FirstBank shakes up exec team, KeyCorp's new chief accounting officer

March 1, 2024 4:05 PM

The CEO of FirstBank in Colorado will retire at the end of the month, KeyCorp's chief accounting officer will depart, Fiserv pursues deal to buy Shift4 and more in the weekly banking news roundup.

Courtesy of FirstBank

FirstBank in Colorado shakes up executive team

FirstBank in Lakewood, Colorado, announced that its CEO will retire at the end of the month. Jim Reuter, who had been with the bank for nearly four decades and served as CEO since 2017, will bow out on March 29. FirstBank President Kevin Classen will take the reins, while Reuter will stay on the board.

Classen moves into the helm after 26 years at FirstBank, where he's helped lead the bank's growth in Arizona. Reuter said he knew that when he became CEO in 2017, succeeding longtime leader John Ikard, he would only stay in the role for five to seven years.

"It's been a pleasure to be CEO of FirstBank and an active leader in the community, banking and fintech industry," Reuter said in a prepared statement. "My proudest accomplishment has been building this team. Now it's their time to shine."

The $28.2 billion-asset company also announced that Kelly Kaminskas, current chief digital officer, will become chief operating officer. Kaminskas has been at FirstBank for 20 years, serving in roles across retail and digital banking. As COO, she'll be responsible for treasury management, marketing, technology and retail operations. — Catherine Leffert

Ty Wright/Bloomberg

KeyCorp’s chief accounting officer to depart, replacement named

KeyCorp has promoted Stacy Gilbert to chief accounting officer, a role that's being vacated on March 15 by Douglas Schosser, the company announced in a press release. Schosser is leaving the Cleveland-based parent of KeyBank to pursue a senior executive job at another company, according to the release. Gilbert has been Key's corporate controller since August. Previously, she was the assistant corporate controller and senior director of external reporting and accounting policy. Gilbert first joined Key in 2002. She left in 2008 for another job, but returned to Key in 2016. In her new role, she will report to Clark Khayat, chief financial officer. — Allissa Kline

Fiserv pursues $7 billion deal to buy Shift4

The payment processing giant Fiserv is competing with another firm to acquire Shift4 Payments, a global processor based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Reuters reports. Amadeus IT is also preparing a bid for Shift4, which has a market value of about $7 billion. Shift4 is a major provider of payments processing for restaurants, hotels and sports arenas, and the firm saw significant growth during the pandemic when many small and midsize firms' transactions moved online. Fiserv, which acquired First Data in 2019 for $22 billion, early this year applied for a special purpose bank charter in Georgia, where it's headquartered, to expand its range of merchant-acquiring services. — Kate Fitzgerald

First Horizon taps new deputy chief risk officer

First Horizon has named Ashley Argo deputy chief risk officer after nearly 20 years at the bank. Argo will report to Chief Risk Officer Terry Akins, helping oversee the $81.7 billion-asset company's risk management and compliance.

"Ashley has consistently demonstrated exceptional dedication and strategic thinking," Akins said in a prepared statement. "Her commitment to excellence and innovative problem-solving has earned her this well-deserved promotion."

The Memphis, Tennessee-based company had a rocky year in 2023, after a planned acquisition by TD Bank Group was called off due to reported regulatory issues at the Canadian bank. While the bank is spending more to operate on its own, CEO Bryan Jordan has emphasized credit quality is strong. — Catherine Leffert

Head of the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues to retire

Diana Dykstra, longtime president and chief executive of the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues, announced Monday that she will retire from the top roles sometime this year. Prior to her 14-year tenure at the helm of the leagues, Dykstra held similar positions with the $1.8 billion-asset San Francisco Fire Credit Union in California and the $1.8 billion-asset CoastHills Credit Union in Santa Maria, California. "I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to guide and collaborate with remarkable individuals, united by what I consider to be one of the most meaningful motivations," Dykstra said in a press release. —Frank Gargano

State Street pledges $100 million of deposits to minority banks, CDFIs

State Street plans to deposit a total of $100 million into minority banks and community development financial institutions, starting with two Black-owned banks: Optus Bank in Columbia, South Carolina, and M&F Bank in Durham, North Carolina, according to a press release. The Boston-based custody bank declined to say how much Optus and M&F will each receive, but noted in the press release that both companies were selected after a vetting process that included a review of their financial standings and their impact in the communities they serve. State Street's pledge comes amid greater outreach by minority banks and CDFIs to secure deposits from larger banks and corporations as a way to propel growth and help close the racial wealth gap. Bank of America has promised to invest $200 million of deposits into minority banks and CDFIs, while Citigroup has pledged $250 million to the effort. State Street will identify additional minority bank and CDFI recipients over the next year or so, the company said. — Allissa Kline

Santander nabs banker trio including Morgan Stanley’s Luwisch

Banco Santander has hired a trio of senior U.S.-based bankers as it presses ahead with a plan to double the size of its U.S. investment bank, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The Spanish lender hired Morgan Stanley mergers and acquisitions banker David Luwisch, former Jefferies Financial Group industrials banker David Bradley and former Bank of America financial sponsors banker Andrew Greenwald, said the people, all of whom requested anonymity discussing appointments that aren't yet public.

Los Angeles-based Luwisch joined Morgan Stanley in 2021 after spending more than two decades at Credit Suisse Group, the Swiss bank from which Santander has aggressively hired. He'll be reunited at the Spanish bank with former colleagues including Tom Davidov and Dean Decker.. — Gillian Tan, Bloomberg News

Wells hires Citi’s Van Zandt to lead media, telecom banking

Wells Fargo has hired Derek Van Zandt from Citigroup as head of media and telecommunications in its corporate and investment bank, according to people familiar with the matter.

Van Zandt will be based in New York and report to Brian Gudofsky, who runs Wells Fargo's technology, media and telecommunications group, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. He'll start at Wells Fargo after a standard period of leave.

A Wells Fargo spokeswoman confirmed Van Zandt's hiring, declining to comment further. A representative for Citigroup declined to comment.

Van Zandt replaces Jeff Gignac, who left Wells Fargo to become chief financial officer of Gray Television. — Michelle F. Davis and Liana Baker, Bloomberg News

Barclays to offload $1.1billion of card debt to Blackstone

Barclays is selling $1.1 billion of credit card receivables to Blackstone as part of a push by the British bank to clear up space on its balance sheet for more lending.

Barclays will be able to reduce its level of risk-weighted assets by £1 billion ($1.3 billion) as part of the deal, according to a statement. Under the terms of the agreement, Barclays will continue to service the accounts for a fee.

"This collaboration demonstrates how we are supporting leading financial institutions with large-scale, long-term, efficient capital solutions in the asset-based finance markets," Robert Horn, global head of infrastructure and asset-based credit at Blackstone, said in the statement. — Jenny Surane, Bloomberg News