Savings Bank Unveils The Next Chapter In Its History

By John Voket

Many of the officers and employees who provided tours Tuesday evening at the 150th Anniversary celebration of Newtown Savings Bank admitted they got a little lost during their first few days rambling around the new 16,000-square-foot addition. But as staff members began settling in, many transferring over to the Main Street headquarters from satellite facilities as far away as Southbury, the shiny new cubicles and offices began to take on personalities of their own.

“For the first couple of days after they let us in here, you might not always know what floor you were on,” commented NSB facilities and loan servicing officer Monica Petruaello. “But once we started putting up nameplates and our employees began putting up personal photos and decorations, we started learning our way around.”

In fact, some of the nooks and larger spaces in the addition, located behind the bank’s original main facility at 39 Main Street, are still awaiting furnishings and personnel. One of those areas on the second floor is being prepared for a new call center where operators will be standing by to traffic calls regarding all manner of Newtown Savings Bank business.

Tuesday evening’s anniversary celebration was seamlessly combined with grand opening activities and an old-fashioned ribbon cutting to make it all official. As NSB Chairman and CEO John Martocci stood addressing more than 100 local officials, bank officers, and customers who attended the event, he reflected on the institution’s history and looked toward the future.

“We hope you’ll come back and visit us just like some of your parents and grandparents have done for 150 years,” Mr Martocci said.

The bank’s top official then accepted a commemorative plaque presented by Newtown Tercentennial Committee officers in recognition of the institution’s support of the town’s yearlong birthday celebrations, which included in what many have called the best fireworks display ever seen in the region.

Newtown Savings Bank was the primary underwriter of that activity, the culmination of the tercentennial picnic that was held on the grounds of Fairfield Hills last August.

Local historian and Tercentennial Committee officer Daniel Cruson was on hand to autograph copies of a softcover book he wrote specifically to mark the bank’s 150th anniversary. The book details virtually every aspect of the institution from its first transaction to the groundbreaking ceremonies for the new addition.

“As a historian, it was a fantastic opportunity to be able to go to the vault and actually view the original ledgers and see the very first record of deposit that was made the day the bank opened,” he told the gathered audience. “And you can trace literally every transaction that has happened ever since.”

According to Mr Cruson’s account, the Newtown Savings Bank opened on September 15, 1855, with a rule that no customer could deposit more than $400 in any given year. But as the institution grew and flourished, that policy quickly changed.

Today, the bank holds more than $700 million in assets and is preparing to open its 11th branch. But while its branches continue to expand, the new headquarters will serve as a single central location for all the NSB’s core business activities, which range from personal and commercial loans, to mortgages, to a broad range of financial services.

It is even possible for customers to conduct virtually all their banking business without ever stepping foot into the Main Street facility, or even venturing outside their home with the recent advent of the bank’s Internet services.

Tuesday evening’s celebration program officially ended with a brief ribbon cutting ceremony during which Mr Martocci was joined by NSB President and Treasurer John Trentacosta and First Selectman Herb Rosenthal. As the yellow ribbon fluttered to the ground and the guests began shuffling back into the brightly lit new lobby area, someone in attendance was overheard summing up the likely sentiments of many of the bank’s staff and corporators, “Let’s go count some money!”