April 25, 2025 • 5 mins
Hal Horvat leads Centreville Bank, a full-service mutual bank headquartered in West Warwick, Rhode Island, with over $2.8 billion in assets. Since joining in 2014 and becoming President, CEO, and Chairman in 2019, he has expanded the bank from 7 branches to 22 locations across Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut. Under his leadership, the bank has earned national accolades, including the 2025 America’s Best Workplace award and recognition as one of America’s Best Banks to Work For. With over 30 years of banking experience, Horvat has held senior roles at Centreville and Mansfield Bank and is actively involved in community and industry boards. A lifelong Rhode Islander, he holds degrees from the University of Rhode Island and Bryant University, which recognized him with its Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2023.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
iHeartRadio Providence CEOs.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
You should know.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Today we've got Hal Horvat, president and CEO and chairman
of the board from Centerville Bank. A couple titles right there.
We like that. How's it going.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
It's fantastic, Adam, great to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
With you, absolutely, thank you for coming on. First, we
have a really really big announcement to talk about with
you guys at Centerville Bank. You secured the naming rights
to the Rhode Island Football Club's new stadium in Patucket.
Tell me a little bit more about why Centerville Bank
chose to invest in that partnership.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Well, it's part of our strategic growth in this year.
We've been growing quite a bit over the last ten
years or so, and it's really a concerted effort to
be a true community bank in Rhode Island and have
locations in all areas of the state.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
And that's the.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Strategy that we've been employing over the last ten years.
So this is just a continuation of that as we
moved in to Patucket. We have a new branch located
on Main Street, right next to the OURFC headquarters, and
we had a relationship with them already and know that
they are first class operations, So this was kind of
a natural extension of that. It gets our visibility, it
(01:09):
allows the bank to have more visibility, particularly in the
Blackstone Valley, but throughout Rhode Island as well.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
So we're really excited about it.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
We think that this is a real opportunity to tell
our story, and we think we have a pretty good story.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
To tell for sure.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
I mean, when you look at the history of the
company and when you look at what you guys are
currently doing, it's awesome. Tell me a little bit more
about Centerville Bank's mission as a company and how it's unique.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Well, we are one hundred and ninety seven years old,
so we've been around a really long time, primarily in
the Patuxi Valley here in West Warwick, and we've been
a community bank and we are a mutual bank, which
means that we do not have stockholders, and the benefit
to that is that we don't have to worry about
the ups and downs of the stock market on a
(01:51):
quarterly basis. We can invest for the long term and
that's really what we've been doing. We've been investing in
our branches. We've gone seven branches about eight years ago
to twenty two today, with another four on the horizon.
So we've expanded dramatically. We've invested in our footprint, but
(02:12):
in addition to that, we've really invested in technology and
in our people. We've expanded our employee base to now
we have two hundred and sixty employees and we really
have a strong team in place. So I think what
differentiates us is the fact that we are mutual, we
do not have stockholders, and we have an organization that
(02:33):
really is anchored in community. To steal a phrase from
Rhode Island f City.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
And the great part about community is that you do
get it reciprocal, I think from the community when you
are community involved like that, How do you view your
role in the local economy as a community bank, Well.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
We view ourselves as kind of the fuel to the
local economy. We provide loans to businesses and to individuals
that flew the economy, and we think we're in an
integral part of that. We also give back through our
community foundation that we have and through our volunteer hours.
Last year, just to give an idea, we had a
(03:11):
record investment through our foundation in nonprofits to the tune
of about one point eight million dollars and we think
that really makes a difference in the communities that we serve,
and we focus on local nonprofits where we can truly
make a difference. So some of the national nonprofits they
may be greater organizations, we really focus on the local
(03:34):
ones and ones that we think that our dollars will
go to good use and we can actually see it
in action.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
And that really is a great thing too, because when
you talk about being a community bank and all of
the benefits of that, it's kind of the same thing
when you talk about the benefit of the local charities
as well. I think that a lot of those kind
of go hand in hand.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
The other thing that I think we're proud of, I
know we're proud of, is that we volunteer a lot.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
So we don't just we don't end with the check.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
So certainly the check is important to do most of
these nonprofits, but we also volunteer. We show up to events,
we make sure that our employees are engaged, and whenever
we put the call out for any volunteer opportunity, it's
amazing the way our folks have responded.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Are you guys currently hiring, If so, in what roles
and how can somebody apply.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Well, we have. We do have a few job openings
right now.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
We're very proud to say that our turnover last year
was about six percent.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Which is very low for our industry.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
But we do have a few we have We're opening
up an only abil branch only ability in Providence and.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
We're hiring bankers there.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
We're also hiring a chief of staff, actually my chief
of staff as a position that is available right now.
And then we have an opportunity for a commercial credit underwriter,
which is critical to what we're doing in our growth.
You have a few opportunities, but it's somewhat limited right now.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Awesome. How can somebody find out a little bit more
about Centerville Centerville Bank.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Well, the easiest way is on Centervilbank dot com. That's
our website and you'll find links to our social media.
