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January 1, 2023 On the Record | Q&A

Industry Advocate: Education, inflation, cybersecurity top of mind for new banking association chair Geelan

PHOTO | GARY LEWIS Timothy Geelan, who is president and CEO of Guilford-based GSB, is the new board chairman of the Connecticut Bankers Association.
By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Timothy Geelan says his focus while leading the Connecticut Bankers Association will be to make sure every bank in the state has a voice.

Geelan was recently named chairman of the CBA’s board of directors, with his term to expire in October 2023. He previously served as the board’s first vice chairman.

The CBA represents Connecticut’s banks and acts as their advocate, including in the state legislature and on regulatory matters at the state and federal levels. Its members include 47 banks, while another 88 banks are associate members.

It also ensures information and ideas are shared among its membership, and offers educational programs and services.

Geelan has a lengthy background in the banking industry. He joined GSB (its formal name is Guilford Savings Bank) in 1994. During his nearly three decades with the bank, he has had multiple roles, such as chief loan officer and chief operating officer, before becoming CEO in 2014.

He’s grown the institution to just over $1 billion in assets and eight branches. It reported $3.3 million in profits during the first three quarters of 2022, compared to $6.1 million in the year-ago period, according to financial data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

For the past decade, Geelan has served as an advisor for the CBA’s Connecticut School of Finance and Management, which provides a curriculum aimed at training those in the financial services industry. He also serves as a member of the executive committee for the Connecticut Community Bankers Association.

New Haven Biz recently spoke with Geelan about what he hopes to accomplish while leading the CBA’s board.

What are your priorities for your new role?

It is mainly advocacy for the members. A lot of that is directed up at the state Capitol, where we are involved in the legislative process.

It is really to promote positive legislation, and equally important is to either kill or modify what would be detrimental to the membership. The bulk is at the state level, but we are also involved nationally down in Washington, D.C., and we affiliate with the American Bankers Association.

Education is a big piece, including (the CBA’s Connecticut School of Finance and Management).

Everybody competes for talent, and it is not just within the banking industry. As we increasingly move toward a more digital and virtual world, you are competing for talent with industries and firms that are outside.

We want to make sure it is a healthy and robust industry. We consider the banking industry, particularly the community banks, vital to Connecticut and the economy. I like to refer to us as the catalyst for social and economic improvement in areas served.

I think you saw that throughout the Paycheck Protection Program loans program. It was really the banks that answered the bell, the community banks in particular, when businesses were struggling and in need. That is what we are here for — we think we are vital to the well-being of Connecticut.

The CBA is a vehicle that serves the interests of all member banks. We all compete with each other at some level, but we all share common interests too.

What are the key issues facing the banking industry?

Inflation is top of mind for everybody. You are looking at 7% thereabouts. We’ve got our eye on that. People who are on the edge are going to be more on the edge. What we need to do to address that is top of mind.

Another key issue is digital and virtual change — it is really the transformation of the banking industry. I’ll talk about GSB a bit. You want to keep the best of what got you to where you are today.

We have been around since 1875. What you will hear me rail against is complacency. You’ve got to be relevant. My job as chair is to ensure that not only my bank, but all member banks really get the education they need to ensure they are more forward-looking than backward-looking. COVID accelerated (digital banking trends).

Cybersecurity is a huge issue. And then talent. You can’t do any of it without talent, so working with other organizations, whether it is the Connecticut Business & Industry Association or others to ensure a robust labor force. Connecticut has to be a place where the kids want to stay, and where there is talent.

How can the CBA help?

Legislative advocacy is important, to make sure you are promoting the positive, what would help the industry and customers, and preventing anything detrimental. It is more than lobbying, it is also educating legislators about the perspective of our industry.

Certainly working with prudential banking regulators to make sure the regulations are appropriate and right-sized based on the institutions.

I can’t stress education enough. In particular — credit analysts and commercial lenders. There is sort of a wave of retirements coming. And a lot of them were formally credit trained. The big banks provided some of the best training around — and that is where a lot of them came from. I see a gap.

To become an effective commercial lender, you really need formal credit training, credit analysis.

Our School of Finance and Management can help with education. There is another related program at Central Connecticut State University. (CCSU is offering a certificate program in commercial lending.)

You need quality lenders across the state to address the business needs. Making sure we have a robust, talented workforce — it is key to the industry.

Where there are gaps, we will look to fill them, where people need training. That is where I think the CBA plays a role. Not every bank, especially small community banks, can afford it, nor do they have the scale to do it.

There is CBA’s ASPIRE Leadership Academy. (ASPIRE is an acronym for Advancing the Skills, Passion, Impact and Resilience of Emerging leaders. It launches in 2023 and is a 12-month program on topics such as coaching and creating a high-performing team.)

Are you hoping to get more college-age individuals and others interested in working in the industry?

They are interested. There are careers for most people in banking. People tend to think we are all bean counters, and it’s not. If you are into the digital and virtual — you need people who are very talented technologically.

There is cybersecurity, to make sure people are protected. There are marketing roles. We want to make sure folks are aware of this and try to attract them to the industry.

What regulatory changes would you like to see at the state and federal level?

At the federal level, one that keeps popping up is the Community Reinvestment Act, (which requires regulators to encourage financial institutions to help meet credit needs in their communities, including for low- and moderate-income areas.)

Certainly more clarity. And making sure that all the prudential regulators, such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and others are all on the same page. That has been a sort of gray area. It came into existence in the 70s, and they have tried to modernize it, to make sure it is applicable for the mobile world.

Fintechs are looking to do things in the banking space. We want to make sure they are held to the same standards that banks are, as far as regulatory oversight.

We are looking to partner, not necessarily compete. That one is always on the radar because — we just want a level playing field. If you are in banking, you are in banking.

Cryptocurrency is something that is facing everybody. We don’t have a position on it per se at the CBA. Everybody, I believe, endorses the technology behind it. When you look at the recent failure of (defunct cryptocurrency company) FTX Trading Ltd. — a lot of people lost their life savings in a heartbeat.

Banking is safe and sound if there is regulatory oversight. We would like to see a level playing field and the right balance of regulation and oversight to make sure customers, people are protected.

Is the pandemic still impacting banks?

All member banks are looking at trying to keep the positives. We never met (virtually) like this before — whether it is Teams or Zoom. There are certain efficiencies, but also the flip side, I like to say, “You can’t Zoom culture.”

We at GSB are still hybrid, and we think that works. We want to make sure culture is protected and nurtured. As for COVID, we don’t have our end report card yet.

I think banks fared very well throughout that, some better than others. There is some permanence to aspects of what that created.

Another positive is how it accelerated banks' transformation. We had to be there for the customers, and certainly their needs and desires changed. It is definitely more mobile, digital and virtual, but they still want to come into the branches.

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