First Niagara Financial Group Inc. in Buffalo, N.Y., has hired a former Wells Fargo & Co. executive to oversee its New England expansion.
The $20.9 billion-asset company, which is planning to buy NewAlliance Bancshares in New Haven, Conn., has chosen David Ring — a New Haven native — as its New England regional president. First Niagara announced his hiring Thursday.
As a senior vice president at Wells Fargo, Ring was most recently responsible for the San Francisco company's commercial banking operations in Connecticut and upstate New York. He began his career at People's United Bank in Bridgeport, Conn.
Ring "knows the market and its needs inside and out, and brings a tremendous combination of business and community focus," John Koelmel, First Niagara's president and chief executive, said in a press release.
Ring will lead First Niagara's operations across Connecticut and Massachusetts when it completes its $1.5 billion purchase of NewAlliance. The Federal Reserve approved the deal last week, and the company is waiting to hear from the Comptroller of the Currency and Connecticut Department of Banking.
