Across the Pond
In the type of press advisory one might expect if William Dudley were to visit the queen, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced Thursday that Dudley, its president, is going to visit Queens, N.Y.
Describing the trip from Manhattan across the East River as "part of the bank's continued outreach efforts in the region and to strengthen ties with various stakeholders" in the New York Fed's district, the advisory noted that Dudley would be accompanied by his special adviser Joseph Tracy, an executive vice president at the Fed bank and a former head of its research group.
"While visiting Queens, President Dudley will deliver a speech before the Queens Chamber of Commerce about the state of the regional economy and his outlook for the U.S. economy. President Dudley and Mr. Tracy will also meet with local community and business leaders to learn more about conditions in the region and discuss a range of economic issues," the advisory read.
It even listed the press contacts who would be "traveling" with the pair during the daylong trip March 11.
Bon voyage!
Local Habitat
Speaking of outreach in the Big Apple. … It was while working at Citigroup Inc. that Peter Knitzer got his first exposure to Habitat for Humanity International's New York affiliate, as he led a team of Citi volunteers in a day of building affordable homes.
That was a dozen years ago, and while Knitzer isn't with Citi anymore — the former chairman and chief executive of Citibank North America left the company in late 2009 — he's still involved with Habitat-NYC, now in a very big way.
On Monday, Knitzer was named the chairman of Habitat-NYC's board. Describing himself as "deeply humbled" by the job, he promised to continue the group's growth to "improve more neighborhoods than ever before" across New York's five boroughs.
Knitzer has been a member of Habitat-NYC's board for three years.
Always Sunny in …
When it comes to the Florida market, Regions Financial Corp. has done its research — and it likes what the state has to offer, even if it has been burned before.
During a financial services conference on Tuesday, the company's chief financial officer, David Turner, admitted that Regions has "been punished" in the Sunshine State, referring to its commercial real estate exposure there.
Yet it has no plans to give up on Florida anytime soon.
"We think Florida is going to be a great long-term place to bank," Turner said. "As long as they have white sand and sunshine, Florida will be good to go."
He added: "I was down there not too long ago, and that's the case. So we still will be there."
New Counsel
On the subject of Regions. … The Birmingham, Ala., company has named Fournier J. "Boots" Gale 3rd as its general counsel.
Gale, 66, comes to Regions from the law firm Maynard Cooper & Gale PC, where he was a founding partner.
John Buchanan, the previous general counsel, is taking on a new role coordinating the company's implementation and compliance with new regulations, Regions said.
Throwing Stones
Perhaps no other bank has been as vehemently opposed to the Federal Reserve's proposed 12-cent cap on debit interchange fees than TCF Financial Corp., which filed a lawsuit against the central bank in October claiming the rule is unconstitutional.
But the Constitution isn't the only revered canon the price-fixing violates, said Neil Brown, the president and chief operating officer of the Wayzata, Minn., company.
"It probably violates the Boy Scouts' Code of Honor and one of the Ten Commandments," he said sarcastically, during a presentation at a financial services conference Wednesday.
TCF will know by Friday what other banks stand in solidarity with it, as that is the deadline for additional parties to notify the court that they plan to file amicus briefs in support of the lawsuit.
"We're confident that we're going to come up with some fairly strong support, as we move forward," Brown said.
A hearing on the case is scheduled for April 4.
Experience(d)
Huntington Bancshares Inc. has named David Hawkins senior vice president and director of "customer experience," which involves overseeing the Columbus, Ohio, company's branch designs, customer feedback and service improvement.
Hawkins — who has 15 years of design and customer service experience, Huntington says — held a similar job with Umpqua Holdings Corp. of Portland, Ore. Before that he was a program director with Ziba Design, a Portland company that developed marketing programs for a wide range of companies.
Coming and Going
Bank of America has lost a senior banker to a hedge fund — and picked up another from Citigroup.
Departures first: Mergers and acquisitions chief Jeffrey Kaplan, a veteran of Merrill Lynch for two decades before it became part of B of A, has decamped for the hedge fund Appaloosa Management, where he is being appointed chief operating officer. Run by David Tepper, the $16 billion Appaloosa holds big stakes in bank stocks — including 25 million shares of B of A. Kaplan, who has advised clients ranging from Walt Disney Co. to Pepsico Inc., will be replaced by longtime Merrill colleague Steven Baronoff, currently the chairman of M&A at Bank of America.
Now for arrivals: Paul Simpson, formerly the head of Citi's treasury and trade solutions business, has joined the company as head of global treasury services. According to a report by Dow Jones, he will report to Paul Donofrio, B of A's head of global corporate banking. The hire appears to jibe with recent comments by B of A executives that treasury services deserved greater attention because of their stability and utility in building relationships with corporate clients.
