Johnson Bank in Racine, Wis., has a new chief executive officer for the second time in less than six months.
The Business Journal of Greater Milwaukee reported Monday that the $4.5 billion-asset bank has named former Harris Bank executive Tom Bolger as CEO of both the bank and its holding company, Johnson Financial Group.
He is replacing Russ Weyers, the company's former chief operating officer who had succeeded longtime CEO Richard Hansen in January. Weyers will remain president of both the bank and its holding company.
Bolger is joining Johnson Bank at what Johnson Financial Group Chairman Helene Johnson-Leipold called a "pivotal moment in our evolution."
Johnson, which was founded by the family of S.C. Johnson & Co., lost nearly $150 million in 2010, mostly on soured real estate loans, and last month was hit with an enforcement order from state and federal regulators requiring it to improve its credit quality and beef up its capital reserves.
In a statement, Johnson-Leipold said that Bolger, who has 40 years of banking experience in Wisconsin and Illinois, "is the right leader at the right time to help us reach the next level of operational effectiveness and efficiency."
The bank could also benefit from the fact that Bolger is intimately familiar with Harris Bank, which will soon be the largest bank in Wisconsin. Harris' parent company, BMO Financial in Toronto, is buying longtime market leader M&I Bank in Milwaukee in a deal that is expected to close next month. Bolger had headed Harris Bank Wisconsin since 2007 and before that worked at M&I for 30 years.
