Chairman of the Board Annual Meeting Remarks

Annual Corporators Meeting Address of
Timothy P. Wickstrom, Chairman of
UFS Bancorp and UniBank
April 28, 2009

In the early 1870’s, our forbears built solid foundations for the institutions that have become UniBank today. Their goal was to provide a safe, responsible and forward-looking place for the workers of Uxbridge and Whitinsville to keep their hard-earned money and receive a return on that investment.

Old fashioned principles such as safety, stability and trust guided those early corporators and trustees. Over the years, following through on that commitment, UniBank has become a successful, prosperous and much admired financial institution, throughout the Blackstone Valley and beyond.

But now we are in a time of economic uncertainty and concern. Nearly every day for the past 8 months, the national media have chronicled the failures and shortcomings of the nation’s financial institutions, particularly the big banks, failures and shortcomings that have brought the country to the state it’s in.

You may well ask “what about my bank? Has my bank participated in risky lending practices? Did it make imprudent investment decisions? Or unwisely leverage the bank and its future?” I am pleased to report that NO, your bank has remained true to those old fashioned principles of safety, stability and trust.

Where the big banks contrived, constructed, profited and then suffered from sub-prime lending, your bank instead followed the same prudent lending practices that have served it well for nearly a century and a half;

Where the big banks failed to assess the risks inherent in their actions, your bank instead, through its deliberative processes engaging both management and The Board, considered then declined the purchase of securities that promised high returns but were soon worthless, costing many of even our neighbor banks millions in capital;

Where the big banks looked for any means to enrich the bottom line to increase individual bonuses, your bank instead increased its charitable contributions to support the organizations that enrich the communal life in the Valley; and

Where the major financial institutions stretched their capital by untenable leverage, your bank instead added to its loan loss reserve to help protect its capital; and

When the big banks were made aware of problems, they failed to acknowledge and correct them. That’s not the way UniBank does business.

In this time of turmoil, I’m pleased to tell you that we have much to celebrate and much to be proud of. Jim Paulhus will give you details on our most recent year in his President’s report. He will explain how well positioned we are to deal with the current market and to take advantage of new opportunities. We have enhanced products and services, new initiatives and new locations. And through a variety of community service activities, we continue to grow and deepen our ties to the people we serve.

In looking to the future, I am especially excited by the outstanding leadership team we have assembled. In Jim Paulhus we have a President and CEO who combines a sophisticated understanding of the complexities of business banking with the down-to-earth soul of a community banker.

And the new members of his team, from Chief Information Officer Ryan Buckley, to Senior Vice President Commercial Banker Deb Larsen, to Marketing Executive Janet Amorello, come to UniBank to add their talents to our existing, healthy blend of banking experience, expertise and excellence, all driven by a steadfast commitment to making UniBank the best it can be.

Tonight, our principal duty is to report on the company’s most recent year end financial results and to take certain votes electing people to various offices and positions. But it’s also an opportunity for me personally to thank you, collectively and individually, for your efforts great and small as goodwill ambassadors for the bank. You are important links in UniBank’s historic chain and are indispensable building blocks to our future success. Whether as corporator, trustee, officer or employee, each of you plays a vital role in achieving that success.

The founders of our institution would be pleased with our commitment to their philosophy, with our adherence to old fashion business principles, with our new leadership team, with our strong position and with the direction we are headed.

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