Provident hires ex-TD exec as new chief lending officer

February 14, 2025 3:13 PM

In this week's Banking news roundup: Provident Bank announces its new chief lending officer; the SEC's acting chairman asks a federal court to delay scheduling cases involving a rule on climate-related disclosure; the merger deadline for Capital One Financial's proposed acquisition of Discover Financial Services is extended; and more.

Bill Fink

Provident Bank

Provident hires ex-TD executive to lead commercial bank

Provident Bank in Iselin, New Jersey, has a new chief lending officer. Bill Fink, who most recently was head of U.S. middle-market banking at TD Bank, will oversee Provident's commercial bank and commercial lending growth strategy, the bank said in a press release.

Fink, who reports to Provident CEO Anthony Labozzetta, succeeds John Rath II, who retired in late 2024, a spokesperson for the company said. Fink will oversee a $16 billion loan portfolio and lead a team of 250 employees, including eight direct reports, in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, according to the release. He will oversee portfolio management and credit risks. In his prior role at TD, he led the bank's nationwide expansion strategy for middle-market and asset-based lending and oversaw a $24 billion portfolio.

Provident Bank is the banking arm of Provident Financial Services. The latter acquired rival Lakeland Bancorp in May. —Allissa Kline

SEC pauses litigation on climate-disclosure rule

The Securities and Exchange Commission's acting chairman has asked a federal court to delay scheduling cases involving a rule on climate-related disclosure.

Mark Uyeda said the change in the SEC's composition and President Donald Trump's regulatory freeze means the commission should review its stance in the cases. Uyeda and Commissioner Hester Peirce had voted against the rule, which requires publicly traded companies to disclose the risks that climate change poses to their businesses and report greenhouse gas emissions directly caused by their businesses.

"The Commission's briefs previously submitted in the cases consolidated in the 8th Circuit do not reflect my views," Uyeda said in a press release on Tuesday. "I continue to question the statutory authority of the Commission to adopt the Rule, the need for the Rule, and the evaluation of costs and benefits."

Uyeda said he asked the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to wait until the SEC has had time to determine its next steps in the cases.

Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw said Uyeda made the move unilaterally and the SEC had acted properly in passing the rule.

"The only things that have changed since the rule was passed have been matters of politics and not substance," Crenshaw said in a separate press release. —Mary de Wet

Capital One, Discover extend merger deadline

The merger deadline for Capital One Financial's proposed $35 billion acquisition of Discover Financial Services is being pushed back to May 19, both companies said in separate securities filings. The extension stems from certain regulatory-related closing conditions not yet having been met, according to the filings.

When the deal was announced in February 2024, Capital One said it was expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025. There have been obstacles, most recently three lawsuits filed in January alleging the joint proxy statement issued by the companies "contains certain disclosure deficiencies and/or incomplete information" about the acquisition, according to the filings.

Both companies said they believe the claims lack merit, but in order to avoid further delay of the deal, they provided more information in the filings. Capital One and Discover are each scheduled to host a special meeting of stockholders on Feb. 18 to vote on the deal. —Allissa Kline

Standard Chartered hires new CEO for U.S. business

Standard Chartered Bank in London has hired its next U.S. and Americas CEO from Citadel Securities, the company said in a press release. Mandy DeFilippo, who has been managing director and chief operating officer of legal and compliance and risk and operations at Citadel since 2022, is set to join the bank on March 24, subject to certain approvals, the release said.

DeFilippo will succeed Steven Cranwell, who has decided to step down from the job and leave the bank, the release said. She will report to Roberto Hoornweg, co-head of Standard Chartered's corporate and investment bank, who said that DeFilippo's "broad experience across financial markets, banking and risk management will be hugely value-additive as we respond to an increasingly wide spectrum of needs among our U.S. and Americas clients for financing, advisory and risk intermediation." —Allissa Kline

CFR welcomes David Lipton and Rebecca Patterson as senior fellows

This week, the Council on Foreign Relations announced David Lipton and Rebecca Patterson as senior fellows in its David Rockefeller Studies Program. Lipton, an economist with vast experience in international finance, previously served as counselor to former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the IMF's deputy managing director. As a senior fellow for Geoeconomics, he will contribute to CFR's RealEcon Initiative. Patterson, an investor and macroeconomic researcher, was most recently chief investment strategist for Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund. She will contribute to the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies.

