Chesapeake Bank’s CEO James Anthony to Join Severn Savings

Chesapeake Bank & Trust Company announced today that James Anthony has tendered his resignation as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Anthony has accepted the position of Chief Operating Officer at Annapolis-based Severn Savings Bank.

Michael Macielag, Chairman of the Board of Directors, made the announcement at a meeting of employees late Monday afternoon. In his announcement, Mr. Macielag said: “One of the realities of community banking is that if you are blessed to have a talented executive, other institutions will recognize it and seek to recruit that officer to their team. Severn Savings is nearly ten times the size of Chesapeake. Severn will provide a bigger challenge, and if you know James, you know that the bigger the challenge, the happier he is. We are very sorry to lose him. He has done an outstanding job at Chesapeake, bringing skills to the table that were perfectly aligned with our needs. He will have left the company far better than he found it and has earned the respect of the entire community, employees, directors and shareholders. We will miss him.”Mr. Anthony remarked, “Chesapeake has excelled during the financial crisis thanks to the dedication of its employees, the guidance of its Board of Directors, the patronage of its shareholders, and the support of our community. The company is committed to tirelessly serving the needs of our community and is well-positioned for continued profitability and growth.” Mr. Anthony went on to say, “Chesapeake could not be in better hands going forward. I will truly miss the wonderful people throughout this organization, but I know that everyone at Chesapeake will continue to build on the success we have enjoyed.”

The Board of Directors also announced that it is already engaged in a search to hire a new Chief Executive Officer. In the meantime, should that search extend beyond July 11, the Board intends to “put the band back together” in the words of one director. Mr. Macielag and Michael Messix, former Senior Loan Officer and current Chesapeake Bank Director have been asked to spend time in the bank to provide some guidance. Richard Coffman, the long-standing Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has agreed to serve as Acting President and Chief Executive Officer.

“Rick has been trying to retire for two years” Macielag offered, “and we keep holding him back. We hope this assignment won’t last very long for Rick’s sake, but we are confident that his 40 years in banking will provide the kind of on-site, day-to-day decision making that the company needs and our shareholders deserve. He has actually served as President and CEO of two other financial institutions during his long career. This will be the hat trick.”

Chesapeake’s formal announcement included the following statement from its Board:

“Our company is in very good shape. The last seven or eight years have been a challenging environment for all banks; many institutions have fallen by the wayside, suffered large losses, or required government assistance. None of these circumstances apply to Chesapeake, primarily because we have always adhered to a conservative policy of financial discipline. Our “fortress balance sheet” has been our first principle and it has served us well. We are approaching thirty years of existence and have never had an operating loss. Our shareholders have enjoyed the benefit of that conservative discipline. We embrace and reiterate that strategy. The future is challenging but bright.”