First Republic lures its next finance chief from MUFG Union

First Republic Bank in San Francisco continued to reshuffle its management team, this time by hiring its next chief financial officer away from MUFG Union Bank.

Neal Holland, the current CFO at MUFG Union, will assume the same title at First Republic starting Nov. 2, the $197.9 billion-asset bank announced Tuesday. He will succeed Olga Tsokova, the bank's acting CFO since January, who will become deputy CFO.

In a press release, First Republic CEO Mike Roffler highlighted Holland's "deep financial experience and broad understanding of the regulatory landscape" and said that he "will be very valuable as First Republic continues to deliver safe, consistent growth."

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

"Importantly, Neal's client-centric and collaborative approach is aligned with our unique culture and business model," Roffler added. 

Holland became the finance chief of both MUFG Union Bank and its parent company, MUFG Americas, in May 2021. Since joining the Tokyo-based megabank in 2008, he has held several jobs, including controller and chief accounting officer, regional bank CFO and head of financial planning and analysis.

Holland has been based in Seattle during his tenure at MUFG Union. A First Republic spokesperson declined to say where Holland will be based when he switches jobs.

Over the past year, First Republic has made a string of succession planning-related moves, starting with its July 2021 announcement that then-President Hafize Gaye Erkan would become co-CEO. The move was widely viewed as a signal that Erkan was the heir apparent to founder and longtime CEO James Herbert.

Then in December, First Republic announced that Herbert would take a six-month medical leave of absence and that Erkan would take on more responsibilities as co-CEO.

But a month later, Erkan resigned from First Republic to pursue other opportunities, while Roffler became co-CEO. In March, Roffler was appointed the company's sole CEO, succeeding Herbert.

Since June, Erkan has been the CEO of Greystone, a private commercial real estate finance and investment company. Herbert remains executive chairman of First Republic.

Tsokova took the CFO job at First Republic on a temporary basis when Roffler, the company's previous finance chief, was promoted to president and co-CEO.

Tsokova, who joined First Republic in 2015 as chief accounting officer, will retain that position while undertaking her new role as the second-in-command finance chief.

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In the press release, Roffler praised Tsokova for her work as interim CFO this year.

"Olga is a key leader at First Republic, and her success in overseeing our finance and accounting functions has been critical to our continued focus on safety and soundness," he said.

During the second quarter, strong loan growth at First Republic fueled a 16% increase in net income from the same period a year earlier.