Malvern Bancorp in Paoli, Pa., has named as its chairman a banker with close ties to its chief executive.
Malvern appointed Howard Kent chairman of the company and of the $727 million-asset Malvern Federal Savings Bank, effective immediately, according to a bank spokesman.
Kent was previously
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Activist investor Lawrence Seidman has reversed course and will support the lone Malvern Bancorp director standing for re-election.
February 9 -
Malvern Bancorp in Paoli, Pa., on Wednesday reported a profit for its first fiscal quarter of 2016 and said the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had lifted a formal written agreement with its Malvern Federal Savings Bank subsidiary dating to October 2014.
January 27 -
Anthony Weagley is combining a new emphasis on wealth management with Malvern's reputation as a small-town community bank to bolster the Pennsylvania company's financial performance.
January 20
Kent was named Malvern's chairman as the company "seeks to enter a phase of strategic growth, principally in its loan portfolio," Weagley said in a Thursday news release. Kent was already a Malvern director and chaired the board's loan and discount committee.
Kent's appointment is Weagley's
Malvern has also been targeted by the activist investor Lawrence Seidman, who owns about 5.4% of the company. Seidman recently
Seidman, who served on Center Bancorp's board with Kent, expressed confidence in Malvern's new chairman.
"I think it is excellent," Seidman said in an interview. Kent "is a great guy who works very hard and does a great job."
Malvern is a "much better" institution now that Weagley has exerted more influence over it, Seidman added.
Kent succeeds George Steinmetz as Malvern's chairman. Steinmetz, who will continue to serve on the board, had been a director since 2007 and chairman since October 2014. Steinmetz resigned to invest more time in Matthews Paoli Ford, the automobile dealership he owns.
Paul Davis contributed to this report.
