Jill Castilla reappointed to FCA, JPMorgan names ex-EY CEO to board

January 19, 2024 3:14 PM

Citizens Bank of Edmond's Jill Castilla is reappointed to Fed Advisory Council; Old National injects $1.2 billion into its existing community benefits program; former Ernst & Young CEO Mark Weinberger joins JPMorgan's board; and more in the weekly banking news roundup.

Citizens Bank of Edmond’s CEO Jill Castilla reappointed to Fed Advisory Council

Jill Castilla, the president and CEO of Citizens Bank of Edmonds, has been reappointed to the Fed Advisory Council for 2024. The FAC, established by the Federal Reserve Act, includes one representative from each of the Federal Reserve's 12 districts. Castilla represents the Federal Reserve's Kansas City district. "It is truly an honor to serve and represent the 10th district on the Federal Advisory Council," she said in a statement. "This reappointment underscores the importance of collaboration and expertise from diverse perspectives in shaping the nation's economic and banking policies. I look forward to continuing to contribute to these critical discussions in the year ahead." Castilla was also nominated to serve as the FAC vice president for 2024. Andrew Cecere from U.S. Bank will take on the role of president for the same term. — Mary Ellen Egan

Old National boosts its community investment plan by $1.2 billion

Old National Bancorp has agreed to inject another $1.2 billion into its existing community benefits program, bringing the total commitment to $9.5 billion, the Evansville, Indiana, company said this week in a press release. The increase, which was negotiated with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, comes nearly three months after Old National announced plans to acquire CapStar Financial Holdings in Nashville for $344 million. Old National's current community benefits plan, which promised to invest $8.3 billion into low- and moderate-income areas within its multistate footprint, was drafted with the NCRC in 2022 as part of Old National's acquisition of First Midwest Bancorp in Chicago. The revised plan includes $815 million of mortgage loan originations, at least $332 million of small-business loans and $107 million of community development loans and investments, the company said. —Allissa Kline

JPMorgan Chase names ex-Ernst & Young CEO to the board

JPMorgan Chase has a new director on its board. Mark Weinberger, who was the global chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young accounting firm from 2013 to 2019, joined the board of the largest U.S. bank this week, JPMorgan said in a press release. Weinberger will sit on the audit committee, according to the release. JPMorgan's board now has 12 directors, including Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon. Weinberger's appointment comes more than six months after longtime JPMorgan board member James Crown was killed in a car crash in Colorado. —Allissa Kline

Deutsche Bank CFO warns staff on bonuses after ‘difficult’ year

Deutsche Bank is preparing staff for a tough bonus season.

Variable pay "will reflect performance in 2023," CFO James von Moltke said in a Bloomberg Television interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday. "And as you have seen in a number of different areas of the investment banking business in particular in 2023, it has been a difficult market."

The comments are the first concrete glimpse into Deutsche Bank's thinking about bonuses after a harsh year for investment banking. The unit's revenue declined 12% during the first nine months of last year as trading slowed and M&A activity slumped, with revenue from deal advisory plunging 46% despite a hiring spree.

Investment banking tends to account for the lion's share of Deutsche Bank's overall bonus pool. Last year, it was close to half of the total.

CEO Christian Sewing said in October that cutting variable compensation was one lever he could use to reduce expenses if that was necessary to meet targets.

"We and our competitors want to pay for performance and work hard in managing our incentive compensation structures to do that," von Moltke said on Tuesday. — Steven Arons, Nicholas Comfort and Francine Lacqua, Bloomberg News

Tesla buyers can now access financing from credit unions

Tesla buyers can finance their purchases from credit unions through a new partnership. On January 16, lending technology credit union service organization Origence announced that its new subsidiary, FI Connect, will purchase and place retail contracts with a network of 21 partner credit unions. FI Connect has $3.3 billion in annual EV lending capacity. Those shopping for Tesla vehicles will see their financing options when purchasing a vehicle through Tesla's website or mobile app. "This partnership gives Tesla customers an easy, convenient, and affordable way to secure credit union financing for their EV purchase while helping credit unions like Patelco keep pace with rapidly growing demand for EV financing," said Josh Garrison, vice-president of consumer lending and cards at Patelco Credit Union, in a press release. — Miriam Cross