TAUNTON, MA: Mechanics Cooperative Bank’s Board of Directors and Executive Leadership Team are proud to announce the appointment of Curtis W. McKinney as Senior Vice President and Senior Lending Officer. Mr. McKinney brings over 30 years of experience in the banking industry to Mechanics Cooperative Bank and they are confident their selection will continue to drive growth for the organization.

In announcing the Bank’s selection, President and CEO Joseph T. Baptista, Jr. described Mr. McKinney “A proven leader with great knowledge of the banking and lending industry and we are confident he will be a great addition to the Mechanics Cooperative Bank team. His banking expertise coupled with experience at both larger and smaller institutions, all around the country, will provide great perspective for how to position our future lending growth. We are excited to have him on our team and welcome his input and guidance in plotting the future direction of our organization.”

Mr. McKinney began his professional career as a teacher in the 1980’s where he holds a Business Education Teaching Certificate in the State of Texas.  He then began working in banking on the retail side of the industry before taking a position with the Office of Thrift Supervision as an Examiner in Charge.  Mr. McKinney was soon promoted to Supervisory Analyst in the San Francisco District before returning to the east coast as the Senior Supervisory Analyst and Case Load Supervisor in New York. The Office of Thrift Supervision was established by Congress as the primary regulator of all savings institutions across the nation that belong to the Savings Association Insurance Fund (SAIF) to ensure that both federal and state-chartered thrift institutions operate in a safe and sound manner.

In the early 1990’s Mr. McKinney began working in commercial lending and real estate all over the country.  He was appointed Vice President, Portfolio Manager for First Nationwide Bank before being promoted to First Vice President, Director of Portfolio Management for the Commercial Real Estate Finance Group with California Federal Bank (successor to First Nationwide Bank, Los Angeles, California). In this position he organized and managed the credit review team responsible for a $4.5 billion commercial real estate loan portfolio in southern California.

Mr. McKinney then became the Director of Credit and Loan Underwriting for the Commercial Real Estate Finance Group, US Southwest Region, for Citibank (successor to California Federal Bank, Los Angeles, CA).  Here he assumed responsibility of managing the underwriters of commercial real estate loans that were secured by multi-family, retail, office and industrial properties in the Southern California market.

While working for Citibank Mr. McKinney excelled and was soon asked to be Executive Vice President and Regional Director of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Group, US Eastern Region. He was tasked with managing the Commercial Real Estate Finance Group’s loan origination, underwriting, and credit review with loans ranging from $500 thousand to $50 million. Mr. McKinney subsequently became Citibank’s National Business Head of Commercial Real Estate Finance, responsible for managing a business with a $20 billion commercial loan portfolio.

In October of 2013 Mr. McKinney took an opportunity to work in Boston, MA for Admirals Bank as their Senior Vice President, Director of Commercial Banking.   In this role he was required to implement and develop a Commercial Lending Platform, including underwriting and operational policies in addition to managing the Loan Acquisition, Origination, Asset Management and Underwriting staff.

In his most recent leadership position Mr. McKinney was made the Senior Vice President and Chief Credit and Lending Officer responsible for establishing the Bank’s credit risk management strategy and policies including lending, credit, appraisal, environmental risk, foreclosure and allowance for loan loss.  Mr. McKinney directed the acquisition of $400 million in new commercial real estate loans and restructured the Collections Department, resulting in a significant decline in the Bank’s delinquency rates for consumer mortgages. He also significantly improved the Bank’s asset quality ratios.

Mr. McKinney is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Business Administration and Finance.  He currently resides in Providence and is actively seeking opportunities to participate in our local non-profit community.

About Mechanics Cooperative Bank

With total assets over $575 million, Mechanics Cooperative Bank offers a wide variety of personal and business deposit and loan products. As a Massachusetts co-operative bank, 100% of customers’ deposits are always fully insured. 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.