A Banker Trying to Walk the Walk

Article by: Sam Minton, Banker & Tradesman

Matt Bannister

Matthew Bannister
Senior Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Responsibility, PeoplesBank
Age: 63
Industry experience: 25 years

Corporate responsibility is part of PeoplesBank’s DNA, but it’s also been a key tool as the Holyoke bank expanded into Connecticut.

PeoplesBank recently announced that it had donated $1.6 million and amassed roughly 8,500 volunteer hours in 2024. This was the third straight year that PeoplesBank has donated so much.

“It’s team-building when you go to a Habitat for Humanity build day or when you go to sort food at the food bank, or whatever the particular activity is, it’s important to the associates, and it gives people a sense of pride when we get recognized for it,” said Matthew Bannister, senior vice president of marketing and corporate responsibility. “It’s nice to know that the organization supports it and to know that that they really mean it. The ability to support 450 nonprofits, that’s a lot of good work being done by a lot of people.”

Q: How was PeoplesBank able to reach this donation total and how is it able to give at this scale?

A: A lot of banks call themselves community banks, but as a mutual bank, we don’t divert profits to stockholders every 90 days. We invest them into the community. It has been part of our DNA to not only generously support nonprofits and causes in the communities where we operate, but also to roll up our sleeves and volunteer, whether it’s on boards or committees or picking up trash in a vacant lot, whatever it calls for. I think the people that run the place have sort of established that as part of our DNA. I think the people who work here, some of them are attracted to [working with PeoplesBank] because of giving back to the community. It’s sort of a point of pride for us.

Q: How important is the idea of corporate responsibility, not just handing out a check, but also putting in the work in the community?

A: I think consumers now factor in what a company stands for, and how are they acting on those values and belief into their purchasing decision. You have to have all the other essentials, good rates and good hours and all the things that customers look for, but I think one of the tie breakers these days is, “Who are these people and what are they doing to make the world a better place?” And I think the more that we can talk about and telegraph our values, the better that is for our standing in the community.

We also have a philosophy of if an [employee] is involved in a group or an activity, we’re going to give to support that group or activity because what’s important to the associates is important to us as a corporation. I think that helps with employee engagement and people feeling like they work for a place that walks the walk and talks the talk. Last year, we were ranked by the Boston Business Journal, we were actually third in the state in volunteer hours per capita. Volunteering is kind of expected of folks and I think employees, associates here are happy to do it because, again, it’s part of the DNA, and it’s understood when they join the company, that giving back is part of it.

Q: Obviously, you don’t give charity for marketing reasons or to gain customers, but how do the bank’s efforts benefit it?

A: I think it’s the idea of shared brand equity. If you care about Alzheimer’s, and you go to the Alzheimer’s walk or fundraising event, and there’s the PeoplesBank logo – I care about Alzheimer’s, PeoplesBank cares about Alzheimer’s, therefore I might care about PeoplesBank a little bit more because they’re supporting something that’s important to me. that’s the strategic philosophy behind why we give to as many groups as we can. From a purely business point of view, banking is a regulated industry, so we have to give away to the communities. But as our management here has said, we’d like to think we would give away to the communities anyway just because it’s the right thing to do.

I think that shared brand equity with the causes we support ultimately demonstrates to the community where our values are, so the more places we can be, the more likely that the right set of eyeballs is going to see us at the right time and that might lead to business. There’s no pressure on me to put an ROI on it. If it happens, that’s great, and we want to try to make it happen, but it’s not the prime objective in the giving.

Q: With PeoplesBank expanding into Connecticut, how important was it to get into the community, have a presence physically through volunteering, and what role do you think that played in helping the growth?

A: We want to be seen as a local bank caring about the local community and the challenge for us was probably twofold. One is we were founded in Western Massachusetts, and we were strictly here until we moved into Connecticut, so we didn’t want to be seen as one of those big out-of-town banks that’s coming in to take from the community. Myself and Chrissy Kiddy, who works on the corporate responsibility staff with me, we went down into the towns where we were going to open up a year ahead, to get a feel for who are the nonprofits, what are the causes and what matters to this community. We’re coming to be part of the community and let’s start with a handout, rather than the hand asking.

The second thing, and what was really important for us specifically, was that while People’s United was bought by M&T a year and a half ago, that name confusion still lingers in the marketplace. Our corporate responsibility is a way for us to say, “We’re PeoplesBank, we’re not People’s United Bank, we haven’t been bought, we’re still here and invest in the community.”

This article originally appeared in Banker & Tradesman.

About PeoplesBank: PeoplesBank is a leader in innovation, corporate responsibility, environmental sustainability, and employee engagement. Our three LEED® certified offices are environmentally friendly, and we have financed more than $350 million in wind, hydroelectric, and solar energy projects.

As a community bank we have a unique ability to help the communities we serve through volunteer efforts and millions of dollars in donations to charitable and civic causes.

PeoplesBank is a mutual bank and therefore is responsible to our depositors, our employees, and the community. This organizational structure allows us to focus on the long-term viability of the bank and the best interests of our customers. We currently have 20 banking centers located in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Media Contact
Matthew Bannister, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Corporate Responsibility, PeoplesBank
413.493.8704
[email protected]