence Bank Corp.) closes, he’ll have lived through three. Here, Venables talks about the Rockland merger, his future and the future of the banking industry.
>> What’s the story behind the deal with Rockland Trust?
We’ve often thought about what Benjamin Franklin Bank needs to get to the next billion dollars. When we reflected upon that fork in the road decision we realized we would have to make significant additional investments to get to that next level. We modeled any number of ways of how to get there, but at the same time I was having casual conversations with Chris Oddleifson, president and CEO of Rockland Trust. We thought, “Let’s do something that hasn’t been done all year. Let’s put two healthy companies together.”
>> After the merger, you’ve said you’ll step aside as CEO and become a director of the new bank. How does it feel to have negotiated yourself out of a job?
First of all, I have my own personal investment in Benjamin Franklin stock. My shareholder perspective absolutely sees the wisdom of combining these two companies and I intend to keep my investment. Also, I’m 53 years old and I have a lot left in me. I intend to take my role as a director of the combined company very seriously, but it’s also going to afford me the opportunity to look at maybe doing something a little different.
>> What are the steps you have to go through to close this transaction?
There are six different regulatory approvals that we need to close this transaction and of course each one comes with its own application and schedules and details. When you add up all of that, we’re probably not going to actually complete this transaction until early in the second quarter of 2009. Again, so much is dependent on how long the regulatory application process takes and frankly, I don’t know if two healthy banks are the priority right now.
>> What’s been your experience from behind your community bank president’s desk during this financial crisis?
I think that the banking industry has become forever changed. When the dust settles, you are going to have a series of very large banks that have been propped up with government money and they are going to become extremely strong competitors on Main Street. I worry from behind my community bank desk. What have we created? That gives me a lot of pause.
>> What was Ben Franklin’s exposure to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?
Zero. And that was very much a conscious choice. Frankly, I don’t think that investing in stocks is what a community bank should be doing. Playing the stock market with FDIC insured deposits? That doesn’t seem like that’s in the public’s interest.
>> Did you ever face pressure from investors to be more aggressive?
Sure, all the time. Basically, my relationship with investors is always very good but it’s also very transparent. When we issue any statement we always outline our philosophy. If you like how we do it, please buy our stock. If not, this is not the investment for you. You really need to have a clear strategy and follow it for investors to have confidence with you. If you’re wishy-washy, there are a lot of sharks out there that will try to influence you.
>> If you were Henry Paulson, what would you do to get us out of this mess?
I think Paulson has an almost impossible task. My simple solution has been to simplify… But I think unfortunately the word “pain” is going to be part of any solution.
Check out this video clip of Tom Venables explaining what he likes most about his job:
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