St. Mary's Bank Names Next President and CEO

The Board of Directors of St. Mary's Bank announced that Ronald H. Covey, Jr. has been named the next president and
CEO of the nation's first credit union. Covey brings more than 30 years of banking experience to his new position, most recently serving as executive vice president of commercial banking for Ocean Bank in NH and Maine. He will be the eighth president and CEO in St. Mary's 100 year history, succeeding Ronald J. Rioux, who will be retiring in January.

"For over a decade, Ron Rioux has embodied the spirit of St. Mary's Bank, so when he announced his retirement, our board set out to find a successor who possessed not only the necessary banking experience, but a person who understood our core values of community-oriented and member-focused service," said Ovide Lamontagne, chairman of the board.
"Ronald Covey not only met this criteria, but his years of personal and professional dedication to the state's banking industry and countless community organizations show he possesses the same community values of the members who originally founded St. Mary's Bank."

Covey's previous work experience includes senior management roles at Citizens Bank, Numerica Savings Bank and BankEast. He is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and received his MBA from Southern New Hampshire University. He serves on the boards of the NH Daniel Webster Council, Boy Scouts of America, Robie's Historic Preservation Foundation and as vice chairman of the New Hampshire Institute of Art. Covey also volunteers with a number of organizations including the NH Charitable Foundation, NH Bankers Association, NH Business and Industry Association and the NH High Tech Council among others.

Some of the early priorities Covey lists as part of his new role include a continued commitment to making loans available to members, building on St. Mary's mission to serve the ever-diversifying immigrant population of greater Manchester, and he wants to expand the credit union's use of technology to make the credit union more convenient.

Covey is expected to join St. Mary's in mid-December and will work closely with Rioux and the board on a transition plan. "Having just celebrated our 100th anniversary, I felt it was important to find a leader who could help set the stage for St. Mary's growth in the next century and Ronald Covey is that person," said Rioux.

Chairman Ovide Lamontagne lauded the significant accomplishments St. Mary's Bank has enjoyed under Ron Rioux's leadership and expressed optimism that Ron Covey can build upon Rioux's achievements. "Since joining St. Mary's in 1993, Ron Rioux has led tremendous growth, while strengthening the institution's commitment to the community and the members it serves. During his tenure, St. Mary's has merged with two credit unions, grown the branch network from three to eight and expanded to nearly 60,000 members," Lamontagne noted.
"Perhaps Ron Rioux's most significant contribution is the establishment of a multi-year, multi-million dollar community outreach program that includes a grant option and a variety of loan programs designed to meet the different yet specific needs of the underserved, Lamontagne said.

Rioux is also credited with helping to establish a statewide, five-year, $35 million program based on a similar St. Mary's program that offered fair and reasonable loan alternatives to low-to-moderate income NH families.