TCF Chief Bill Cooper to Retire (Again)

Bill Cooper is set to retire as chief executive of TCF Financial in Wayzata, Minn., at the end of this year.

TCF said in a press release Monday that Craig Dahl, the $20 billion-asset company’s vice chairman and president, will succeed Cooper on Jan. 1. Cooper, 72, will remain chairman through 2017.

“The leadership and success [Dahl] has demonstrated at TCF, along with his vast experience in the banking industry, make him the ideal choice,” Cooper said in the release. Dahl’s “expertise in national lending platforms is unmatched in the industry and he has already demonstrated effective leadership across the entire company.”

TCF had indicated that succession was in the works when Dahl was promoted to president earlier this year. He currently oversees TCF’s six lending businesses, retail banking and information technology. Dahl, 60, joined the company in 1999 as president and chief executive of TCF Equipment Finance.

This is the second time that Cooper has announced plans to retire at TCF. He stepped down as chief executive in December 2005, only to return to the post three years later during the early stages of the financial crisis.