Banking news roundup

April 11, 2023 9:53 AM

Retired Missouri bank CEO joins Great Southern Bank; Webster Bank promotions reposition senior management; Regions launches effort to boost Black-owned businesses in Birmingham; Consumer survey connects ESG in banking with customer loyalty.

Regions launches effort to boost Black-owned businesses in Birmingham

Regions Financial has created a new effort to help Black-owned businesses grow in Birmingham, Alabama, where the $155 billion-asset bank is based. Kendra Key, senior vice president in the bank's community affairs group, will lead the Birmingham Black-Owned Business Initiative. Key will work with community groups to help Black entrepreneurs access technical help, funding and mentorship, along with figuring out what gaps exist and how the bank can help tackle them. Key, who was previously Citigroup's head of minority depository institution engagement, said the effort will help create a "best-in-class Black business ecosystem" in the city. In its announcement, the bank pointed to a Brookings Institution report showing the Birmingham region was last among large U.S. metro areas for Black-owned businesses with multiple employees. –Polo Rocha

Retired Missouri bank CEO joins Great Southern Bank

Rob Fulp, a 40-year banking veteran in the Ozarks region, has unretired to join Great Southern Bank in Springfield, Missouri. Fulp, who retired two years ago as CEO of Springfield First Community Bank, will serve as the regional managing director of commercial lending for Great Southern's southwest Missouri and Arkansas markets, according to a statement from the $5.7 billion bank. "Rob is an excellent banker and we have long respected his work in the Springfield market," Joe Turner, Great Southern's CEO, said in the statement. The banking sabbatical, Fulp added, "underscored" his passion for serving community customers at a locally headquartered institution. –Jordan Stutts

Hand-out/Southern First Bancshares, Inc.

Borrmann named CFO of Southern First in South Carolina

Southern First Bancshares in Greenville, South Carolina has named Andy Borrmann as its new chief financial officer. Borrmann, a former bank analyst, joins the bank after 11 years as the CFO of Atlanta-based SouthCrest Financial. Colony Bancorp in Fitzgerald, Ga., bought SouthCrest in 2021 and appointed Borrmann as CFO and chief strategy officer after the merger. Art Seaver, CEO of the $3.7 billion-asset Southern First, said in a news release that Borrmann brings a "terrific combination of experience as a bank CFO with strong investor relationships, solid skills in balance management, and terrific people skills." –Polo Rocha

Webster Bank promotions reposition senior management

Webster Bank in Stamford, Connecticut made changes to its executive circle this week by naming Luis Massiani president and senior executive vice president of the $70 billion regional lender. Massiani will also maintain his position as Webster's chief operating officer overseeing bank operations, corporate strategy, technology, retail and digital banking. He joined the bank in January 2022 following Webster Financial Corporation's merger with Sterling Bancorp. Chris Motl, Webster's president of commercial banking, was also promoted to senior executive vice president this week after he joined the bank in 2004 to co-found the sponsor and specialty finance group. Both Massiani and Motl report to Webster CEO John Ciulla. –Jordan Stutts

Consumer survey connects ESG in banking with customer loyalty

A recent survey of nearly 30,000 global banking consumers conducted by the consulting firm Bain & Company found that respondents tend to correlate a bank's engagement in environmental, social and governance with customer loyalty. At the same time, more than 70% of respondents said they are comfortable with their primary bank using their personal data if it means their banking experience will be more personalized. Consumers are increasingly likely to consider a bank's policy to waive fees for sustainable investments, sustainable deposits and insights on how to improve their carbon footprints as part of the bank's ESG priorities, according to Bain's research. The survey also found that, while 52% of respondents believe their primary bank performs well on ESG efforts, 22% said they're unaware of any of their bank's ESG initiatives. –Jordan Stutts

Barclays’ U.S. CEO is new chair of Institute of International Bankers

The Institute of International Bankers, a trade group that represents foreign-owned banks in the U.S., has named Barclays' Richard Haworth as its new chair. Haworth, the CEO of Barclays Americas, was previously the trade group's vice chair. He will take over the board chair role from Per Dyrvik, a top U.S. executive at the Swiss bank UBS. Haworth said he will look to "represent the foreign banking community in the U.S. to ensure our members can compete on an equal footing with other banks." IIB's CEO, Beth Zorc, said he will help educate lawmakers and the public on how international banks contribute to the U.S. economy. –Polo Rocha