New York Bankers Remember September 11

Kevin Cummings President and CEO, Investors Bancorp, Short Hills, N.J.

Cummings was a KPMG consultant working for a client across the street from the World Trade Center. 'I ended up taking all my kids to school that day and was on the phone with my secretary when the second plane hit. … I think for a time 9/11 taught us that sometimes you have to lead with your heart. Maybe we've moved away from that again, but for a time there was more to business than getting the last 10 basis points on a transaction.'

John G. Duffy Chairman and CEO, KBW, New York

Duffy was co-CEO of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, which lost more than a third of its New York employees, including Duffy's son Christopher. 'Rebuilding after 9/11, there was no text book. When you go through something like that, it gives you a level of confidence in terms of tackling anything. … It has a very definite and dramatic impact on your philosophy about life, especially if you have somebody close to you die and you lose that many people.'

Joseph R. Ficalora President and CEO, New York Community Bancorp, Westbury, N.Y.

Ficalora was among a group of New York community bankers in Colorado for an annual convention. 'The first plane was tragic, but the second plane was horrifying. … I went back [to New York] on a bus that was usually used to take people skiing. As we drove across the country, there were signs hanging over the roads across the country that read 'We are with you.' '

Edward Grebow CEO, Amalgamated Bank, New York

Grebow was responsible for overseeing the rebuilding process for New York broadcasters and emergency service providers that had shared equipment on the roof of the World Trade Center. 'My first thoughts were about the buildings and the lunches I had at Windows on the World [at the top of the north tower]. I had a lot of friends and colleagues who worked at the World Trade Center. Two of them died, and it was a very sad time for me personally.'

Thomas L. Hoy Chairman, president and CEO, Arrow Financial, Glens Falls, N.Y.

Around the time that the first plane hit, Hoy was at the Independent Bankers Association of New York State's annual convention in Lake Placid. 'There were some people at that meeting who might have been at that tower had they not been at the meeting. … I can remember the ride back with some of my senior officers and hearing the news on the radio. There was absolutely dead silence in the car.'

Thomas M. O'Brien President and CEO, State Bancorp, Jericho, N.Y.

Ten years ago, O'Brien was president of Atlantic Bank, which was in the process of moving out of the south tower to a new office in Midtown Manhattan. 'I think of all the people that I rode with in the elevators, so many nameless, faceless. I've lost God knows how many friends. I can't even count any more. … Even after 10 years, I can't watch it on television or go down to lower Manhattan.'

Michael P. Smith President and CEO, New York Bankers Association

Smith was on his way to the airport. 'Obviously the airport was closed and I was supposed to come down from upstate New York. I was about ready to leave and I heard it on the news, but the initial outbreak was a single plane crashed. A lot of people just assumed it was an accident. … We were in touch with our members. Everything goes into a different mode at that time and we were doing whatever we could do to be supportive.'