Op-Ed: McGurk's Shareholders Meeting Views On United Bank Buyout

"RIP Rockville Bank, United Bank," by William J. McGurk

Editor's Note: This week, United Bank logos were replaced by the People's United Bank moniker as a continuation of a $759 million buyout announced in July. United Bank had a strong presence in north-central Connecticut after merging with Rockville Bank about six years ago. William McGurk, the former Rockville Bank CEO and figurehead and the largest private shareholder, shared with Patch his comments from the Oct. 22 United Bank shareholders meeting as an extension of comments delivered in a Patch interview after the 2019 merger announcement.

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"It appears both the timing and advice on this sale were flawed in that offers more advantageous to shareholders were rejected in prior years. An American Banker news article entitled, "United Financial Could Have Sold For A Lot More Money, Filing Shows," mentions specifically an offer rejected in the summer of 2018 that was 30 percent higher.

"Shareholders absorb the impact of an ineffective board's indecision. We shareholders lose while board members and executive management wins.

"It would be revealing to read the minutes of those discussions as well as the analysis and discussion of the DC Solar fiasco.

"It is unfortunate when greed, poor decisions and mismanagement lead to obscenely generous payments for the underserving and will likely lead to a number of loyal, hard-working, customer-focused employees losing their jobs.

"Shame on all board members and executive management for this abuse of your fiduciary responsibilities. We shareholders surely won't forget you.

"May your tarnished reputations follow you the rest of your lives."