On Taking the Helm of PNC Bank in the State

NJBIZ, Feb 9, 2004 by McKnight, Marshall

Thomas Gregor

Last month, banking veteran Thomas Gregor, 58, started a new job at The PNC Financial Services Group's state headquarters in East Brunswick, becoming president of the bank's Central and Northern New Jersey market. He joined PNC following its $638 million purchase of United National Bancorp in Bridgewater announced last August. The deal gave Pittsburgh's PNC $15.4 billion in New Jersey deposits and 282 branches. A lifelong New Jersey resident, Gregor began his banking career in 1968 at the First National Bank of Central New Jersey after earning his M.B.A. and B.A. at Bowling Green University. Gregor talked about his career and the evolution of banking with NJBIZ Associate Editor Marshall McKnight.

NJBIZ: How did the deal with PNC Bank come about?

Gregor: I've known [PNC president] Joe Guyaux for a number of years. We talked about a merger over a three-year time. At first I didn't see how United would fit into a PNC, but over that time I realized it would fit quite well. It was a strategic fit because PNC and United have the same focus and our culture was the same. Over that period, I saw how PNC focuses on employees as the key ingredient to serving the community. United has the same focus.

NJBIZ: What made the merger attractive for United National?

Gregor: PNC, with its size, had made quite a few investments in the technology that United National couldn't afford to make. It has a 24/7 call center in Pittsburgh with services 365 days a year. It has investment banking any time of day. That's an enormous investment to be made which is beneficial to the customer. Treasury management and technology behind the scenes allows you to move money efficiently. United had technology but not to the degree PNC did. It had a very basic treasury management and didn't have the sophisticated technology that PNC does. We did have a call center with limited hours, but it wasn't open seven days a week.

NJBIZ: What did United bring to the party?

Gregor: What PNC didn't have, but was attractive to them, was our segment of small business. Small-business owners were very important to us. We felt we were good at servicing them and PNC was interested in that business. PNC wants to bring a full spectrum of services to companies of all sizes in the market. PNC has a large commercial portfolio of companies with sales of $500 million and over. We're looking to increase all of those portfolios.

NJBIZ: How was your new job negotiated during the merger talks?

Gregor: It was really a scenario where I was asked what position I would consider. I said that I wanted to be the sales leader for central and North Jersey in the various lines of business: business banking, corporate banking and wealth advisers. I'm looking to help enhance our growth of market share. What I was successful at United in doing was bringing those attributes to the marketplace. Having been here only a few weeks, I would say that I've inherited a highly skilled staff. I'm delighted to have the opportunity to work with these skilled professionals.

NJBIZ: You replaced Peter Classen. What will he be doing now? Who will he be reporting to?

Gregor: Peter is the CEO of corporate banking. He had that position and was also president. He was holding two large positions simultaneously. I'm amazed any one person could hold that and he did an amazingly great job. As I said, I'm the beneficiary of a fantastic team.

NJBIZ: Do you report to Mr. Classen?

Gregor: He and I both report to Joe [Guyaux].

NJBIZ: How will your job be different now? Gregor: This job allows me to focus solely on sales servicing. At United, my major responsibility was for the shareholders. This allows me to spend time in the marketplace. This state demographic has a highly educated population with a fairly high income level. With that, the need for financial services comes about. I've always enjoyed the sales part of the business. One of the fun things of banking is all the different people you get to meet.

NJBIZ: Will the merger mean some job losses at United National?

Gregor: We will have some redundancies in the backoffice operations such as accounting. Employees who deal with customers will not lose their jobs. There are very few places where our branches overlapped with theirs. We are keeping all but five branches in Bernardsville, West Orange, South Orange, Madison and Warren.

NJBIZ: How many employees will lose their jobs?

Gregor: We don't have a number right now. We won't know until we're closer to the conversion on March 20. With the closing of the merger we were assured that every United employee in the branch would have an opportunity to work in the branch next door. With the number of PNC branches in the state, there is always an opportunity somewhere.

NJBIZ: There are lots of other bank mergers going on. Where will it all end?

Gregor: There will be more consolidation, yes. Where will it end? It's been happening for 20 years. There were about 14,000 commercial banks when I started in the business. There are less than 8,000 today. There are more bank branches than ever before but fewer banks.