WATERBURY, Conn., Jan. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Webster Bank announced today that John L. Guy, Jr. has joined as Senior Vice President leading Business and Professional Banking within the Retail Banking organization.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110119/NY32476 )

"Small business is one of Webster's most important strategic initiatives and Webster undertook a long, hard search to find a true leader in the field," said Anne Slattery, executive vice president, retail banking. "John led small business banking first at Wachovia in Charlotte, N.C., and most recently at Fifth Third in Cincinnati. He is deeply experienced in all facets of small business banking and ranks among the most highly qualified leaders of small business. He has extensive experience in small business financing, especially government lending programs. In fact, he has led two of the largest and most successful SBA lending teams in the country. We're very pleased to have John on our team."

From 2006 until joining Webster, Guy served with Fifth Third as SVP, SBA and Alternative Lending Strategies. In this role he was responsible for developing strategies and delivery of SBA and alternative financing solutions through a dedicated sales force. Earlier, Guy served as SVP, Business Banking where he was responsible for driving the strategies, managing large and diverse teams, and building an infrastructure that delivered a broad set of products and services to companies with revenues up to $10 million.

Prior to Fifth Third, Guy worked for Wachovia in Charlotte, N.C. from 1999-2006 as Executive Director for Wholesale Products, Executive Director for Small and Business Banking, and Chief Executive and Operating Officer for Small Business Capital. In each of these roles he was also responsible for managing strategies and teams of people responsible for providing products and services tailored to the specific needs of business customers nationally.

Before joining the banking industry, Guy held a variety of management positions in several finance and manufacturing companies including Heller International Corporation, Borg Warner Corporation, and Zenith Corporation.

He has a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. He is a board member and audit committee co-chair for Monetta Mutual Funds and has served as co-campaign chair for Habitat for Humanity of Ohio.

About Webster

Webster Financial Corporation is the holding company for Webster Bank, National Association. With $17.8 billion in assets, Webster provides business and consumer banking, mortgage, financial planning, trust and investment services through 181 banking offices, 497 ATMs, telephone banking and the Internet. Webster Bank owns the asset-based lending firm Webster Business Credit Corporation; Webster Capital Finance Corporation, an equipment finance company headquartered in Farmington, Conn.; and provides health savings account trustee and administrative services through HSA Bank, a division of Webster Bank. Member FDIC and equal housing lender. For more information about Webster, including past press releases and the latest annual report, visit the Webster website at www.websterbank.com.


    Media Contact:             Investor Contact:
    Brenda Greene,
     401-228-2083              Terry Mangan, 203-578-2318
    bgreene@websterbank.com    tmangan@websterbank.com

SOURCE Webster Financial Corporation