People's United Financial, Inc. was an American

bank holding company A bank holding company is a company that controls one or more banks, but does not necessarily engage in banking itself. The compound bancorp (''banc''/''bank'' + '' corp ration') is often used to refer to these companies as well. United States ...

that owns People's United Bank. The bank operated 403

branches A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually r ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

, southeastern

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. sta ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

, and

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. It is the second-largest full-service bank in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, one of the largest in the

northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

, and the 46th-largest in the United States. As of April 2, 2022, the bank has merged with

M&T Bank M&T Bank Corporation (Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company) is an American bank holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. It operates 1680 branches in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts ...

and will be fully integrated into M&T by the third quarter of 2022.

History

The company was founded in 1842 as Bridgeport Savings Bank in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequo ...

. In 1981, the bank became the first in the country to provide a telephone bill paying service. After acquiring People's Bank of Vernon, CT in 1983, the company was renamed People's Bank. It has since acquired several other banks in New England to become the second largest in the region. In 1985, the company began issuing credit cards, but by 2004, it sold its credit card division to the

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster B ...

at a premium of $360 million. The company moved to a new headquarters building designed by

Richard Meier Richard Meier (born October 12, 1934) is an American abstract artist and architect, whose geometric designs make prominent use of the color white. A winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1984, Meier has designed several iconic buildings ...

in 1989. On June 7, 2007, the bank changed its name to People's United Bank. In February 2008, a data storage company, Archive America, lost backup tapes in transit containing the "names, birthdays, Social Security numbers and other information" of customers of the bank and of

The Bank of New York Mellon The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American investment banking services holding company headquartered in New York City. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Finan ...

. On November 22, 2010, the bank opened its first location in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. People's United was notably selected to manage the core bank accounts for the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

in November 2016, and was also selected to manage the core bank accounts for the state of

in August 2017. On February 22, 2021,

, based in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, announced an agreement to acquire People's United Bank in an all-stock transaction valuing at approximately $7.6 billion.

Acquisition history

From its founding as Bridgeport Savings Bank to the present, People's United has acquired several banks and other financial institutions in New England including: In 1955, the company acquired Southport Savings Bank. In 1981, the company acquired the assets of First Stamford Bank and Trust Company. In 1982, the company acquired Guardian Federal Savings and Loan Association of Bridgeport. In 1986, the company acquired First Federal Savings Bank. In 1991, the company acquired the deposits of Hartford-based Landmark Bank. In 1998, the company acquired Norwich Financial Corporation for $164 million in cash. On January 1, 2008, the bank acquired Chittenden Corporation for $1.9 billion. Also in 2008, the bank acquired Ocean Bank of New Hampshire, Maine Bank & Trust, Merrill Merchants Bank, Flagship Bank, and Bank of Western Massachusetts. In February 2010, the company acquired Financial Federal Corporation, an equipment financing company. In April 2010, the company acquired Butler Bank, which was seized by the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is one of two agencies that supply deposit insurance to depositors in American depository institutions, the other being the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures cr ...

. In December 2010, the company acquired LSB Corporation and Smithtown Bancorp. In July 2011, the company acquired Danvers Bancorp. In 2012, the company acquired 57 branches in the greater New York metro area from

, including 53 branches in Stop & Shop supermarkets. In October 2015, the company's insurance agency subsidiary acquired Kesten-Brown Insurance. In April 2017, the company acquired Suffolk Bancorp and in July, it acquired LEAF Commercial Capital. In June 2018, People's United Bank agreed to purchase

Farmington Bank Farmington Bank was a full-service community bank in Connecticut and western Massachusetts headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. History Early days The history of Farmington Bank dates back to May 1851 when a petition was presented to the C ...

in a deal valued at $544 million.

Headquarters

People's United Financial's

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

was built in 1989, designed by architect

. Rising 18 stories above the northern side of

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

, the People's Bank Building (known officially as Bridgeport Center) is the tallest building in downtown

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonn ...

References

External links

{{authority control Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq American companies established in 1842 Banks established in 1842 Banks based in Connecticut Companies based in Bridgeport, Connecticut 1842 establishments in Connecticut 2022 mergers and acquisitions