WILMINGTON, Del., July 15, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WSFS Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:WSFS), the parent company of WSFS Bank, today announced the formation of a Trust Advisory Board. As a result of the acquisition of Christiana Bank & Trust Company in December 2010, WSFS has added approximately $175 million in deposits, approximately $106 million in performing loans and approximately $7 billion in trust assets under administration. As a division of WSFS, Christiana Trust will receive advice and counsel from the Trust Advisory Board.
"The Trust Advisory Board brings together some of the Delaware Valley's most influential and experienced business and financial leaders," says Mark A. Turner, President and Chief Executive Officer of WSFS Bank. "Collectively, their expertise will help us provide our individual and corporate Customers with superior asset-management services and continue our success as the oldest and largest, full-service bank and trust company headquartered in Delaware."
The newly formed Trust Advisory Board consists of key community leaders and experts in the wealth, finance and trust business, including members of the former Christiana Bank & Trust Company and representatives from the WSFS Board of Directors. Trust Advisory Board members include: John W. Field, Jr., serving as the Chairman of the Trust Advisory Board, W. Timothy Cashman, II; John A. Herdeg; John J. Nesbitt, III; Donald W. Delson; Zissimos A. Frangopoulos and Calvert A. Morgan, Jr. The Trust Advisory Board, which will meet six times a year, will advise on business development, customer and community relations, as well as provide strategic market and product guidance.
Christiana Trust Advisory Board Members
John W. Field, Jr. (Chairman of the Trust Advisory Board) is Managing Partner of Greenfield Associates, LLC, a management consulting firm. Previously, Mr. Field spent 33 years as a Senior Executive with J.P. Morgan & Co., serving seven years as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Delaware office. He has served as a Board Member of The Forthill Company, Board Member and Treasurer of The Brandywine Conservancy, and a Board Member of Christiana Health Care Systems.
W. Timothy Cashman, II is one of the three organizers of Christiana Bank & Trust Company, where he served as Honorary Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Senior Vice President. Previously, Mr. Cashman was a Senior Vice President, Director and Member of the Executive Committee of Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corporation in Greenville, DE.
John A. Herdeg is one of the three organizers of Christiana Bank & Trust Company, where he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors from the Company's formation until its sale. Mr. Herdeg is an attorney with the firm Herdeg, du Pont & Dalle Pazze, LLP in Wilmington, DE, which specializes in estate and tax planning as well as fiduciary planning and administration. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President in charge of the Trust Department and Director at Wilmington Trust Company. Mr. Herdeg is also a Trustee of Winterthur Museum.
John J. Nesbitt, III is one of the three Organizers of Christiana Bank & Trust Company, where he served as Chairman of the Audit Committee and Senior Vice President, Secretary, and Chief Administrative Officer. Previously, Mr. Nesbitt served as an Officer with Provident National Corporation, now part of PNC Bank and as an officer of First Pennsylvania Corporation, now part of Wells Fargo Bank, and President of First Pennsylvania's subsidiary that provided financial systems and services to major banks, insurance companies and corporations. He is a member of the Directors' Executive Committee and Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair, which benefits Bryn Mawr Hospital, and is a member of the Associates Advisory Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Donald W. Delson has been a Director of WSFS Financial Corporation since 2009. A Senior Advisor at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., a New York based investment banking firm, Mr. Delson previously held positions at Alex Brown & Sons and was an attorney with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Philadelphia. He is Vice Chair of The Chester Fund for Education & Arts, a Co-publisher of the weekly newspaper, Swarthmorean, and a Member of the Finance Committee for Crozer Keystone Health System.
Zissimos A. Frangopoulos has been a Director of WSFS Financial Corporation since 2010. Mr. Frangopoulos is the retired President and Chief Executive Officer of Christiana Bank & Trust Company, where he served from 2002 until 2010. He had been a Member of their Board of Directors since 2001. From 1969 to 1999, Mr. Frangopoulos served in many senior positions with Chemical Bank. He was also a Director and Vice Chairman of the Board of National Penn Wealth Management, N.A. and earlier served on the Board of National Penn Bank, N.A.
Calvert A. Morgan, Jr. has been a Director of WSFS Financial Corporation since 2004 and Vice Chairman of WSFS Bank since 2006. Bringing over 40 years of banking experience to the Advisory Board, Mr. Morgan is the retired Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of PNC Bank, Delaware. He is a longtime Member of the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council, a former Board Member and past Chairman of the Delaware Bankers Association and served on the Boards of the United Way of Delaware and the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Morgan also serves as a Director of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation.
About WSFS Financial Corporation
WSFS Financial Corporation is a multi-billion dollar financial services company. Its primary subsidiary, WSFS Bank, is the oldest and largest locally-managed bank and trust company headquartered in Delaware with $4.0 billion in assets on its balance sheet and $7.7 billion in trust assets under management and administration. WSFS has 47 offices located in Delaware (38), Pennsylvania (7), Virginia (1) and Nevada (1) and provides comprehensive financial services including commercial banking, retail banking and trust and wealth management. Other subsidiaries or divisions include Christiana Trust, WSFS Investment Group, Inc., Cypress Capital Management, LLC and Cash Connect. Serving the Delaware Valley since 1832, WSFS is the seventh oldest bank in the United States continuously operating under the same name. For more information, please visit www.wsfsbank.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements contained in this news release which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements, which are based on various assumptions (some of which may be beyond the Company's control) are subject to risks and uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those related to the economic environment, particularly in the market areas in which the Company operates; the volatility of the financial and securities markets, including changes with respect to the market value of its financial assets; changes in government regulation affecting financial institutions and potential expenses associated therewith; changes resulting from the Company's participation in the CPP including additional conditions that may be imposed in the future on participating companies; and the costs associated with resolving any problem loans; and other risks and uncertainties, discussed in documents filed by WSFS Financial Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company.