Succession planning

Washington Federal Chairman and Chief Executive Roy M. Whitehead will hand off his CEO duties to Brent Beardall this spring.

The $605 million-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that Stephen Marsh, its CEO since 2008, retired on Dec. 31.

Lakeland Bancorp in Oak Ridge, N.J., has named a new chief financial officer and chief operating officer as two other executives plan to retire.

Daryl Tressler will retire as president and CEO of MainSource Bank in Greensburg, Ind., at the end of this year.

Bank of Montreal's Bill Downe, the longest serving chief executive officer among Canada's biggest lenders, said he has no immediate plans for retirement even after a management shuffle at the company.

As the banking environment demands a different skill set for those operating leaner branch networks, institutions should look at tellers as a longer-term human resource with growth potential.

FirstBank in Lakewood, Colo., named the successors to its CEO and president, who are both retiring after holding those titles for 17 years.

Andrew Jetter is stepping down as the chief executive of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka after serving as the president and the CEO for 14 years.

Wayne Savings Bancshares in Wooster, Ohio, is looking for a new CEO.

Kevin S. Kim thought he was joining a bank board to bring youth to an aging slate of directors. Eight years, four acquisitions and a banking crisis later, he is now the chief executive of the nation's largest Korean-American bank.

Citizens Building and Loan in Greer, S.C., will have a new president and chief executive next year.

Johnson, 54, will succeed her father, Edward "Ned" Johnson, as chairman of the family-run firm in early December.

HomeBancorp in Tampa, Fla., has appointed several executives to expanded roles, all to take effect at the start of the year.

The U.S. is the only industrialized nation without mandated paid parental leave, but innovative leave policies are an opportunity to attract and retain employees in a highly competitive industry.

TD Bank Group in Toronto will have a new president and chief executive for its U.S. banking unit next summer.

Oconee Financial in Watkinsville, Ga., has named a former Atlanta-area banker its new chief executive.

Bank of America's chief financial officer on Tuesday downplayed the odds of a Wells-Fargo-style phony-account scandal at B of A, contending that it does not use hard-charging sales tactics.

Banks must work to attract a diverse workforce through recruiting efforts, and to close the retention gap that sees institutions lose a higher percentage of women leaders compared to those who are men.

Mercantile Bank Corp. in Grand Rapids, Mich., announced several promotions that underscore a heightened focus on loan growth.

Andy Cecere is widely viewed as the successor to Richard Davis as chief of the Minneapolis bank — Davis has repeatedly backed him in public forums — but Cecere may get several years to prepare for the daunting growth challenges facing banking's next generation of leaders.