Five years ago today, when Michael Rauh took over as chief executive of Chelsea Groton Bank, things weren't exactly rosy in the financial markets.

True, the stock market had reached its nadir more than a year earlier in March 2009, but unemployment had rocketed, real estate sales had slowed and Pfizer Inc. had closed its global research center in New London, eliminating or shifting 2,000 jobs.

"The economy was in tough shape," Rauh recalled in an interview last month with his top executives. "But Chelsea Groton was never engaged in any of the activities of the mortgage banks. ... We were probably in about as good shape as anyone was."

And now Chelsea Groton nears a milestone in banking: $1 billion in assets, which officials expect to reach next year. It's a plateau that Rauh embraces somewhat reluctantly, saying he's not interested in growth for growth's sake.

"We never had the goal to be the biggest," Rauh said. "Being a billion-dollar bank is a nice acknowledgment of your success, but it's not what we're here for. We're focused on being the best bank we can be. If we grow, that's great."

Rauh said he likes to keep in mind an adage that a former boss used to espouse: "Bigger is not better; only better is better."

Rather than focusing on growth, Rauh has been emphasizing the customer experience. Part of the philosophy involves making sure that customers make smart financial choices, so Chelsea Groton has instituted a series of educational programs including first-time homebuyer seminars.

"We used to get four or five people; now we get eight to 20," said Lori Dufficy, director of marketing for the bank.

Chelsea Groton executives said Rauh brought a new energy and different focus to the 161-year-old mutual savings bank when he succeeded longtime CEO Duncan Stoddard, a legend in local banking circles. While the bank has a similar number of employees compared with five years ago — a little more than 200 — people have been deployed in different ways, Rauh said.

For instance, Rauh doubled the number of retail loan officers, which paid off over the past couple of years as the local real estate market began to heat up. At the same time, Rauh made sure the bank worked with as many struggling homeowners as possible to ensure that its number of foreclosures was as small as possible.

"Our goal is always to help somebody be able to stay in that home," Rauh said.

"It's really about the tone at the top," said Rich Morelli, Chelsea Groton's chief financial officer. "It's about core values."

Rauh, 56, who came to Chelsea Groton from an executive vice president position at The Washington Trust Co. in Westerly, said it's an exciting time to be in banking, and he has loved his first five years at the helm.

"It's the most fun I've had professionally in my life," he said. "A lot of it has to do with giving people the tools and opportunities to do what they think is right, but also to give them guardrails (beyond which they should not go)."

Rauh has been studying successful businesses such as Disney and Apple to see if lessons learned by such well-established multinationals can be employed in local banking. He also holds regular SWOT — strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats — meetings to help measure the bank's standing while charting new long-range strategies.

"A big part of what a CEO does is getting everybody on the same page," he said.

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow