Bennett Schwartz Joins Banknorth as Director of International Banking

Bennett W. Schwartz has joined Banknorth Group, Inc. as senior vice president and director of the bank's new International Banking Group. He will oversee the growing department and is responsible for delivering the trade services, foreign exchange and international payment needs of commercial and individual customers in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and eastern New York.

Based in Burlington, Mass., Schwartz has more than 30 years in banking and also has a long history of involvement in the international community of New England, often speaking to business audiences on international banking issues. Prior to joining Banknorth, he served as the director of international banking at two other major banks in Massachusetts.

Schwartz serves as the president of the British American Business Council of New England (BABCNE) and is a director of the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade (CONECT) and World Boston.

A Boston resident and Revere native, Schwartz received an MBA from Suffolk University in 1977 and is a 1972 graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Banknorth Group, Inc. (NYSE: BNK) is one of the country's 35 largest commercial banking companies with $24.3 billion in assets. Banknorth, N.A., is the parent company of Peoples Heritage Bank, with the leading market share in Maine, and other banking divisions in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and upstate New York. The company and its banking affiliates also operate subsidiaries in insurance (Banknorth Insurance Group), investments (Bancnorth Investment Planning Group, Inc.), a money management firm (Banknorth Investment Management Group, NA), and a leasing company (Banknorth Leasing). Other subsidiaries and divisions provide services in mortgage banking, asset-based lending, private banking, merchant services and other financial services. For more information about Banknorth, visit the company online at www.banknorth.com.

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