- Key insight: Eagle Bancorp, which has struggled with problematic office loans, has recruited Stephen Curley, a top executive at Western Alliance Bancorp., to be its next chief executive.
- What's at stake: Curley is coming on board following a challenging period for Eagle. The bank reported two large quarterly losses last year as it dealt with credit issues stemming from its commercial real estate book.
- Forward look: Curley said he's planning to diversify Eagle's loan book, but he is not planning to exit commercial real estate.
Eagle Bancorp, the Bethesda, Maryland-based bank that's been plagued by problematic office loans, has hired a top executive from Western Alliance Bancorp. to serve as its next leader.
Stephen Curley will become Eagle's president and CEO and join the bank's board of directors on July 6, the nearly $10 billion-asset community bank announced Tuesday in a press release. Curley, 55, will succeed Susan Riel, whose planned retirement was
Riel, 76, will transition into a consultant role for Eagle for 12 months after her retirement, the bank said. She will stay on the bank's board, if she's reelected Thursday at Eagle's annual meeting.
Curley was previously Western Alliance's chief banking officer for national business lines. He joined the Phoenix-based bank in 2009, according to his LinkedIn profile, and sat on its executive leadership team. He provided notice of his resignation on Friday, according to a regulatory filing.
During his 16 years at Western Alliance, Curley helped develop corporate finance, municipal lending, affordable housing and other segments, according to his Western Alliance biography. He also oversaw information technology, bank operations, branch banking and product development and third-party risk management. He had been
"EagleBank is a strong commercial franchise, with a respected market position and solid operating foundation," Curley said Tuesday. "My experiences in banking have been centered on growth, operational accountability and consistent execution. I will strive to bring that experience and leadership to Eagle and the communities it serves to achieve our strategic objectives."
Eagle conducted an internal and external search for Riel's successor. The search "focused on identifying a leader with experience and strategic judgment required in today's challenging banking environment," James Soltesz, chair of Eagle's board, said in the press release.
Curley's "personality and leadership style aligns with EagleBank's Relationship First culture, strategic direction and operating approach," Soltesz said. "He is well positioned to strengthen profitability, enhance franchise value and deliver consistent long-term performance for shareholders."
Eagle has struggled in recent years, due to
The bank racked up large losses as it tried to work through its asset-quality problems. It reported combined losses in the second and third quarters of 2025 of nearly $140 million.
Analysts' early reaction to Curley's hiring was positive. In a research note, Justin Crowley, a Piper Sandler analyst, said Curley's appointment "provides more clarity into what the company's leadership will look like moving forward," and it helps that he's from a much larger institution.
For Eagle, "the focus now shifts to how Mr. Curley will leave his own fingerprints on the company and operating strategy," Crowley wrote.
Some of those details were made known Tuesday in a video interview that Eagle executives conducted with Curley. In the video, Curley said he doesn't want to "make any hasty decisions" about the bank's strategic or capital plans. He said he would rather evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the bank for the first 90 days, and will hold off on major capital actions.
He also offered his early thoughts on what will happen to the bank's commercial real estate lending portfolio.
"From my perspective, we're not going to deemphasize commercial real estate," Curley said. "We're going to kind of still be a strong player in commercial real estate, but what we're going to do is we're going to add" other loans such as commercial-and-industrial, consumer and possibly residential, in order to increase the diversity of the bank's loan book, he said.
"I'm actually completely committed to real estate," Curley said.
