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Peyton Patterson. Cathy Nash. Al de Molina. These and other names surfaced as possible successors to John Koelmel, who was ousted this week as CEO of First Niagara in Buffalo, N.Y.
March 21 -
The current M&A cycle has its first cautionary tale in John Koelmel and his departure from First Niagara. The Buffalo bank expanded rapidly but erred in its deal for the HSBC branches.
March 20
First Niagara Financial Group (FNFG) in Buffalo, N.Y., has hired a JPMorgan Chase (JPM) executive to lead its new business unit for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The $37 billion-asset company named Cathie Schaffer its regional president for the newly formed tri-state region, a 40-branch division that comprises the lower Hudson Valley of New York; Fairfield County, Conn.; and northern New Jersey. She will be in charge of business banking, middle-market lending and corporate banking for the region, and will oversee regional consumer and commercial banking. Schaffer will report to David Ring, managing director for enterprise banking.
Schaffer was JPMorgan Chase's division manager of middle-market banking for a region that includes parts of the New York City and southern Connecticut. Earlier, she held several commercial banking posts at the Bank of New York, including group head of commercial banking.
Schaffer "knows this market and its needs inside and out, and has a proven track record of strengthening customer relationships, delivering top notch sales and service results, and providing innovative solutions to meet customer needs," Ring said in a press release. "She is exactly the person we were looking for to expand lending and drive customer-focused services across our newly organized Tri-State Region."
First Niagara's board is
