FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Greenville, Rhode Island---Freedom National Bank, headquartered in Greenville, Rhode Island, is pleased to announce the appointment of Anthony A. Botelho as its new President and Chief Executive Officer.
 
With over 25 years of banking experience, Mr. Botelho has served in a number of key senior management roles throughout his career that will serve him well for his new post at Freedom National Bank. Most recently, as the Senior Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Finance for Citizens Bank, Mr. Botelho was responsible for the day-to-day management of the bank’s $8.5 billion commercial real estate portfolio in the New England, mid Atlantic and mid West regions. While at Citizens Bank, Mr. Botelho previously managed the RI Commercial Real Estate team of professional lenders and portfolio managers and the RI Private Banking group over his 13 year tenure at Citizens Bank.
 
Prior to joining Citizens Bank, Mr. Botelho held several noteworthy positions in a number of commercial banking and retail banking capacities at Fleet Financial Group in Providence and US Trust Bank in Boston where he helped to deliver outstanding financial results and portfolio management results in the small business lending and commercial banking divisions over a 12 year period. Botelho began his career at the former Eastland Bank, in Northern Rhode Island, where he helped to establish and develop a highly successful contractor lending group within the bank’s commercial real estate department and was part of Eastland’s mortgage underwriting department.
 
Botelho is currently an active member in the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce and has served on the Pawtucket Foundation’s Board of Directors in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He is also very active in many community activities having held coaching positions for both youth soccer and basketball teams.
 
“I’m honored to have been selected as Freedom National’s new President,” says Botelho, “and I look forward to the bank’s continued commitment to the communities it serves by offering the very best in both retail and commercial banking products and services. Freedom prides itself on being a local bank that can quickly be responsive to our customers’ needs.”
 
Mr. Botelho earned his BS in Business Administration from the University of Rhode Island in 1983 and an MBA from Bryant University in 1995. A long time resident of Lincoln, Rhode Island, Tony and his wife Karyn have two daughters and continue to be highly involved in a number of community organizations.
Media Contact: Richard Slater, AccuComm, 401-434-7510