Less than two weeks after opening its doors, Patriot National Bank's president abruptly resigned, saying his job was being duplicated by the bank's vocal chairman.
Constantine Remoundos said late last week that he was resigning as president of the Stamford, Conn., de novo "to pursue other interests."
The resignation will take effect Oct. 1.
Fred DeCaro Jr., chairman, and Mr. Remoundos had worked together for almost a year to establish the new bank, which opened Sept. 1 with $7.4 million in capital.
But the two officers apparently clashed as Mr. Remoundos found they were doing the same work, but in different ways.
"We were too top heavy an organization," Mr. Remoundos said in a telephone interview. "It didn't make sense to have two people at the top. So I chose to leave."
Mr. DeCaro declined to comment, but both he and Mr. Remoundos denied that they had any problems in their working relationship.
"We had a different manner of style, but we never had a major disagreement," Mr. DeCaro said.
"We have some very basic areas of common understanding," Mr. Remoundos said.
Executive vice president and chief financial officer Philip W. Wolforal, 47, will take over as president. He will also retain his current duties.
"Chemistries don't always mix," said Lawrence Zaffuto, an investment banker with The Stamford Company, which sold some of the bank's shares. "It took me by surprise as much as anybody. I don't know what happened."
Mr. Remoundos said he didn't expect the bank to have any problems in the wake of his departure. "We've set it up well, it's properly staffed, and there are a lot of good people at the bank and behind the bank."
The resignation comes as the bank, the state's first nationally chartered bank in five years, brought in $2.5 million in deposits in 500 accounts in its first eight days, according to a press release. Mr. DeCaro said he expected to have 1,000 accounts within the first 60 days of the bank's operation.
