In a great move for the citizens of Boston, the directors of Eastern Bank have voted to elevate Robert Rivers, the former Eastern Bank president, to chairman and CEO. The move had been anticipated for a year with the expectation that Quincy Miller would be available to assume Rivers’ former duties as president. Miller was formerly the Massachusetts state president of Citizens Bank.
Years ago before the rash of acquisitions, several large banks were based in Boston. The largest was the First National Bank of Boston. While Bank of Boston was large enough to have national operations, there was a strong commitment to the development of Boston.
Eastern Bank is the oldest and largest mutual bank in America. With $10 billion in assets, Eastern Bank is now one of the largest Boston-based banks. With size comes the duty to lead. The new CEO, Robert Rivers, has already demonstrated great interest in the Boston area. We know from the work of Richard Hill, who retired as CEO of Bank of Boston in 1984, how significant such leadership can be for the city.
The Bay State Banner welcomes Robert Rivers and Quincy Miller to their new positions of leadership.