People’s United Financial in Bridgeport, Conn., has promoted its head of commercial banking to president.
The $44 billion-asset company said Friday that CEO Jack Barnes, 62, has shed the president's title and that Jeff Tengel, its senior executive vice president of commercial banking, has moved into the role.
Barnes has been president and CEO since 2010. In a news release, he said that the company needed to beef up its management ranks to support its growth. He added that Tengel, who has held senior management positions at two larger banks, "is uniquely qualified to help lead the company through our future expansion."
The move would appear to position Tengel, 55, as a potential successor to Barnes, though Collyn Gilbert, a managing director at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, said she does not believe a move is imminent.
“I don’t think Jack’s looking to retire anytime soon, but I do think a bank of that size from a good corporate governance standpoint, needs to have succession plans in place,” Gilbert said. “Jeff’s done a great job with the bank and he’s done a great job building out the commercial practice and it’s very well regarded both internally and externally.”
Tengel joined People’s United in 2010 to lead its commercial division. Over that time, he expanded that business, adding mortgage warehouse, large corporate, international, health care and syndications, the bank said. People’s United also credited Tengel with expanding its treasury management, government banking, asset-based lending and equipment finance businesses.
Previously, Tengel worked at PNC Financial Services Group, which he joined in 2008 when it acquired National City Bank. At National City, he was executive vice president of corporate banking, as well as a member of the executive management team.
Barnes has been with People’s United since 2008, when it acquired Chittenden Bank in Burlington, Vt. He had been with Chittenden since 1983 and before that, Barnes worked for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for five years.
