Independent Banker - December 2017 - 32

ICBA
Community caretaker
Ledyard National Bank CEO Kathy Underwood takes the community
banking mantra " making a diff erence " to heart.
By Elizabeth Judd
I
n mid-September, Kathy Underwood, president
and CEO of $500 million-asset Ledyard National
Bank, spent three hours of a Friday working side
by side with nine coworkers, packaging macaroni
and cheese for the local food bank. Underwood
describes the project as " such fun " and enjoys being a
go-to person for local nonprofi ts that need extra help.
Underwood says that 12 years ago, when she was
recruited to be CEO of Hanover, N.H.-based Ledyard, she
immediately felt like she'd " died and gone to heaven. " Having
spent 25 years at a community bank that was acquired
many times and ultimately evolved into a super-regional
entity-ultimately KeyBank-Underwood relishes " the
ability to not only know what a community needs but to be
in a position to respond to those needs. "
Civic engagement is central to Underwood's own
personal mission, one she revisits each morning when
she sees the Margaret Mead quote taped to her computer
monitor: " Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the
only thing that ever has. "
Underwood has not only mastered the intricacies of
community banking but has also been an advocate and
advisor to regulators and associations. She served as a
community bank advisory board member for the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and as chair
of the audit committee at the Federal Reserve Bank of
Boston, and she serves on the board of directors for ICBA,
among other boards. " It's critically important that bankers
speak up and contact rulemakers, whether it's the CFPB or
others, " Underwood says. " The more voices they hear, and
the more real-life experiences we're able to share about
how some of these regulation changes are hurting our
service to communities, the better. "
As an example, Underwood recently addressed the
impact that the CFPB's proposal to regulate consumer
loans would have by reducing the market for small-dollar
loans. She told the story of how her bank granted a man in
her market a $500 loan to buy a lawnmower, preserving
his business. Had the recently introduced consumer loan
regulations been enacted without its current exceptions
for small-dollar lending, a community bank would have
to deny such a loan " and the gentleman would [go] out of
business, " she says. " Those aren't loans we make every day,
but we are there when someone is in a pinch. "
Underwood advises all young people entering banking
to serve on a local nonprofi t board just as she did in her
20s. A few years ago, she gathered her senior leadership
team together and explained that money donations to
nonprofi ts had dried up and that these groups needed the
support of Ledyard National Bank and its employees.
She identifi ed her own passion more than 30 years
ago when she began working with the American Heart
Community Banker
of the Year 2017
Eastern
From the heart-Left: Kathy Underwood lobbies on Capitol Hill on behalf of the American Heart
Association. Above: Underwood, second from right, stands with members of Ledyard National Bank's
Wellness Committee after receiving the American Heart Association's 2015 Gold Achievement as a FitFriendly
Worksite.
32 ICBA Independent Banker December 2017

Independent Banker - December 2017

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