In this week's banking news roundup: Regions Bank hires next corporate banking group leader from within; Detroit CU names its first-ever woman CEO; United Community raises its quarterly dividend; and more.
![Banking news roundup on Regions](https://arizent.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7790b84/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2704x876+0+0/resize/1698x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsource-media-brightspot.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2F4b%2Ff6%2F65f024504e648d985cf1ed4d9abb%2Fscreenshot-2024-08-16-at-1-17-14-pm.png)
Regions Bank looks inside for next corporate banking leader
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Detroit CU names first-ever woman CEO
Powell will be the first woman and first African American to helm the $64 million-asset credit union in its 90-year history. "It's an honor to lead an institution that has been such a vital part of Detroit's fabric," Powell said in a press release. "I am committed to building on One Detroit's strong foundation while innovating to meet the needs of our members in a rapidly changing financial landscape." —Jim Dobbs
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United Community Banks increases dividend, share buybacks
The $27.1 billion-asset bank lifted its dividend by 4% to 24 cents a share. The new payout, equal to 96 cents on an annual basis, delivers a yield of 3.4% based on Thursday's closing price of $28.46.
The dividend is payable Oct. 4 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 16.
United has been authorized to add $100 million to its share buyback program, which has been extended to Dec. 31, 2025.
Last month, the Greenville, South Carolina-based bank reported second-quarter net income of $66.6 million, up 5.3% from the year-ago period. Revenue rose 9% to $233 million. At the time, Chairman and CEO Lynn Harton said the results were "driven by healthy net interest margin expansion and disciplined expense control."
United is also selling FinTrust Capital Advisors, an investment advisory firm it bought three years ago. Harton said in July that the company expected to complete the divestiture in the third quarter.
In 2023, United was named by American Banker as one of the "
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Lazard hires Barclays health care deals veteran Thompson
The 52-year-old is returning to Lazard after starting his investment banking career at the firm in the late '90s, the people said. He joined Morgan Stanley in 2004 as a managing director and also spent time at Close Brothers Group and UBS Group, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Thompson's appointment is part of Lazard's push into health care as the bank is hunting for talent to win more mandates. —Pamela Barbaglia, Bloomberg News
![Citigroup’s Global Head of Markets Digital Assets Maini Leaves](https://arizent.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ede134c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4000x2667+0+0/resize/825x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsource-media-brightspot.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fd6%2Ff5%2Fe2dade5642f88945d621f2c290b9%2F414954398.jpg)
Citigroup’s global head of markets digital assets Maini leaves
Maini spent more than 14 years at Citigroup, according to a profile on Linkedin, and most recently led the digital assets team under the markets division. He left to pursue "an entrepreneurial opportunity in the digital asset space," according to the memo, which was sent last week by Lee Smallwood, head of markets innovation and investments at Citigroup.
A spokesperson at Citi declined to comment. Maini didn't respond to a request for comment via Linkedin messages.
Deepak Mehra, international lead for markets strategic investments, will expand his current position to also lead the markets digital assets team, according to the memo. —Muyao Shen, Bloomberg News
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Goldman partner and M&A banker David Kamo exits to join Evercore
Kamo is set to join New York-based Evercore as a senior managing director after a period of gardening leave, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing information that isn't public.
Representatives for Goldman and Evercore declined to comment.
Kamo, who was named partner in 2020, joined New York-based Goldman in 2016, according to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records. He previously worked at Credit Suisse, Barclays and Lehman Brothers, parts of which Barclays acquired out of bankruptcy.
Former JPMorgan Chase banker Haidee Lee recently joined Goldman as global co-head of sponsor M&A, alongside Kamo. —Gillian Tan, Bloomberg News
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Mizuho taps Barclays duo for leveraged finance, sponsors teams
George Lee has joined as a managing director in Mizuho's leveraged finance group, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. He reports to Jeb Slowik, head of leveraged finance for Mizuho Americas.
The Japanese bank has also hired Corey LoVerme, who will join as a managing director in its financial sponsors group in November after a period of leave, the people said. LoVerme will report to Richard Park and Stancel Riley, co-heads of the financial sponsors and strategic solutions group for Mizuho Americas.
A spokesperson for Mizuho confirmed the hires. A representative for Barclays declined to comment.
At Barclays, LoVerme most recently covered large-cap and mid-market private equity firms, his LinkedIn profile shows. Earlier in his career, he worked at Lehman Brothers. Lee joined Barclays in 2010, having previously worked at Accenture and Citigroup, according to his LinkedIn profile. —Valida Pau and Liana Baker, Bloomberg News
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Hedge fund Ace Capital co-founder joins Bradesco
"We want to position ourselves as the biggest treasury desk in Brazil for sales and trading of local bonds from banks, corporates and all kinds of tax-exempt papers, and brought in a very experienced executive to beef up our team," said Bruno Cardoso, who's responsible for the business as well as for sales and structuring of derivatives, foreign exchange and fixed income for clients of Bradesco's treasury desk.
Trebilcock starts immediately, overseeing a team of six people and reporting to Cardoso.
Before helping found Ace in 2019, Trebilcock was at the treasury desk at Banco Santander Brazil. He also had stints with Santander's corporate and investment banking division, and worked at Santander's unit devoted to structured credit risks. —Vinícius Andrade and Cristiane Lucchesi, Bloomberg News