One of M&T's top executives to leave unexpectedly

M&T Bank said Wednesday that its head of retail and business banking, Darren King, will "separate" from the company next month after a nearly 25-year tenure that led him into the C-suite.

In a brief public filing, the Buffalo, New York-based company said that King's last day at M&T will be Aug. 10. The filing didn't disclose the circumstances of King's departure or say who would take over his role, though a company spokesperson later added a bit more information.

"Darren has decided after 24 years to leave the company for personal reasons," said Frank Lentini, senior communications director, in an email to American Banker. "We appreciate the contributions that Darren has made across the organization during this time."

For the last year, King has served as senior executive vice president at the $211.5 billion-asset bank, leading a suite of businesses that include retail and business banking, mortgage lending and consumer lending. Previously, King had been on a similar career trajectory to that of now-CEO René Jones.

In 2016, King took the chief financial officer baton from Jones, who was tapped at the time to oversee M&T's mortgage and consumer lending operations. In the middle of last year, King dropped the CFO title, taking on what the bank described as an "expanded set of responsibilities" leading retail lines of business.

The unexpected departure, which came with little fanfare, is the latest in a series of switch-ups and retirements at M&T in recent years. In 2022, the bank announced that Daryl Bible, who had been a longtime leader at Truist Financial and its predecessor BB&T, would take over as its CFO the following year. Rich Gold, the bank's president and chief operating officer, also retired last summer. So far, no one has taken over Gold's former role.

The normal retirement age listed in M&T's proxy statement is 65. King, who is in his mid-50s, was not eligible for early retirement as of Dec. 31, 2023, per the document. In 2023, when King's title changed and he took on additional responsibilities, he reeled in $4.3 million in total direct compensation, per a public filing.

Last week, Citi analyst Keith Horowitz said in a research note that he was bullish on M&T after meeting with Bible and Chief Credit Officer Bob Bojdak. Horowitz cited strong capital, promising organic growth and improving credit. He also hailed the bank's management team as "best in class when it comes to credit," noting that Bojdak is M&T's second chief credit officer in 50 years.

Even as the threat of commercial real estate losses keeps analysts and investors up at night, Horowitz said that Bojdak assuaged his concerns about M&T's exposure to the troubled sector. The bank has been working to steadily shrink its CRE portfolio for four years, when it set a goal of reducing its CRE portfolio to 160% of its capital and reserves. Bible said during M&T's first-quarter earnings call that it was close to meeting that target, and was expecting to be in the "mid- to low-160s" by the end of 2024.

Corporate finance

Turnover time: Why so many banks have CFO vacancies

Due to retirement, burnout, heightened regulatory standards and profitability challenges, lots of lenders are looking for new chief financial officers. The wave of departures is giving banks a chance to bring in more highly skilled finance chiefs.

By Allissa Kline

June 16

"We feel very good we're going to work through those issues," Bible said during an April conference call with analysts. "We definitely feel CRE is very manageable."

Horowitz also noted that Bible has pointed to four key priorities at the bank: resiliency; improving key functions; building out the banks in New England and Long Island; and optimizing expenses and growing revenue.

Speaking to the parts of the bank that King currently oversees, Bible told Horowitz that retail consumer deposits were the bank's "bread and butter," with an average tenure of 16 years. The CFO added that business banking has also been strong.

In 2023, the bank's retail business, which includes consumer and business banking, accounted for more than half of M&T's total revenue and 61% of its net interest income, according to a June investor update.