BUFFALO, N.Y., March 15, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Andrew W. Dorn Jr., President of Greater Buffalo Savings Bank (GBSB) announced the hiring of Peter B. Babiarz as Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer and the restructuring of the Bank's lending functions to enhance and expand customer service.
Babiarz joins GBSB after 22 years at HSBC Bank USA, serving most recently as Senior Vice President -- Senior Credit Administrator. In that position, he was responsible for regulating credit policy and approving credit decisions within major businesses and regional areas of the bank. With over 30 years of experience in retail banking and commercial and real estate lending, Babiarz will be a valuable addition to an organization undergoing significant growth in the commercial lending arena. With his arrival, GBSB is revising its organizational structure to formally separate credit review functions from the lending businesses to ensure the strength and autonomy of credit decisioning as the Bank continues to grow. Babiarz is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo where he received his B.S. in Management and M.B.A. in Finance.
Dorn also reported that Robert McKnight was recently promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer. McKnight joined GBSB in January 2005 as Senior Vice President responsible for commercial and industrial lending. His previous commercial banking career spanned 34 years at HSBC. In his new role, McKnight will oversee all of the lending businesses including the commercial and industrial division, the commercial real estate division, and a newly-formed community banking division. He is a graduate of Canisius College where he received his B.S. in Management and MBA in Finance.
Ted Oexle was recently promoted to Senior Vice President replacing McKnight as the head of the commercial and industrial lending division. He joined GBSB in 2005, bringing 15 years of business lending experience to the organization. Oexle earned his Bachelor of Science in Economics from Buffalo State College.
GBSB's newly-formed community banking division is comprised of small business lending, consumer lending and merchant banking activities. "Our new structure will allow the Bank to better serve the needs of the business community and our retail banking customers. We now have the experienced team and lending capacity to effectively serve our rapidly expanding branch network and businesses throughout Erie, Niagara and Chautauqua counties," said Dorn.
Greater Buffalo Savings Bank is a locally operated community savings bank. Founded in November 1999, GBSB currently operates 14 full-service banking offices in Western New York -- in the City of Buffalo, Depew, Dunkirk/Fredonia, East Amherst, Getzville, Jamestown, Kenmore, North Tonawanda, Snyder, Town of Tonawanda, West Amherst and West Seneca. Construction is now underway on three more full-service locations in Lockport, Cheektowaga and Orchard Park.
As a family of dedicated professionals, Greater Buffalo Savings Bank, a subsidiary of Great Lakes Bancorp, Inc., is committed to serving the financial needs of our depositors and the communities in which they live. We will provide a safe and profitable banking environment that fosters the achievement of personal financial goals, homeownership and business growth through our greatest resource, our employees. We will strive to maximize shareholder value by providing the highest quality customer service at all times. More information about Greater Buffalo Savings Bank can be found on the Internet at www.gbsb.com