Democratic AGs hire former CFPB Director Chopra

December 12, 2025 2:08 PM

In this week's banking news roundup: Rohit Chopra is named senior advisor to the Democratic Attorneys General Association's working group on consumer protection and affordability; Flagstar Bank's private-banking division adds two additional wealth-planning capabilities; Chime promotes three members of its executive leadership team; and more.

Former CFPB Director Chopra will advise Democratic AGs

Rohit Chopra, the former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has been named a senior advisor to the Democratic Attorneys General Association's working group on consumer protection and affordability, Bloomberg reported.

Chopra, who served under the Biden administration, had sought to give state attorneys general more power to oversee financial firms. In the new role, Chopra will lead a team of researchers and policymakers that will recommend how states can prosecute financial firms for abusive practices.

The group is expected to focus on fee practices and disclosures, mortgage servicing of home loans, medical billing, debt collection, and AI-decisioning that could impact the cost or availability of credit.

The Trump administration has effectively neutered the CFPB, after acting CFPB Director Russell Vought determined that supervision and enforcement were not part of the agency's statutory responsibilities. State attorneys general normally would team up with the CFPB, but under the current administration, they are considered a line of defense in protecting consumers, Chopra has said.

Flagstar Bank expands its wealth management services

Flagstar Bank's private banking division now includes two additional wealth-planning capabilities: insurance and family advisory, trusts and estate planning, the Long Island-based regional bank announced this week in a press release.

Insurance will be led by Irene Bowers, who joined Flagstar in September, according to her LinkedIn profile. Prior to Flagstar, Bowers worked at HSBC where she was the head of insurance, wealth and personal banking, the profile shows.

Family advisory, trusts and estate planning will be overseen by Carly Doshi, who also previously worked at HSBC. Doshi was most recently HSBC's head of wealth planning and international connectivity, according to her LinkedIn biography.

Flagstar has been building out its private bank as part of its business diversification plan. It has organized the private bank into three regions — Northeast, Southeast and West — and created verticals in legal and professional services, community markets and innovation and private markets, it said in the release. —Allissa Kline

Chime shuffles up executive leadership

Chime promoted three members of its executive leadership team this week as the neobank looks to continue growing as a public company.

Effective Dec. 10, Mark Troughton, Chime's former chief operating officer, was promoted to president; Janelle Sallenave, the company's former chief experience officer, was named COO; and Vineet Mehra, who formerly served as chief marketing officer, was named chief growth officer.

"As we continue to scale our business, broaden our product offerings, and strengthen our position as a leading banking brand, I'm proud to recognize the exceptional talent that has brought us this far and will help us seize the opportunities ahead," said Chris Britt, Chime CEO and co-founder, in a statement.

"Mark, Janelle, and Vineet embody Chime's core spirit – they build outstanding teams that take ownership, move quickly, and drive results every day," Britt said. —Joey Pizzolato

Fed OKs PNC’s purchase of FirstBank

The Federal Reserve has given the green light to PNC's acquisition of FirstBank Holding Company, the owner of FirstBank.

The Fed approved the merger on Thursday, just three months after the deal was announced. In September, the Pittsburgh-based PNC said it had reached an agreement to buy FirstBank, headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, for $4.1 billion in cash and stock. The merger is expected to significantly grow PNC's footprint in Colorado and Arizona.

"Final regulatory approval of this acquisition marks an important milestone for PNC as we continue to expand our coast-to-coast franchise," PNC's CEO, William Demchak, said in a statement. "We look forward to welcoming FirstBank's employees and clients to PNC."

Initially, PNC plans to operate FirstBank's branches as a separate bank. But after about six months, the smaller lender is expected to be absorbed into PNC Bank, pending approval by the Officer of the Comptroller of the Currency. —Nathan Place

BMO searches for new US M&A head as it combines banker teams

Bank of Montreal is conducting an external search for the head of a newly combined team of U.S. mergers-and-acquisitions bankers.

The Canadian lender is bringing together its U.S. capital markets and commercial banking middle market M&A groups under one structure aimed at "supporting its U.S. growth ambitions and improving execution and efficiency," said a bank spokesperson.

While a search for someone to helm the new division is underway, Cameron Hewes will continue to lead the U.S. middle market team as part of his role heading up North American mid-market M&A. Warren Estey will lead the U.S. investment and corporate banking M&A team on an interim basis, adding that to his responsibilities as head of investment banking.

Once appointed, the new U.S. M&A head will report to Carrie Cook, global head of investment and corporate banking, and Tony Sciarrino, who leads the U.S. commercial bank, the spokesperson said. —Christine Dobby, Bloomberg News

Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg

ANZ former CEO Elliott sues Australia lender over bonus cuts

ANZ Group Holdings' former Chief Executive Officer Shayne Elliott has started legal action against the bank after losing millions in bonuses for scandals that happened under his watch.

The Australian lender said it is confident in its position and will defend the matter "vigorously," according to an ANZ statement on Friday. Current and former senior executives took hits to bonuses, with Elliott forfeiting A$13.5 million ($9 million), for failures that had resulted in regulatory penalties and extra capital requirements.

"The Board has been considered and very deliberate in its assessment of remuneration outcomes," ANZ Chair Paul O'Sullivan said in the statement. It had decided that no Australian-based group executive would get short-term bonuses for this year, and that some of the long-term bonus due to vest to Elliott would be zero for 2025 and 2026. —Joyce Koh, Bloomberg News

Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg

HSBC’s Gulf exits prompt bank to bring in UK dealmakers

HSBC Holdings has relocated several managing directors from London to the Middle East, replenishing its ranks in a region earmarked as a priority under CEO Georges Elhedery.

The lender moved four London-based MD's — Robin Brown, Ajay D'Souza, Simran Saggu and Khurram Islam — to the Gulf earlier this year, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named as the information is private. It also hired an energy banker from Rothschild & Co. for a role in Saudi Arabia last month, the person said.

That came after oil and gas specialist Vishesh Arora and MD Parveen Garg left in recent months, people familiar with the matter said. Meanwhile, Jon Connor, a 21-year veteran and former co-head of Middle East investment banking, departed after relocating to London over the summer, some of the people said.

A spokesperson for HSBC declined to comment on the departures, but said the bank is adding staff to the region. —Nicolas Parasie and Laura Gardner Cuesta, Bloomberg News

Bloomberg

JPMorgan set to open first new India branch in nearly a decade

JPMorganChase is set to open a new branch in India after nearly a decade, underscoring the Wall Street bank's growing push into one of the world's fastest-growing economies.

The lender has gotten in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India to establish its fourth branch in Pune, a city near Mumbai, the New York-based bank said in a statement on Thursday, confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg. It will offer a broad range of products and services, including trade finance, liquidity management and foreign currency payments, according to the statement.

India's domestic growth and increasing integration with the global economy have created "huge opportunities" for both Indian and foreign clients, Sjoerd Leenart, its Asia-Pacific chief executive officer, said in the statement.

JPMorgan last received approval to open branches in India in 2016, when it was given the green light to set up in three locations. Its footprint in India, however, remains smaller than several other foreign banks. —Saikat Das and Siddhi Nayak, Bloomberg News