Listen to Richard E. Taber, Chairman and CEO, talk about the importance of community in this Public Service Announcement. As heard on 96.7 The Coast and 95.9 The Fox radio stations.
The Chairman's Report (as of December 31, 2008) - Built by people to help people...See how we've been building strong relationships in the community, one customer at a time. (Please allow up to a few minutes for the PDF to load.)
An Important Message from the Chairman and CEO
At this time while a vast number of banking and financial service organizations both in our market and on a national level are experiencing financial difficulties in the area of sub-prime mortgage lending, First County Bank has encountered no such problems. More concerned about meeting the needs of our customers and about growing profitably over the longer term, we have carefully avoided the sub-prime mortgage market.
We bring a high level of expertise and understanding to mortgage lending. Successfully meeting the banking and borrowing needs of our customers for more than 150 years, First County Bank is also locally owned and managed. We are very proud of the fact that many of our new mortgage customers come from current and past customer referrals.
Most importantly, during this most difficult time for financial services companies, First County Bank has remained profitable. This is best measured by the Bank’s return on equity (ROE) which has consistently been in the range of 10-12%, further demonstrating our consistent financial performance. At the same time, we continue to invest in our branch facilities with three renovations underway and have consistently supported the local community through the work of the First County Bank Foundation, with over $480 thousand in grants awarded this past June.
We welcome the opportunity to serve you and satisfy your banking needs at any one of our 14 branches in lower Fairfield County. We invite you to visit us and thank you for being a member of our banking family.
Very truly yours,
Richard E. Taber
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
