LEON BLANKSTEIN

Chief Executive & President American Business Bank

Blankstein worked for 14 years at 1st Business Bank until its 1997 purchase by Mellon Financial Corp., at which time he and four other senior officers left to form the downtown-based American Business Bank. Having initially raising around $14 million to capitalize on the new venture at the time of its founding, the bank’s since become one of the state’s most active lenders, particularly during the pandemic through the state’s Small Business Loan Guarantee programs. Blankstein first joined 1st Business Bank as a corporate banking officer and eventually worked his way up to vice president.