Taunton, MA: Mechanics Cooperative Bank Board of Directors and Executive Leadership Team are proud to announce the appointment of Rachel Barrett as Senior Vice President, Chief Credit Officer. The Chief Credit Officer for Mechanics Cooperative Bank is responsible for the day-to-day oversight and administration of the Bank’s loan portfolio including policies and procedures to ensure the overall quality of the Bank’s lending assets.
President and CEO of Mechanics Cooperative Bank, Joseph T. Baptista Jr., stated “The Bank is proud to welcome Ms. Barrett and excited to add her wealth of expertise and knowledge to our team. Rachel’s extensive education, focused specifically within the banking and finance industry, will add immediate value to the organization. Also, her past work experience, both as a commercial loan officer and as a senior credit officer, provides an excellent understanding of the lending industry from both the Bank, and customer perspective. We welcome Ms. Barrett to our team and are confident her appointment will help continue to grow and expand the Bank.”
Rachel Barrett joins the organization with twenty three (23) years of banking experience starting her career at the Bank of Telluride in Colorado. She then took a position at Burling Bank in Chicago, Illinois as a Teller and Personal Banker before moving to Loan Operations, then to a Loan Officer position, and eventually was promoted to Senior Commercial Loan Officer. Rachel continued her career at ABN AMRO/La Salle Bank N.A. in 1998 as an Assistant Vice President, Commercial Lender where she researched and wrote a white paper on Lending to Primary Clearing Firms and Individuals within the Commodity and Security Industry allowing the Bank to extend additional product offerings and expand within the market. Barrett was then promoted to Vice President, Credit Training in 2000 and eventually to Program Director, First Vice President, Credit Training. In 2007 she left ABN AMRO/LaSalle Bank and took a position as a Commercial Credit Consultant for Chaston Associates, Inc. in North Andover, Massachusetts where she provided outsourced credit risk review and consulting services for financial institutions across the Northeast.
Ms. Barrett joined Bank Rhode Island in Providence, RI in late 2008 as a Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Lender and the CRE Loan Administration and Credit Portfolio Department Manager. In addition to the lending and department manager roles, she also acted as a Project Manager for Credit and Lending for credit related and loan administration systems and processes. Various projects included credit approval, underwriting processes and procedures, loan closings, monitoring the CRE portfolio for expediting matured loan renewals and extensions, exception and high-risk credit tracking, site inspections, and work flow. In 2011, she was promoted to Senior Vice President, Senior Credit Officer and Commercial Compliance and Loan Operations Liaison where she managed the Credit Administration Department for Bank Rhode Island.
Rachel has a Bachelor of Science in International Business/Finance, from Ithaca College, in Ithaca, New York as well as a Master of Business Administration/Finance, from DePaul University, in Chicago, Illinois. She also attended Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management’s Executive Education, in Evanston, Illinois where she completed the Credit Analysis, Equity Valuation, and Financial Reporting Program. Rachel also has the following certifications in addition to her extensive education: ABN AMRO Commercial Lender Credit Training Program, Chicago, Illinois; Train-the-Trainer Certification, Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio; and Project Management Certification, Bryant University, Smithfield, Rhode Island.
With total assets over $450 million, Mechanics Cooperative Bank offers a wide variety of personal and business deposit and loan products. Established in 1877, Mechanics Cooperative Bank is Massachusetts’ second oldest co-operative bank with eight conveniently located branches in Bridgewater, Taunton, North Dighton, Somerset, Swansea, Fall River and Westport. For more information, call 1-888-MECHANICS (632-4264) or visit Mechanics-Coop.com. Member FDIC. Member SIF. Equal Housing Lender.