"David's deep public-sector financial expertise, coupled with Rebecca's renowned macroeconomic insights will meaningfully enhance CFR's research on U.S. international economic leadership," said CFR President Michael Froman in a press release on Thursday.

Lipton holds a Ph.D. from Harvard, while Patterson earned an MBA from NYU and an M.A. from Johns Hopkins. —Editorial Staff

Northern Trust’s wealth management business creates new role for Pedroso

Northern Trust's wealth management business has tapped Glenda Pedroso to be the first head of banking and specialized services, a new role in which she will lead a national team, according to a press release. Pedroso, who was one of American Banker's Most Powerful Women to Watch in 2022, was most recently East region president for the wealth management business. She will begin her new job on March 1 and report to Jason Tyler, president of wealth management.

Meanwhile, Michael Bracci will succeed Pedroso as East region president. Bracci has been president of the East Florida and mid-Atlantic regions since 2023, the Chicago-based company said. Alexander Adams, group managing director for the segment's South Florida market, will assume the mid-Atlantic region while Stacey Hallberg, senior managing director for the Boca Raton and Delray Beach offices, will become group managing director for East Florida, the company said. —Allissa Kline

WesBanco secures regulatory approvals to acquire Premier Financial

Wheeling, West Virginia-based WesBanco secured all regulatory approvals needed to close its acquisition of Premier Financial in Defiance, Ohio. The all-stock transaction was valued at $959 million when it was announced last July.

The Federal Reserve signed off on the deal this week, while the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. approved it on Jan. 24. The shareholders of both companies voted in favor of the combination at their respective special meetings in December.

WesBanco, which targeted the current quarter to finalize the merger, said it now expects it to close on or about Feb. 28.

The merged company would have more than $27 billion of assets and rank as the eighth-largest bank in Ohio by deposit market share. The deal would expand WesBanco's footprint across Northern Ohio and into Indiana. It would also move the company into Southeastern Michigan. —Jim Dobbs

Fed signs off on merger of Michigan community banks

The Federal Reserve Board approved Sparta, Michigan-based ChoiceOne Financial Services' plan to acquire in-state rival Fentura Financial in Fenton for about $180 million in stock.

The combination would create the third-largest publicly traded bank based in Michigan with approximately $4.3 billion of assets. It would bolster ChoiceOne's metropolitan Detroit footprint. Overall, it would have 56 offices in western, central and southeastern Michigan.

ChoiceOne had targeted the current quarter to close the deal, with federal regulatory approval the key hurdle to clear. It now expects to close the transaction on March 1.

ChoiceOne said it expected the acquisition to be more than 30% accretive to its 2025 earnings per share. It would trim about 28% of Fentura's annual noninterest expenses. —Jim Dobbs

Robertson Stephens appoints Esta Stecher as board advisor

Robertson Stephens Wealth Management announced Wednesday the appointment of Esta Stecher as board advisor on its board of directors.

Stecher's background in banking, legal and investment advisory services spans leadership roles at prominent financial services firms, including Goldman Sachs, where she served as general counsel and executive vice president for over a decade and as chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Bank USA from 2011 to 2016.

"As a fellow Goldman alum, there are few people whose counsel we seek and trust as we do Esta's," said Gaurav Bhandari, board chairman of Robertson Stephens and managing partner of Long Arc Capital.

The appointment follows the independent wealth management firm's ongoing expansion, wrapping up 2024 with $7.1 billion in advisory assets under management, which reflects 45% year-over-year growth. —Editorial Staff