EverBank Names Seth Waller Its Top Credit Cop

The rapidly growing EverBank Financial (EVER) has snagged a veteran credit officer from U.S. Bancorp (USB) to police its loans.

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based company said Wednesday that U.S. Bank's chief credit officer of consumer lending, Seth Waller, is now its chief credit officer and an executive vice president. The $15 billion-asset bank — now the largest bank based in Florida — did not have a separate chief credit officer.

"The creation of a new chief credit officer position is an important milestone for the company as we continue to grow and diversify," EverBank's president and chief operating officer, Blake Wilson, said in a press release. "Seth brings to EverBank a wealth of hands-on credit experience, and his insight and leadership will help us build on our strong risk-management tradition."

Waller specializes in risk management and credit analysis. His 20-year career includes stops at GE Capital — which recently sold its business property lending unit to EverBank — as well as Bank of America (BAC), Transamerica Distribution Finance and American General Auto Finance. He is considered a "black belt" in a management strategy popularized by GE called Lean Six Sigma Quality, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Waller will oversee all credit in commercial and consumer lending. He was also named chairman of EverBank's executive credit policy committee and senior credit approval committee. He will report to Wilson.

EverBank has grown substantially since 2010 largely thanks to several acquisitions; it closed its $2.4 billion deal for the GE Capital unit this week. It also recently launched golf equipment financing and wealth management units after going public in May. Total loans grew 44% to $10.9 billion at June 30 compared to a year earlier.

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