First Bank To Open North Jersey HQ In Fairfield

Press release from First Bank:

April 4, 2023

First Bank (NASDAQ: FRBA) announced today that Anthony DeSenzo, First Senior Vice President and Market Executive, will serve as senior leader of the bank’s new Fairfield location, which will operate as First Bank’s Northern New Jersey Headquarters.

DeSenzo has successfully served the business community in Fairfield and Essex County for many years, and he will lead an experienced team of community banking professionals in the new location. Joining DeSenzo is David Roskowsky, Vice President and Fairfield Branch Manager, and Stephen Bohmert, Vice President of Business Development. Bohmert and Roskowsky have been tasked with growing First Bank’s market share and expanding the bank’s brand in this exciting new market.

The new location opened its doors April 3 and will bring the bank’s unique, next-level approach to community banking to the region. First Bank has a long tradition of commitment to the neighborhoods it serves, by providing unrivaled access to its banking teams throughout its New York City-to-Philadelphia footprint. First Bank’s tagline, “Personal Bankers. Real Relationships,” captures the thoughtful approach behind every customer interaction.

“At First Bank, we focus on our customers and make everything else revolve around them,” said First Bank President and CEO Patrick L. Ryan. “We’ve created a banking experience where our customers have access to decision-makers, a place where our team members have real authority to help. As a result, we listen carefully, ask smart questions and deliver solutions—not products. That’s the foundation for a true community bank.”

With a strong focus on local entrepreneurs and privately held businesses, the business community can expect a full range of personalized services to make the lending process simple, fast and easy. First Bank’s experienced relationship managers will respond quickly and provide customized solutions with a “hands on” approach that includes convenient digital banking services, competitive interest rates on savings and checking accounts and flexible loan options for personal and business needs.

While the community bank is very focused on all types of commercial lending and especially small & mid-size business lending, it has recently added resources for private equity groups and their portfolio companies to cover the full life cycle. More recently, the bank has introduced a new specialty financing group that offers asset-based lending, which helps business owners and entrepreneurs turn illiquid assets into more capital.

Supporting Main Street

Supporting entrepreneurs is part of First Bank’s history. When the business community needed help the most during the pandemic, the community bank helped provide nearly 2000 small businesses with critical Paycheck Protection Program relief, totaling about $300 million to save jobs on Main Street.

An entrepreneur himself, Ryan was part of an investment group that recapitalized First Bank with $20 million in late 2008. His vision was clear: Build a community bank focused on providing best-in-class services and access to capital for business owners and entrepreneurs. Based on its most recent quarterly filing, First Bank has $2.73 billion in assets.

Ryan was awarded EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 New Jersey Award.

To learn more about First Bank, visit firstbanknj.com or firstbankpa.com.

This press release was produced by First Bank. The views expressed here are the author's own.