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I know why the bank CEO smiles

Thomas J. Leach Jr.

Those of you who closely read everything I write know of my obsession fascination with photos of Peoples Federal Savings Bank CEO Thomas J. Leetch, Jr. Back in the day, when Peoples was still a mutual bank (basically as close to a credit union as you can get and still be a bank), kidlet and I were always assured by his unsmiling visage on signs in the lobby and in the quarterly bank newsletter: This, we concluded, was a man who would fight to his last to preserve our deposits: Stern, tough, single mindedly ordering up more guards to protect our money in the vault. He looked like the kind of guy who, if you looked up "banker" in the dictionary, there would be his photo.

Then, four years ago, the bank switched from a mutual bank to a publicly held corporation. And all of a sudden, stern no-nonsense Thomas J. Leetch Jr.'s visage was replaced with a happy, smiling Thomas J. Leetch Jr. Wha? Steven Syre reveals the reason for Thomas J.'s grin: The move from mutual to public corporation made him - and the bank president millionaires. And now they've sold the bank to a larger bank.

One can only hope against hope that the bank tellers and vice presidents who really made the bank run shared in the largesse, although since this is 2014 and a bank we're talking about, one despairs as to the answer to that.

Meanwhile, the Globe reports depositors at another local mutual bank, in Beverly, actually managed to up-end executives' efforts to cash in and go public.

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Comments

Well , there is always the Roslindale Cooperative Bank there for you.......
Even Exxon and Mobil merged, the Pegasus got downsized......

A man , when Tom became a big cheese there, PFSB had only one branch. I would call it back then , an Irish bank , as was Brighton, heavily Irish. There are many branches now. Most , if not all of the major banks at that time are all gone, First National Bank of Boston , New England Merchants , Suffolk Franklin, ect. I am sure over the years there were many offers to sell out or merge. The man is a righteous dude, and is time to retire.Things change in life , and it is time for a change here. Wish the man good luck , and let him smile in peace. Carry on .

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There's always room for money in mayo jars in the backyard.

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Probably pays about the same interest as I'm getting on my CD right now.

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But you can get a 4 % mortgage too ! Want more interest , you gotta shop around...

https://www.fidelity.com/fund-screener/evaluator.shtml#!&fdPks=Y&ntf=Y&f...

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Why settle for settle for "as close to credit union as you can get and still be a bank"? Just about everyone can join a CU now, and it won't wind up a BoA branch. I've been through the "nice little community bank" thing several times, and they always sold out to a megabank.

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Same here.. used to have US Trust, then they became Shitizens. (Citizens). Left them for a small bank, which became Commerce. Left them for another small back, which became Shitizens (again).

Finally dumped them and moved to a Credit Union... and never looked back. I love Metro CU.

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Until everyone realizes CUs can be just as dickish!

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I know there are CUs out there that are not so great, but they just don't have the arrogant clout to do the kind of damage that Bank of America does.

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Once sleepy and solid Hyde Park Savings Bank, now the rapidly expanding and self-promoting Blue Hills Bank, is on the same profiteering path to becoming Bank of America fronts and making the current board rich.

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Just saw a commercial with Tom Menino hawking this bank !

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