Banc of California names new head of payments

February 20, 2026 4:00 PM

In this week's banking news roundup:

Banc of California appoints Chris Healy executive director and head of payments;
ABA names Lia Fordjour chief financial officer and Tifany Pedersen head of marketing;
Airwallex is the latest fintech to lean on sports sponsorships, joining neobank Chime and digital wallet Paze; and more.

Banc of California announces new head of payments

Banc of California has named Chris Healy its new executive director and head of payments, the bank said. Healy has more than 20 years of experience in the payments industry, most recently as senior vice president of payments at Comerica Bank, which had a focus on merchant acquiring and large-scale business payments.

The hire comes as the bank seeks to build out its payments business. Healy will be responsible for the bank's payments products, including BancEdge, its payment processing platform, merchant acquiring division and credit cards.

"Chris is a highly respected payments executive with deep industry expertise and a strong client-first mindset," said Banc of California Chairman and CEO Jared Wolff in a statement. "His leadership and experience will help us scale our payments offerings and deliver innovative solutions that support our clients' evolving needs." —Joey Pizzolato

ABA names new CFO and new head of marketing

The American Bankers Association appointed Lia Fordjour its new chief financial officer. Fordjour previously served as ABA's senior vice president for planning and reporting. As CFO, she will shape financial strategy, risk management and investment decisions while serving as ABA's controller. Before joining the association in 2022, Fordjour served as chief financial officer for the United Nations Foundation and spent over a decade at Discovery. Earlier in her career, she held financial leadership roles at CNN, Kraft Heinz and Baxter/Allegiance Healthcare.

In addition to Fordjour's appointment, ABA named Tifany Pedersen head of marketing. Pedersen joins ABA from Amazon, where she most recently served as head of employer brand marketing for Alexa and Amazon Devices. Prior to Amazon, she was senior global employer brand director for Marriott International and spent a decade at Capital One, where she led B2B and B2C brand marketing teams. –Traci Parks

Airwallex enters multiyear marketing deal with San Francisco Giants

Airwallex is the latest fintech to lean on sports sponsorships as a way to increase visibility for its brand, joining neobank Chime and digital wallet Paze.

San Francisco-based Airwallex will become the official jersey patch sponsor and financial software partner of the San Francisco Giants Major League Baseball team.

"San Francisco is our home in the U.S., and the Giants are one of the city's most iconic institutions," said Jack Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Airwallex, in a statement. "We've been building here quietly for years, but this partnership marks our bold commitment to the city's future. Featuring Airwallex on the Giants' jersey is a meaningful way to further establish our presence here, connect with the community, and share our story with a wider audience."

Airwallex was first founded in Australia in 2015 and established a presence in the Bay Area in 2019. By 2021, the payments fintech was operating on a dual-headquarter model, with San Francisco and Singapore as its hubs. —Joey Pizzolato

Citizens expands advisory services with Matrix deal

Citizens Financial Group has agreed to purchase substantially all the assets of Matrix Capital Markets Group, an investment bank that advises convenience retailers, wholesale fuel distributors, propane and heating oil distributors, and lubricant distributors. The deal will bolster coverage of the downstream energy and convenience retail sector.

"Clients view Citizens as a trusted strategic and financial partner," Ted Swimmer, Citizens' head of commercial banking, said in a statement, adding that the Matrix team "brings strong capabilities in several sectors that dovetail with existing corporate coverage."

The transaction will be funded with cash. Under the terms of the agreement, Citizens' wholly owned subsidiary, Citizens JMP Securities, will purchase the Matrix assets and, upon closing, Matrix will operate as a division of CJMPS.

WilmerHale served as legal advisor to Citizens in connection with the transaction. Matrix was represented by Houlihan Lokey as financial advisor and Calfee as legal advisor. —Traci Parks

RBC hires Goldman trader Noel Reyes in equity algorithm push

Royal Bank of Canada has recruited a Goldman Sachs equities trader and execution specialist to lead product innovation as the bank continues to broaden its footprint in global stocks.

Noel Reyes, previously head of Americas equities electronic trading product at Goldman, will join RBC Capital Markets in May and be based in New York, according to an internal company memo. He will lead product development across electronic trading and execution algorithms and report to Jas Sandhu, global head of electronic multi-asset agency solutions.

This is the latest in a slew of hires by RBC in stock trading since the arrival of James Masserio a year ago from Societe Generale as global head of equities.

Reyes joined Goldman from JPMorganChase in 2018, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority registry. He started working on the electronic trading team at Lehman Brothers Holdings in 2006, staying through the financial crisis acquisition by Barclays before moving to JPMorgan in 2010. —Bernard Goyder, Bloomberg News