Mr Stafford will oversee Peoples Bank’s 47 banking offices, delivery of consumer loan and deposit services in Peoples Bank’s branches, customer call center and internet banking offerings.

Mr Stafford most recently served as senior vice president of retail banking and COO of a community bank in Michigan, where he was responsible for over 20 banking offices. He has 22 years experience in financial services.

Mark Bradley, president and CEO of Peoples Bancorp and Peoples Bank, said: “We welcome Rick to our leadership team. His experience, energy and enthusiasm for customer service and delivery of financial services to clients will be assets for our company.

“Rick’s approach to banking and serving clients will help us meet growth goals to drive shareholder value. We look forward to Rick’s contributions to the continued integration and growth of our product offerings across banking, insurance and investment services.”

Peoples Bancorp is a diversified financial products and services company with $2bn in assets, 47 locations and 39 ATMs in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky. It offers banking, investment, insurance and trust solutions through its financial service units Peoples Bank, National Association; Peoples Financial Advisors (a division of Peoples Bank) and Peoples Insurance Agency, which includes the Putnam and Barengo divisions.