WSFS Financial in Wilmington, Delaware, is building a new team to serve senior living facilities and other parts of the health care industry.
The bank has hired Kevin McKeown, who was previously director of health care banking at Fulton Bank in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to run its new health care group.
The group "positions us well to serve this growing and vibrant industry sector," Jim Wechsler, chief operating officer of the commercial banking division at WSFS, said in a news release.
The announcement is the latest example of banks
Bank of America last year
The health care team will help the $20.6 billion-asset bank "continue to capitalize on the market opportunity we have in front of us," Wechsler said in the release.
In an email, Wechsler said the opportunity includes working with the many senior living and long-term care communities that are expanding or updating their facilities. Their initiatives range from creating more independent living units to upgrading amenities and expanding memory care offerings.
The bank also sees an opportunity in the construction of new senior living communities that have a combination of independent living and assisted living units.
In addition, WSFS plans to build its expertise in serving other types of health care clients, ranging from hospitals to home health providers to intellectual disability service providers, Wechsler said.
The payout will help the Delaware bank recover legal costs that stemmed from its 2010 purchase of Christiana Bank & Trust. It expects a 23-cent boost to earnings per share in the most recently completed quarter.
McKeown, who started the new job on Monday, managed a team at Fulton Bank that worked with hospitals, retirement communities, skilled nursing facilities and physician groups. Earlier he was a senior vice president at Citizens Bank, where he also focused on the health care industry.
Over time, WSFS plans to add more relationship managers and portfolio managers to its new health care division, Wechsler said.
Fulton Bank, meanwhile, has hired Kristen Welch as its new director of health care banking, according to a company spokesperson. Welch previously worked in health care banking at Bank of America, where she assisted clients with capital markets solutions, equipment finance, treasury management and other financing tools.
