Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc., a publicly-owned registered bank holding company
and financial holding company, was organized in 1984 under the laws of the state
of Rhode Island. The Bancorp owns all of the outstanding common stock of The
Washington Trust Company, of Westerly (the “Bank”), a Rhode Island
chartered commercial bank founded in 1800. The Bancorp was formed in 1984 under
a plan of reorganization in which outstanding common shares of the Bank were
exchanged for common shares of the Bancorp.
Through its subsidiaries, the Bancorp offers a comprehensive product line of
banking and financial services to individuals and businesses, including commercial,
residential and consumer lending, retail and commercial deposit products, and
wealth management services through its offices in Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts
and Connecticut; its automated teller machine (“ATM”) networks;
and its Internet website at www.washtrust.com. The Bancorp’s common stock
is traded on the NASDAQ OMX® Market under the symbol “WASH.”
Washington Trust manages its operations through two business segments: Commercial
Banking and Wealth Management Services. Activity not related to the segments,
including activity related to the investment securities portfolio, wholesale
matters and administrative units are considered Corporate.
Washington Trust offers a variety of commercial and retail lending products.
Interest rates charged on loans may be fixed or variable and vary with the degree
of risk, loan term, underwriting and servicing costs, loan amount, and the extent
of other banking relationships maintained with customers. Rates are further
subject to competitive pressures, the current interest rate environment, availability
of funds, and government regulations.
Residential real estate loans are primarily originated by commissioned mortgage
originator employees. Residential real estate loans are originated both for
sale in the secondary market as well as for retention in the Bank’s loan
portfolio.
The Board of Directors of the Bank monitors credit risk management through two
committees, the Finance Committee and the Audit Committee. The Finance Committee
has primary oversight responsibility for the credit granting function, including
approval authority for credit granting policies, review of management’s
credit granting activities and approval of large exposure credit requests. The
Audit Committee oversees various systems and procedures performed by management
to monitor the credit quality of the loan portfolio, conduct a loan review program,
maintain the integrity of the loan rating system and determine the adequacy
of the allowance for loan losses. The Audit Committee also approves the policy
and methodology for establishing the allowance for loan losses. These committees
report the results of their respective oversight functions to the Bank’s
Board of Directors. In addition, the Bank’s Board of Directors receives
information concerning asset quality measurements and trends on a regular basis.
Investment activity is monitored by an Investment Committee, the members of
which also sit on the Corporation’s Asset/Liability Committee (“ALCO”).
Asset and liability management objectives are the primary influence on the Corporation’s
investment activities. However, the Corporation also recognizes that there are
certain specific risks inherent in investment portfolio activity. The securities
portfolio is managed in accordance with regulatory guidelines and established
internal corporate investment policies that provide limitations on specific
risk factors such as market risk, credit risk and concentration, liquidity risk
and operational risk to help monitor risks associated with investing in securities.
The Bank has two registered investment adviser subsidiaries, Weston Financial
Group, Inc. (“Weston Financial”) and Halsey Associates, Inc. (“Halsey”).
Weston Financial and its broker-dealer and insurance agency subsidiaries were
acquired by the Bancorp in August 2005. Weston Financial is located in Wellesley,
Massachusetts. Halsey was acquired by the Bancorp in August 2015 and is located
in New Haven, Connecticut. The acquisitions of Weston Financial and Halsey expanded
the geographic reach of Washington Trust’s wealth management business.