CFPB still waiting on permanent director

Published August 7, 2026 3:00 PM

1 Min Read

In this week's banking news roundup:

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is still without a permanent director.
KeyCorp completes its acquisition of Clearwater UK.
Flagstar's private bank launches an insurance agency and a suite of discretionary managed investment portfolios, and more.

CFPB nominee vote delayed until after August recess

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is still waiting for a permanent director. The Senate Banking Committee will not vote on President Trump's nominee to lead the CFPB until after the monthlong August recess.

At a Senate confirmation hearing in late July, Brian Johnson, a vice president at Capital One Financial and the CFPB's former No. 2 official in the first Trump administration, said he would keep an "open mind" about staff cuts. A committee vote has not yet been scheduled and the earliest possible date it can be held is when Congress returns to work the week of Sept. 14.

In the meantime, the CFPB is being led by Mark Paoletta, the agency's chief legal officer, who ascended to the job following the expiration on Aug. 1 of acting CFPB Director Russell Vought's tenure. Vought continues to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget. — Kate Berry

KeyCorp’s latest acquisition bolsters investment banking

KeyCorp has completed the acquisition of a middle-market investment banking advisory firm based in the United Kingdom, it announced this week in a press release.

The $191 billion-asset parent company of KeyBank will leverage the purchase of Clearwater Corporate Finance LLP, also known as Clearwater UK, to expand its global advisory platform.

"Clearwater UK's strong middle-market expertise and sector depth will help us better serve clients with more comprehensive, cross-border advice and execution," Randy Paine, president of Key Institutional Bank, said in the release.

KeyCorp announced the deal in April. It marks the Cleveland-based bank's first entry into the Western European market and comes about six years after Key's corporate and investment bank first partnered with Clearwater to increase the level of cross-border mergers and acquisitions on behalf of both firms' corporate and institutional clients. —Allissa Kline

Flagstar keeps building out its private bank

Flagstar Bank's private bank has launched two new segments — an insurance agency and a suite of discretionary managed investment portfolios — and hired two regional leaders.

Flagstar Private Bank and Wealth Management, which was recently formed as part of Flagstar's turnaround, has now "fully implemented its operating model," the bank said in a press release.

Flagstar Insurance Agency is a full-service insurance agency led by Irene Bowers that will serve the bank's private banking and commercial clients. The Flagstar Guided Portfolio Solutions is a suite of discretionary managed investment portfolios designed to offer investment research and portfolio construction to private banking clients.

Meanwhile, Len Moscatelli has been appointed Southeast region head and Jim Denver has been appointed West Coast region head. Moscatelli is based in Palm Beach, Florida, while Denver is based in Los Angeles.

The $87.7 billion-asset Flagstar has been building out its private bank since March 2025 when it hired Mark Pittsey as head of private banking and wealth management. —Allissa Kline

Greenhill hires Deutsche Bank executive amid wave of departures

Investment bank Greenhill is hiring a former Deutsche Bank executive to lead its chemicals franchise in North America, the latest industrials banker to leave the Frankfurt-based group in the past year.

Matthew Welsford is set to join the bank this month as a managing director based in Chicago, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. Welsford will report to Douglas Jackson and David Hunt.

Mizuho Financial Group has owned Greenhill since 2023, when it bought the firm for about $550 million. Mizuho, Deutsche and Welsford declined to comment.

The banker is one of a number of departures from Deutsche's U.S. franchise. Ward Jones, who was focused on building products, and Jeff Vergamini, who focused on M&A, also recently left the bank, according to the people. Rob Stewart left to join Bank of America last September to become head of aerospace and defense, with Sharad Ramesh joining the same firm this summer, according to filings. –Kiel Porter, Bloomberg News

RBC hires Brass from Barclays to head semiconductors group

Rob Brass is joining Royal Bank of Canada from Barclays as head of global semiconductors and electronics within technology investment banking.

Brass joins RBC Capital Markets as a managing director, reporting to Kirk Kaludis, global head of technology investment banking, according to an internal company memo reviewed by Bloomberg News. He was most recently global head of applied technology investment banking at Barclays, leading coverage of advanced components, defense tech, space and mobility. Brass will start in late October based in San Francisco.

He joined Barclays in 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to that, he worked at Bank of America and spent 13 years at Morgan Stanley.

A representative for RBC confirmed the contents of the memo, while a representative for Barclays didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Semiconductors have become a hot area for investment and dealmaking as major tech players position themselves for the artificial intelligence boom. –Liana Baker, Bloomberg News

BNP said to hire HSBC’s Banka as India global markets head

Saket Banka is said to be leaving HSBC Holdings to join BNP Paribas as head of India global markets, according to people familiar with the developments.

Banka, who is currently director of institutional sales for global markets at HSBC, will hold the title of managing director at BNP Paribas based in Mumbai, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private matters. He is likely to join the French lender around mid-October, they said.

Banka has spent more than two decades at the U.K. bank and has also previously worked with Citi, according to his LinkedIn profile. The development comes after the departure of Akshay Kumar, who left the global markets India chief role at BNP to join Nomura Holdings n July.

European banks such as BNP are key market-makers for Indian bonds and derivatives. Their activity is set to receive a boost after European authorities formally recognized India's sovereign debt clearinghouse as a permitted trading counter-party in late June, ending a yearslong dispute. —Bhaskar Dutta and Saikat Das, Bloomberg News

DBS hires ex-Stanchart banker for India wealth team

DBS Group Holdings has hired Nitin Chengappa, a former Standard Chartered banker, to head its wealth management business in India as it bets on rising demand for tailored products from the country's newly rich.

Chengappa joined the lender in July and reports to Ambuj Chandna, who heads DBS' consumer banking business in India, said people familiar with the matter who requested not to be identified as the appointment has not been publicly announced.

Chengappa spent nearly a decade at Standard Chartered in India where he last worked as head of affluent distribution and branch network, according to his LinkedIn profile. Previously, he spent more than a decade at HSBC Holdings, among others.

Wealth management has emerged as a key growth area in India, with the rise in rich individuals and families prompting the likes of HSBC and domestic firms to expand aggressively in the country. India is among the world's fastest-growing wealth markets, with about 917,000 millionaires and just under 200 billionaires, according to UBS. —Saikat Das and Preeti Singh, Bloomberg News