We think these bank CEOs are the ones worth watching in 2012. Keep reading to find out why.
(A gallery of the 2012 Bankers to Watch can be
Ron Hermance
Chairman and CEO, Hudson City Bancorp
Once a Wall Street darling, Hudson City hit a rough patch in 2011. Problem loans spiked, and regulators started to worry about the vulnerability of the thrift's portfolio, which is heavy on mortgage-related assets. The $51 billion-asset Hudson City could become the next great case study on managing exposure to interest-rate risk and appeasing regulatory concerns about concentration.
Stephen Gordon
Chairman and CEO, Opus Bank
A longtime California banker, Gordon raised $460 million to recapitalize the ailing Bay Cities National Bank in 2010, and hasn't slowed down since. He renamed the Irvine-based bank Opus, struck two sizeable deals—including one for Cascade Bank near Seattle—began opening de novo branches and, more recently, raised another $100 million for the purpose of doing more deals. Will the $2 billion-asset Opus be the West Coast's next breakout bank?
Richard Fairbank
Chairman and CEO, Capital One Financial
Capital One struck two big deals in 2011—and both came under attack from community activists who argued that they would create another too-big-to-fail bank with a less-than-stellar record of serving low-income neighborhoods. Most observers expect the acquisitions of online bank ING Direct and the credit card portfolio of HSBC Bank to eventually win the approval of regulators. The test for Fairbank is whether he can win the approval of the public.
Joseph DePaolo
President and CEO, Signature Bank
Signature has been one of the industry's true standouts in recent years, thanks largely to DePaolo's strategy of stealing teams of commercial lenders—and their established books of business—from rival banks. But residential mortgage-backed securities account for more than 40 percent of the New York bank's assets, and some have speculated that Signature's string of record-setting quarters could come to crashing halt as yields on the securities wane. DePaolo's big test in 2012 will be growing Signature's loan book enough to offset diminishing yields on the securities in its portfolio.
Daryl Byrd
President and CEO, Iberiabank
Few bankers have been as opportunistic as Byrd in recent years. Since August 2009, Iberiabank, of Lafayette, La., has acquired five failed banks and two healthy ones, more than doubling its assets in the process and expanding its reach in Alabama, Florida and Tennessee. Don't expect the $11.5 billion-asset company to take much of a breather. Byrd estimates that as many as 200 banks in the Southeast could fail over the next few years, and he has told investors that Iberiabank would be an active bidder in markets it views as attractive. His goal: to build a regional franchise that stretches from Virginia to Texas.
Beth Mooney
Chairman and CEO, KeyCorp
Mooney made history in 2011 by becoming the first female CEO of a top 20, domestically owned U.S. bank. But just as important to her legacy is whether she can ultimately deliver for shareholders—and on that front, she's off to a strong start. In Mooney's first two quarters as CEO, Key's earnings were up nearly 120 percent over the same period in 2010.
Philip Flynn
President and CEO, Associated Banc-Corp
In his second full year at Associated, Flynn restored the Green Bay, Wisc., company to profitability and raised the $200 million it needed to finally exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program. He's also been growing loans-as competitors' portfolios have shrunk-largely by hiring lenders away from rival Marshall & Ilsley Bank, which recently merged with BMO Harris Bank in Chicago. Capitalizing on that disruption will be among Flynn's chief tasks in 2012. Also on his list: figuring out how to recover an estimated $18 million in annual revenue that will be lost to new caps on interchange fees.
Cathy Nash
President and CEO, Citizens Republic Bancorp
After spilling red ink for 12 consecutive quarters, Citizens Republic, based in Flint, Mich., surprised everyone when it posted healthy profits for the second and third quarters of 2011. Nash deserves much of the credit for the turnaround, but she faces a big test in keeping momentum going in the economically challenged upper Midwest.
Gerald Hassell
Chairman, President, CEO, BNY Mellon
Hassell was named CEO of the world's largest custody bank after Robert Kelly resigned unexpectedly in August. One of Hassell's first orders of business was to announce a series of moves that would trim overhead by up to $700 million over the next four years. The cuts, though, weren't aggressive enough for investors, who further punished a stock that had already lost more than one-third of its value since last January. But expenses can only be cut so much. Hassell's biggest challenge in 2012 will be growing revenue in a climate of historically low interest rates. Also troubling are lawsuits from several states that accuse the venerable bank of defrauding state pension funds on foreign currency exchange trades.
John Kanas
Chairman, President, CEO, BankUnited
Kanas' noncompete agreement with Capital One Bank expires in August, freeing the longtime New Yorker to expand the Miami bank's reach into more familiar territory. Flush with capital from its recent public offering, BankUnited already has announced one deal in New York, for the $487 million-asset, threebranch Herald National Bank, and that's likely just the start. Kansas has said he intends to open as many as 20 branches in the New York area over the next few years.
