Hudson Valley Hires Chief Credit Officer

Hudson Valley Holding (HVB) in Yonkers, N.Y., has hired a former chief credit officer at Merrill Lynch Bank USA.

The $3 billion-asset company announced Friday that John Swadba will become chief credit officer for its Hudson Valley Bank. He succeeds Paul Ulrick. A Hudson Valley spokeswoman provided no further details on Ulrick's departure.

Swadba joins Hudson Valley from Inveraray Capital Management, where he was a market analyst and strategy consultant. Previously, he spent nearly 25 years at Merrill Lynch, and served as chief credit officer at Merrill Lynch Bank from 2000 to 2006.

"As we continue to make Hudson Valley Bank a more nimble, sophisticated and much better competitively positioned financial institution, we'll benefit from [Swadba's] exceptional experience," Stephen Brown, Hudson Valley's president and chief executive, said in a press release. Swadba is a "valuable addition to our bank's management team as we continue to focus on growing and diversifying our loan portfolio."

Hudson Valley has lost several employees in the past two years. Last September, three commercial lenders left to join Signature Bank (SBNY). Last May, founder and chairman William Griffin resigned. Hudson Valley named a new chairman and promoted Brown, who had been chief financial officer and treasurer, to president and CEO.

Griffin died four months after leaving the company.