Wilimington Trust – Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?

Ever wonder how your local economy can change on a dime? Well, here you go. Wilmington Trust handed the CEO position to a no-name in the banking industry. When CEO Cecala announced he would retire, the bank, instead of doing an external search for a successor, handed the reigns over to Donald Foley, former treasurer of ITT Corp. No other candidates were considered according to Mr. Foley.


So I wanted to find out more about Donald Foley. I found out that, although he has been on the board at Wilmington Trust for four years, his past has included executive positions in accounting, financial analysis, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. I think the part that scares me the most for the future of Wilmington Trust is the mergers and acquisitions background.
The bank has been damaged by loan losses and weak earnings and lost yet more when the announcement came about the CEO’s unexpected retirement. Could there be credit issues that they are not making public? Is Mr. Foley planning to start selling off parts of the bank? Knowing that they are the dominant bank in the area and a major lender to small businesses as well as local developers – well that certainly leads me to wonder if the Philadelphia region won’t be a party to a domino-effect especially for the smaller business owners.


Some things to watch for if you are one of those small business owners would be if the bank tried to call any of your loans early due to monetary concerns; if they refused additional credit lines to small business owners; if they sold the loans to other local banks such as PNC or US Bancorp along with the possibility of higher interest rates; or even if they made it harder for new small businesses to get first time loans. This truly has a domino-effect on the entire local economy.


So stay tuned Philly to see what happens. Will Wilmington Trust be able to remain independent as professed by its newest CEO or will be up for the highest bidder?



By: Nancy Anderson


Nancy Anderson, SEO Analyst for the Traffic Department at Beyond.com. Nancy has been working with Beyond since 2002. Prior to Beyond, Nancy worked as a business systems analyst at HNC Software, Inc and completed a twenty year career in the US Navy – retiring as a Chief Petty Officer. She enjoys spending time with her beautiful daughter and three incredible granddaughters.