UMB Financial President, CFO Resign

UMB Financial in Kansas City, Mo., announced that its president and chief financial officer have resigned.

Peter deSilva also vacated his post at chief operating officer, the $18.6 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday. DeSilva will remain vice chairman through Jan. 6 "to help ensure a seamless transition," the company said. The release did not give a reason for the executive's departure.

Mariner Kemper, UMB's chairman and chief executive, has also become the company's president.

DeSilva "is someone who possesses boundless energy and a positive can-do spirit," Kemper said in the release. "He has focused these attributes during his time here to build businesses with enduring value and created customer, associate and community relationships that have stood the test of time."

UMB disclosed in a separate regulatory filing that Brian Walker had resigned as CFO, though he will remain the company's chief accounting officer. UMB said Michael Hagedorn, a vice chairman and president and CEO of UMB Bank, has become the company's interim CFO, returning to a post he held from March 2005 to January 2014.

The company said it is conducting an executive search to find a permanent CFO.

UMB announced last week that it plans to aggressively cut costs, disclosing in a regulatory filing that it plans to reduce annual expenses by nearly $33 million by 2017. About 70% of the cost reductions will be associated with lower salaries and benefits, excluding $8 million in expected severance costs; the rest will involve business process improvements.

The company also reported lower third-quarter profit last week that reflected weaker revenue from its Scout Funds business and merger costs.