Meet The President
Susan Shields
President,
Chief Executive Officer
Our history was forever shaped by events like the Great Depression, World Wars I and II, the dot-com bubble, the Great Recession and two global health pandemics. Through it all, we remained steadfast to our mission of meeting or exceeding the needs of our customers and communities by providing financial products, services, and expertise in a safe, sound, and relevant manner. After successfully navigating the events of the past three years, we cannot be more excited to see where this new year brings us.
Some things we know with certainty. We will be relocating our Post Road East branch to 51 Roses Mill, into a space that is more contemporary and in line with the way modern bank branches look and feel. We will continue to evaluate and roll out digital products and services to accommodate all our customers, regardless of whether they prefer in person banking solutions or digital options. In the near future, the faces you see at the bank will be changing as we are aware of several customer-facing staff retirements; we are thrilled for them but face the challenge of selecting their replacements while maintaining the standard of service you have come to expect from us. Resilience and responsiveness have been our calling card for 150 years. Our promise is to remain responsive today, tomorrow and in the years, decades, and centuries to come.
2022 was another extraordinary year punctuated by near record profits, the lingering effects of the pandemic, interest rate hikes that began in earnest, and an economy on the brink of an economic downturn. Increasing rates and economic uncertainty had an effect on lending and deposits. Despite those challenges, we grew our loan portfolio by over $20 million by providing credit to the people and businesses of the communities we serve. Our deposit base grew by $26 million by acquiring new customers and deepening the relationships we already have with existing ones. Staying true to our mission, The Milford Bank and our Foundation invested approximately $160,000 in community partnerships last year, supporting the good work done by well over one hundred philanthropic organizations. Our total assets increased in 2022 to $560 million and our net income was $3.1 million, an increase of $1 million year over year. Our tier one capital is $55.7 million, and the Bank retains the highest regulatory rating of “well capitalized.”
Late in the first quarter of this year, we saw two bank failures that threatened to de-stabilize the banking industry. The confluence of an inverted yield curve, deposit outflows, tepid loan demand, higher interest rates and bank failures have combined to challenge our ability to navigate through the “perfect storm” of balance sheet management. We are prepared and ready. A 150-year history of traversing the highs and lows of economic cycles demonstrates conservative risk management practices are already in place. The Milford Bank remains exceptionally strong.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to our Trustees for their continued counsel. Their dedication, passion and commitment allow the Bank to be the best version of itself. Our employees have demonstrated tremendous character and capabilities time and time again. With their support, I am optimistic for our prospects in 2023 and look forward to a bright future.
Read our Annual Report.
