Corum named Capital City Bank president; Enterprise merger

June 6, 2025 2:02 PM

In this week's banking news roundup: Bethany Corum succeeds Tom Barron as president of Capital City Bank; Independent Bank Corp. plans to finalize purchase of in-state rival, Enterprise Bancorp; Customers Bank taps Mark McCollom to take over as chief financial officer; and more.

Bethany Corum and Tom Barron Capital City Bank

Capital City Bank Group

Capital City Bank names first female president

Capital City Bank Group has named Bethany Corum as president of the bank, succeeding Tom Barron, who will become group president and chairman of the bank's board.

Corum, who has served as chief operating officer since 2015, is the first female president in the bank's 130-year history. She starts in her new role on July 1, the Tallahassee, Florida-based bank said in a press release on Monday.

Barron has been bank president for 30 years. He was among the original architects of Capital City Bank Group, which was formed as a multibank holding company in 1984. In his new roles, he is expected to guide the company's growth.

William G. Smith Jr. will remain as group chairman and CEO, overseeing corporate strategy and governance while guiding the company's long-term financial performance, Capital City said.

"These changes reflect a strategic effort to diversify the executive ranks and bolster management as the company enters its next phase of growth," the $4.5 billion-asset banking group said. —Mary de Wet

Adobe Stock

Massachusetts bank deal on track to close in July

Independent Bank Corp. in Rockland, Massachusetts, expects to finalize the purchase of its in-state rival, Enterprise Bancorp, on July 1, the two companies said in a press release.

The $562 million acquisition, which was announced in December, has received the necessary regulatory approvals, the companies said. It's now set to close sooner than expected. In April, Independent CEO Jeffrey Tengel said he expected the transaction to close in the third quarter.

Post-acquisition, Lowell, Massachusetts-based Enterprise will get folded into Independent, the $19.9 billion-asset parent company of Rockland Trust Co.

In December, Rockland Trust said it had no plans to close any Enterprise Bank branches and would maintain a significant presence in Lowell, a northern Boston suburb. Enterprise Bank operates 27 branches in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Several bank deals this year have been finalized faster amid regulatory easing under the Trump administration. The list includes Cadence Bank's acquisition of FCB Financial and Old National Bancorp's acquisition of Bremer Financial. Both deals closed on May 1. —Allissa Kline

Customers taps second CFO in as many years

Customers Bank tapped Mark McCollom to take over as chief financial officer, about 15 months after his predecessor stepped into the role.

McCollom took the C-suite spot at the Pennsylvania-based bank on June 2, most recently serving in the same position at Fulton Financial, before he resigned suddenly in early 2024.

Customers agreed to a two-year contract with McCollom that includes a base salary of $500,000 per year, plus short-term and long-term incentives.

McCollom was also CFO of Sovereign Bancorp from 1996 until 2008, when the company was led by Jay Sidhu, who now acts as CEO of Customers' parent company.

Customers said Philip Watkins will transition in mid-August to "spearheading strategic initiatives to support the company's long-term growth."

Watkins became CFO last April, when Customers announced in a public filing that it had terminated then-CFO Carla Leibold for "cause." A few weeks later, after Leibold disputed the characterization of her departure, the company said the move was actually a "separation by mutual agreement." —Catherine Leffert

UMB builds out its corporate trust team in California

UMB Bank, a subsidiary of UMB Financial in Kansas City, Missouri, expanded its corporate trust and agency services group in California by hiring 13 former Wilmington Trust employees, most of whom will be based in Orange County, the bank said in a press release.

The group will provide corporate, municipal trustee, escrow and paying agent services. John Deleray and Jeanie Mar, who helped establish Wilmington Trust's California office in 2011, will oversee a team that focuses on municipal and corporate trustee, escrow and paying agent services. Ali Naqvi and Jane Snyder will lead a second team, specializing in complex mergers and acquisitions.

UMB's corporate trust and agency services business is part of the bank's institutional banking segment. The California expansion follows UMB's entry earlier this year into the Golden State when it acquired Heartland Financial USA and its California unit, Premier Valley Bank.

