Timothy P Collins, Regional Vice President and a Senior Commercial Lender at The Bank of Bennington, recently reminisced about the remarkable changes in banking in Vermont over the past 40 years. The biggest shift, he feels, took place when interstate banking regulations opened up Vermont and allowed banks from “outside” to operate in the state. “It changed everything,” Tim said recently, in an interview about his 40th anniversary in banking. “The landscape became much more competitive. When national and out-of-state banks came in, there were a lot of mergers and acquisitions. There still are today. It’s why I feel so fortunate that I have been able to stay in Rutland and continue in banking.”
Jim Brown, President of The Bank of Bennington, credits Collins saying, “We are so fortunate to have his vast banking experience on our team. That, along with his wholehearted dedication to the Rutland community, insured the bank’s success in our recent expansion there.”
Collins always wanted to become a banking loan officer. Born in Rutland, raised in Burlington, he returned to his native city and began his banking career in 1978 in the Collections Department of one of the local banks. At that time, there were three banks headquartered in the city—the Marble Bank, Rutland Savings Bank, and the Proctor Bank. Working in Collections was, he said, “A terrific training ground for a future loan officer. It allowed me to see firsthand why some loans don’t work.” He is grateful to have been able to stay in Rutland, where he loves to live, for his entire banking career.
The rise of technology in banking over the last 40 years has been transformational although for a commercial loan officer, “doing business face-to-face is still critically important,” he said, and feels that it adds a value that online or remote banking can’t provide.
Over the last four decades, Mr Collins has served on various local boards, including Rutland Area Visiting Nurses Association, Rutland Free Library, VABIR, Rutland Industries, Mount St. Joseph Academy and United Way.
Tim lives in Rutland with his wife, Sandy. Their three grown children include daughter, Courtney, an ER nurse in Rutland, son, Patrick an attorney in Portsmouth, NH, and son, Brendan, of Rutland, a co-owner and manager of neutralzone.net, a hockey scouting service.
Photo Caption: Tim Collins (R) receives his 40-year plaque from his colleague at The Bank of Bennington, Dave Bardin, Senior Vice President.