Under pressure from investors to improve its performance, HF Financial Corp. in Sioux Falls, S.D., announced that it is replacing its longtime chairman and chief executive, Curtis L. Hage.
The $1.2 billion-asset company said Friday that its vice chairman Michael M. Vekich had been elected chairman and that Stephen M. Bianchi had been promoted to interim president and CEO.
HF Financial also announced the nominations of current directors Christine E. Hamilton and Thomas L. Van Wyhe for reelection at the annual stockholder meeting Dec. 13.
Vekich joined the board in October 2010 and has been vice chair since November 2010. He is CEO of Vekich Associates Chartered, a Minneapolis management advisory firm. Bianchi joined HF Financial in April 2010 as president of its Twin Cities market in Minnesota.
Vekich and Bianchi are assuming roles held by Hage, who had planned to retire on Dec. 31. The company said Friday that Hage will not stand for reelection to the company's board, but will serve as a special advisor until his official retirement. Hage had been president and CEO of the company and its subsidiary, Home Federal Bank, since 1991 and was chairman since 1996.
In September the thrift company's largest shareholder, PL Capital Group, publicly complained bout HF Financial's earnings and stock performance since the company raised $20 million of capital in 2009. PL Capital said in September that it was nominating its own board candidates to challenge the slate backed by management.
Last week, Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP reduced its earnings estimates for HF Financial. For the fiscal year that ended June 30, HF Financial reported $679,000 in earnings, compared with $5.7 million for the previous fiscal year.
Vekich said Friday that HF Financial's board "is committed to positive change in the operational leadership and execution … as we focus on delivering value for all our shareholders.