We're on Instagram, we're on LinkedIn and Facebook as well,
so there's a lot of information about us and certainly
welcome everyone to check that out.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Amazing. Well, Hell Horbat, President CEO and chairman of the
board from Centerville Bank, thank you for coming on iHeartRadio Providence. CEOs,
you should know we appreciate your time.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Thank you my pleasure,
iHeartRadio Providence CEOs.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
You should know.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Today we've got Hal Horvat, president and CEO and chairman
of the board from Centerville Bank. A couple titles right there.
We like that. How's it going.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
It's fantastic, Adam, great to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
With you, absolutely, thank you for coming on. First, we
have a really really big announcement to talk about with
you guys at Centerville Bank. You secured the naming rights
to the Rhode Island Football Club's new stadium in Patucket.
Tell me a little bit more about why Centerville Bank
chose to invest in that partnership.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Well, it's part of our strategic growth in this year.
We've been growing quite a bit over the last ten
years or so, and it's really a concerted effort to
be a true community bank in Rhode Island and have
locations in all areas of the state.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
And that's the.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Strategy that we've been employing over the last ten years.
So this is just a continuation of that as we
moved in to Patucket. We have a new branch located
on Main Street, right next to the OURFC headquarters, and
we had a relationship with them already and know that
they are first class operations, So this was kind of
a natural extension of that. It gets our visibility, it
(01:09):
allows the bank to have more visibility, particularly in the
Blackstone Valley, but throughout Rhode Island as well.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
So we're really excited about it.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
We think that this is a real opportunity to tell
our story, and we think we have a pretty good story.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
To tell for sure.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
I mean, when you look at the history of the
company and when you look at what you guys are
currently doing, it's awesome. Tell me a little bit more
about Centerville Bank's mission as a company and how it's unique.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Well, we are one hundred and ninety seven years old,
so we've been around a really long time, primarily in
the Patuxi Valley here in West Warwick, and we've been
a community bank and we are a mutual bank, which
means that we do not have stockholders, and the benefit
to that is that we don't have to worry about
the ups and downs of the stock market on a
(01:51):
quarterly basis. We can invest for the long term and
that's really what we've been doing. We've been investing in
our branches. We've gone seven branches about eight years ago
to twenty two today, with another four on the horizon.
So we've expanded dramatically. We've invested in our footprint, but
(02:12):
in addition to that, we've really invested in technology and
in our people. We've expanded our employee base to now
we have two hundred and sixty employees and we really
have a strong team in place. So I think what
differentiates us is the fact that we are mutual, we
do not have stockholders, and we have an organization that
(02:33):
really is anchored in community. To steal a phrase from
Rhode Island f City.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
And the great part about community is that you do
get it reciprocal, I think from the community when you
are community involved like that, How do you view your
role in the local economy as a community bank, Well.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
We view ourselves as kind of the fuel to the
local economy. We provide loans to businesses and to individuals
that flew the economy, and we think we're in an
integral part of that. We also give back through our
community foundation that we have and through our volunteer hours.
Last year, just to give an idea, we had a
(03:11):
record investment through our foundation in nonprofits to the tune
of about one point eight million dollars and we think
that really makes a difference in the communities that we serve,
and we focus on local nonprofits where we can truly
make a difference. So some of the national nonprofits they
may be greater organizations, we really focus on the local
(03:34):
ones and ones that we think that our dollars will
go to good use and we can actually see it
in action.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
And that really is a great thing too, because when
you talk about being a community bank and all of
the benefits of that, it's kind of the same thing
when you talk about the benefit of the local charities
as well. I think that a lot of those kind
of go hand in hand.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
The other thing that I think we're proud of, I
know we're proud of, is that we volunteer a lot.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
So we don't just we don't end with the check.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
So certainly the check is important to do most of
these nonprofits, but we also volunteer. We show up to events,
we make sure that our employees are engaged, and whenever
we put the call out for any volunteer opportunity, it's
amazing the way our folks have responded.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Are you guys currently hiring, If so, in what roles
and how can somebody apply.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Well, we have. We do have a few job openings
right now.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
We're very proud to say that our turnover last year
was about six percent.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Which is very low for our industry.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
But we do have a few we have We're opening
up an only abil branch only ability in Providence and.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
We're hiring bankers there.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
We're also hiring a chief of staff, actually my chief
of staff as a position that is available right now.
And then we have an opportunity for a commercial credit underwriter,
which is critical to what we're doing in our growth.
You have a few opportunities, but it's somewhat limited right now.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Awesome. How can somebody find out a little bit more
about Centerville Centerville Bank.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Well, the easiest way is on Centervilbank dot com. That's
our website and you'll find links to our social media.
We're on Instagram, we're on LinkedIn and Facebook as well,
so there's a lot of information about us and certainly
welcome everyone to check that out.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Amazing. Well, Hell Horbat, President CEO and chairman of the
board from Centerville Bank, thank you for coming on iHeartRadio Providence. CEOs,
you should know we appreciate your time.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Thank you my pleasure,
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