It was the largest deal in UMB's history. The bank now operates in 13 states. —Allissa Kline

Woodsboro Bank to elevate Ohnmacht to CEO

Woodsboro Bank plans to promote Rich Ohnmacht to the role of president and chief executive officer on July 1.

Steve Heine, who has been CEO since 2017, will transition into a senior advisor role while remaining on the board of directors, the Woodsboro, Maryland-based bank said in a May 29 press release.

Ohnmacht joined the bank six years ago and was promoted to president in August. Ohnmacht led an effort to cultivate relationships with the local business community that resulted in the bank's loan portfolio doubling in size and prompted the expansion of the commercial banking team, Woodsboro Bank said.

In his new role, Ohnmacht is expected to oversee day-to-day operations and to lead Woodsboro Bank through the next phase of its three-year strategic plan, the bank said. —Mary de Wet

First Nations Bank of Canada launches CA$100 million initiative

First Nations Bank of Canada and the Business Development Bank of Canada launched a 100 million Canadian dollar ($73 million) initiative aimed at increasing business acquisitions.

The acquisitions are expected to be made by indigenous communities and economic development agencies, with the average deal size of about CA$5 million, the banks said in a press release Thursday.

BDC is providing the CA$100 million loan guarantee, and FNBC will issue and manage the loans, a spokesperson said.

"The timing is crucial as a significant number of Canadian entrepreneurs will retire in the next few years and are actively looking to sell their business built over decades. This creates a unique opportunity where there are more companies for sale than there are buyers," the banks said.

The number of indigenous business owners is expected to grow 23% in the next decade, the banks said. —Mary de Wet

Visa names Andrew Torre president of value-added services

Visa appointed Andrew Torre as its new president of value-added services, effective June 3. Torre succeeded Antony Cahill, who was promoted to regional president and CEO for European operations last month.

Torre is charged with leading Visa's $9 billion value-added services business, which has been growing at a 20% annualized rate since 2021. He is based in San Francisco, reporting to CEO Ryan McInerney.

Previously, Torre served as regional president for Central Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, where he expanded Visa's regional presence to 23 offices across 86 markets. He first joined Visa in 2002 and held roles in product, strategy and pricing.

"Andrew's experience leading Visa's fastest-growing region, his client-first approach, and his deep commercial expertise make him the standout choice to build on Antony's success and continue our strong Value-Added Services momentum," Mr. McInerney said.

Visa said it is conducting an internal search for Torre's successor. —Joey Pizzolato

Deutsche Bank hires veteran HSBC telecom banker Bailey

Deutsche Bank is hiring veteran HSBC Holdings telecom banker Dan Bailey, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Bailey is set to join Deutsche Bank in a senior role, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. He was most recently co-head of global technology, digital and financial services at HSBC.

The move comes after HSBC announced earlier this year it will wind down some of its investment banking operations in large parts of the world amid a broader overhaul.

Some other top bankers have also left, with JPMorganChase recently hiring HSBC's global mergers and acquisitions head Kamal Jabre, Bloomberg News has reported. Meanwhile, Citigroup is bringing on HSBC's Ed Sankey as head of equity capital markets for Europe, the U.K., Middle East and Africa.

A representative for Deutsche Bank declined to comment. A representative for HSBC confirmed Bailey's departure, declining to comment further. —Vinicy Chan, Bloomberg News

JPMorgan said to hire Citi’s Giatrakos for private equity deals

JPMorganChase is hiring Citigroup dealmaker Theodoros Giatrakos as it seeks to bolster its business advising private equity firms, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The London-based banker is leaving Citigroup after more than 14 years and is set to join JPMorgan's financial sponsors group, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Giatrakos, who joined Citigroup in 2011, was previously head of the firm's alternative assets group for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He had earlier led its investment banking team in central and southeast Europe.

Late last year, Citigroup hired JPMorgan banker Sidharth Punshi as the new head of its EMEA alternative assets group, with Giatrakos stepping down from the leadership position to dedicate more time to client relationships.

Representatives for JPMorgan and Citigroup declined to comment. —Dinesh Nair, Swetha Gopinath and Jan-Henrik Förster, Bloomberg News