20 to Watch in RI in 2020: Sandra Pattie

20 to Watch in RI in 2020: Sandra Pattie

For most people on Aquidneck Island, they never want to cross the bridges and leave, but for Sandra Pattie, the president and CEO of BankNewport, she has been blasting over the bridges and expanding the bank.

In the past couple of years, Pattie has been growing the bank both west and north — there is nowhere else to go eastward. They already have two branches in Tiverton.

BankNewport, which was founded in 1819 as a mutual company, now has over $1.7 billion in assets.

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Under Pattie, the bank is much different, and now, is a lot more than that pretty bank in Washington Square in Newport — it now claims 18 branches in Rhode Island.

In 2018, Forbes magazine named BankNewport Best-in-State.

When named in 2012 to head the bank, Pattie was the first female leader. She has emerged as one of the most strategic and forward community bankers in Rhode Island.

The bank has expanded -- with multiple branches in Providence, Cranston and one in Johnston.

Pattie has emerged as one of the top business leaders in Rhode Island. It does not look like the expansion is over.