Piermont hires Day, ABA's fraud directory goes global

Published March 20, 2026 3:00 PM

Updated March 20, 2026 3:00 PM

1 Min Read

In this week's banking news roundup:

Piermont Bank hired Dennis Day for a new executive role focused on payments;
The American Bankers Association partnered with the International Banking Federation's Fraud and Scams Taskforce to widen use of its Fraud Contact Directory;
MC Bankshares moved closer to finalizing its sale to an investor group led by the former CEO of Iberiabank; and more.

Piermont Bank adds payments role to C-suite

Piermont Bank in New York City has created a new executive role focused on payments and it's hired Dennis Day to lead the development of its payment capabilities.

Day, who most recently was the head of card services at CFSB (Community Federal Savings Bank), is the new chief payments officer, Piermont said in a press release. Day joined Piermont's executive team this month, a Piermont spokesperson said in an email.

Day has held leadership roles in card issuing, merchant acquiring and faster payments, the bank said. At Piermont, he will focus on payment rails, fintech partnerships and real-time and embedded payment experiences.

Piermont also announced the hiring of a new chief credit officer, Derrick Cornelious, and expanded duties for Wenni Wu, its chief growth officer. In addition to managing the bank's core deposits business, client care and market strategy, Wu will handle all of the bank's deposit businesses, embedded banking, program management and products, the bank said.—Allissa Kline

ABA opens fraud contact directory to international banks

The American Bankers Association announced the global expansion of its widely used Fraud Contact Directory. Originally launched to help U.S. banks connect in real-time and now used by over half of all U.S. banks, the directory allows participants to quickly identify and contact fraud professionals at other financial institutions. Opening the directory to international banks reflects the increasingly global nature of financial crime and the pressing need for cross-border cooperation.

ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols and Paul Benda, ABA executive vice president for fraud, risk and cybersecurity, made the announcement at the United Nations Global Fraud Summit in Vienna on March 17. "Fraud knows no borders, and neither should our defenses," said Nichols.

Benda further stressed the need for international collaboration "to disrupt criminal networks and better protect consumers, businesses and governments."

The expansion was facilitated through the ABA's partnership with the International Banking Federation's Fraud and Scams Taskforce. —Traci Parks

MC Bankshares’ proposed sale wins shareholder support

MC Bankshares, the Louisiana-based parent company of MC Bank & Trust, moved one step closer to finalizing its sale to an investor group led by the former CEO of Iberiabank.

Shareholders of the $478 million-asset company approved the pending sale to the entity known as DMMS Purchaser, MC Bankshares said in a press release. More than 92% voted in favor of the deal, which is still expected to close during the second quarter, pending regulatory approval.

Daryl Byrd will be chairman and CEO of the holding company. Byrd was at the helm of Iberiabank when it was acquired by First Horizon in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2020.

Several other ex-Iberiabank executives will also join the C-suite.

The investor group has been raising capital as part of the acquisition. So far, it's raked in about $200 million in commitments, according to the press release.—Allissa Kline

Citi hires Morgan Stanley’s Farina as co-head of infra financing

Citi has hired Morgan Stanley banker Eric Farina as global co-head of infrastructure financing and capital solutions, according to a memo reviewed by Bloomberg News.

Farina will co-lead the new custom financing effort alongside Rob Cascarino, who will also continue in his role as Citi's co-head of debt capital markets for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to the memo from Achintya Mangla, the bank's financing chief. Farina and Cascarino will report to John McAuley and Chris Munro, Citi's global debt capital markets heads.

The IFCS group will help arrange custom financings for Citi's clients depending on their needs, according to the memo.

Farina, who will be based in New York, most recently led infrastructure finance and private capital markets at Morgan Stanley. A spokesperson for Citi confirmed the contents of the memo.

The hire comes after Citi last month assembled a group of bankers focused on the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom. —Michelle F. Davis, Bloomberg News

JPMorgan hires Goldman’s Zhang to co-head China IB business

JPMorganChase hired Zhang Yi to co-head its China investment banking business with Michelle Wang, according to an internal memo. Zhang comes from Goldman Sachs, which is losing its second senior China banker in the past two months. Zhang will join in the summer.

A spokesman at JPMorgan confirmed the content of the memo. A Goldman spokesperson declined to comment.

With Zhang coming on board, David Lau, co-head of JPMorgan's offshore business for China, will become vice chair of investment banking for Asia-Pacific, leading coverage of several of the most important Hong Kong clients, adding to his role as head of health care investment banking in the region, according to the memo.

Zhang is expected to help JPMorgan narrow its gap with Wall Street competitors in China. Goldman ranked second in arranging Hong Kong equity offerings last year, trailing only Morgan Stanley. JPMorgan placed seventh, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. —Cathy Chan, Bloomberg News

Cantor hires Kelly from Barclays as NY advisory sales co-head

Cantor Fitzgerald has hired Joe Kelly from Barclays to co-lead New York advisory sales, as part of a broader set of personnel moves to strengthen a core part of its business.

Kelly will run the advisory business with Jared Demark and they'll report to Alexander Englander, Cantor's global head of equity distribution, according to a draft internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg News.

Kelly, who was one of the top institutional salespeople at Barclays covering equity long-short, multi-strategy and quant clients, will be joining Cantor in the coming months, according to the memo signed by Pascal Bandelier, co-chief executive officer and global head of equities.

A spokesperson for Cantor confirmed the contents of the memo. A representative for Barclays didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

In other moves, Eric Lastres will serve as head of U.S. sales trading, continuing to report to David Orloff. —Veena Ali-Khan, Bloomberg News