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February 21, 2021 / 2021 Power 50

2021 Power 50: 28. Jack Barnes & John Ciulla

Photo | Contributed Jack Barnes is the CEO and Chairman of People’s United Financial.

Consolidation is a reality in most industries, including Connecticut’s banking sector, where a steady stream of mergers and acquisitions has led to ever-growing clout for national out-of-state lenders operating here.

Webster Bank CEO John Ciulla.

Amid that landscape, Jack Barnes and John Ciulla are local titans in the sector. They lead, respectively, People’s United Bank and Webster Bank, which hold the top two spots for deposit market share among Connecticut-based banks, while Bank of America leads the market overall.

Barnes, based in Bridgeport, and Ciulla, based in Waterbury, each oversee branch networks that span Connecticut and several other states. Their combined in-state deposits amount to nearly $60 billion (Bank of America has just over $40 billion), while their overall assets combined exceed $90 billion.

The two leaders have been consolidation catalysts, with each acquiring multiple banks and companies in Connecticut and elsewhere over the past 20 years.

Most banks have seen profits fall during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to economic contraction and near-zero interest rates, but both Webster and People’s United have held up relatively well, with each posting profits that beat Wall Street expectations in the final two fiscal quarters of 2020.

Jack Barnes

Barnes, who is also People’s chairman, joined the bank in 2008 following the acquisition of Chittenden Corp. He is a graduate of Northeastern University and received his MBA from the University of Vermont.

Ciulla, who is also Webster’s chairman and president, previously worked for The Bank of New York, earned a bachelor's degree in political science and history from Williams College, an MBA from the Columbia Business School and a law degree from Fordham University School of Law.

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