Framingham Co-operative Bank prides itself on its deep local roots.
In fact, after megabanks engulfed other Framingham financial institutions, it has emerged as the only local bank in town, and with a 1889 launch date, it may be the oldest business in town.
Given this Framingham focus, it only seems appropriate that a man with deep local roots should become the bank's new president. Say hello to Mark Haranas, who assumed the presidency on July 1. A Framingham native, he attended Framingham public schools, graduated from Framingham South High School in 1972 and Framingham State College in 1976.
Before being elected president and chief operating officer by the bank's board of directors, Haranas was a partner in the Framingham law firm of Haranas, Mayer, Jachowicz & Galvani LLP. In 1989, he joined the firm, which at the time was called Hargraves, Karb, Wilcox and Galvani. It had been the longtime general counsel for Framingham Co-operative Bank. In 1983, he worked as general counsel for Framingham Savings Bank as a member of the Framingham law firm of Sullivan & Sullivan.
After graduating from Framingham State, Haranas worked for the Framingham Board of Assessors. After graduation, he served as Framingham's animal control officer, and while in college, he delivered the Framingham-based Middlesex News, now the MetroWest Daily News.
Interestingly, the bank's founder and first president, Charles MacPherson, founded the Framingham News, now the MetroWest Daily News.
Haranas' mother, Ellen, still lives in Framingham near where former Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens once resided.
Robert Lamprey, the bank's chairman of the board and Haranas' predecessor as president, calls these local connections invaluable.
"You almost have to be born and brought up somewhere to really be a true townie,'' says Lamprey. "You know the people you're doing business with... and that's a tremendous asset.''
Lamprey also lauds Haranas' experience.
"Mark has been the attorney for the bank for the last 20 years,'' he says. "Although he hasn't been our employee, he's been so involved in the bank it feels very much like he has been.''
Lamprey notes that Haranas didn't seek the job, Lamprey sought him. "Mark is a townie, he's familiar with the bank, he has good leadership skills and he has good common sense, and that's what makes a business really work,'' says the Marlborough resident.
In addition his role as board chairman, Lamprey will continue to serve as the bank's CEO while acting as a mentor for Haranas.
"His prime objective right now is to learn the business to replace me,'' says Lamprey. "The big challenge is to get familiar with all the intricacies of this business because he has a good grasp of real estate. That's his strong suit.''
And real estate, specifically commercial real estate, just happens to be the bank's strong suit.'
"As legal counsel, I would attend weekly (bank) meetings and get a feel from the lenders - what they were looking for, how they were analyzing the loans,'' says Haranas. "Then the loan would come in, and I would close it. So I was always involved with not only how the loan got from A to Z but also with the borrowers themselves.''
The duties of a bank president vary from bank to bank, according to Lamprey. The top man "basically makes sure all the parts work the way they should,'' he says.
Haranas believes his main challenge as the bank's 14th president will be dealing with the competition from the megabanks and "taking the bank forward in a fast-changing world.''
"And the competition now is very fierce,'' he continues. "Once we think we get a niche and think we're doing the right thing, all of sudden we're competing with 10 other institutions for that same niche.''
Unlike local banks such as Framingham Co-operative, the megabanks have large advertising budgets to promote themselves, notes Haranas. "We are as competitive as the other ones, but you don't hear about us because of that,'' he says. "We can offer if not the same services as close to the same as these other banks. We really can.''
One clear advantage Framingham Co-operative Bank has over the megabanks is personalized customer service, says Haranas. Lamprey concurs.
"We are not stock owned,'' he says. "We are mutually owned, which means our customers in our community are our stakeholders. We have no stockholders we have to satisfy. We exist for the benefit of our customers in the community.
"If you do business with a megabank and you have a gripe, I don't know where you go. You can talk to a branch manager, who has very little authority.... The door to my office is right off the lobby. There's no gate there. So if someone has a complaint, they can walk right through that door. With the big banks, if you want to get to their CEO, there's no way you're going to get there.''
Adds Haranas, "If a borrower has a question about a loan, they call here and they're not put on 'press the buttons.' They get the answers right here. We're much more flexible than the larger national chains.''
While Framingham Co-operative places an emphasis on commercial real estate, it also provides financial assistance on the residential side and for small businesses, Haranas notes.
While the residential real estate market has nose-dived, the commercial side has been "fairly sound,'' says Lamprey.
Haranas reports that the assets of Framingham Co-operative at the end of fiscal 2008 totaled $352 million, up 9.4 percent from the previous fiscal year.
On a personal side of the ledger, Haranas, 53, now resides in Hopkinton with his wife, Susan, and their three sons, Peter, James and Mark. Peter works at his father's former law firm, which will continue to represent the bank.
Mark Haranas received his juris doctor degree from the New England School of Law in 1983, and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar that same year. He is also a member of the Real Estate Bar Association of Massachusetts.
He was elected to the Framingham Co-operative Bank's board of directors in 2000, and will remain on the board. He also serves as a board member of Project Just Because, a nonprofit charitable organization in Hopkinton.
In keeping with its "neighborly concern for neighbors'' philosophy, Framingham Co-operative operates a charitable foundation, notes Haranas, who is one of its trustees. The foundation awards $5,000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors at Framingham High School, Marian High School and Joseph P. Keefe Technical School.
"That's another challenge,'' he says. "To continue to give to the community, which is something the bank has been doing since 1889.''
(Bob Tremblay can be reached at btremblay@cnc.com or 508-626-4409.)
