BNY Mellon Says Interim CEO Gibbons to Remain in Position
BNY Mellon Says Interim CEO Todd Gibbons to Remain in Position
(Bloomberg) -- Bank of New York Mellon Corp. said interim Chief Executive Officer Todd Gibbons was appointed CEO effective immediately.
Gibbons had been in the position on a temporary basis since September, when his predecessor, Charlie Scharf, left to become CEO of Wells Fargo & Co. Joseph Echevarria, a member of BNY Mellon’s board since February 2015, will continue to serve as independent chairman, the company said in a statement Monday.
“The board conducted a comprehensive search process over a number of months, and we concluded he is the right person for the job,” Echevarria said in the statement. “Todd is an accomplished and respected leader who is well known to all of our stakeholders, with a deep connection to the company and its client base.”
Scharf’s abrupt departure left BNY Mellon without a long-term leader and little clarity on strategy at a time when declining interest rates and a shift from active to passive investing are putting increasing pressure on the bank’s profits.
Gibbons’s long tenure at BNY Mellon puts him in a good position to recognize challenges and opportunities as he navigates the firm through the Covid-19 crisis, according to analysts at RBC Capital Markets.
“We view this announcement favorably as it takes the uncertainty of the CEO search off the table and, more importantly, it puts in place an executive who is very capable and experienced to run BK, in our view,” RBC analysts led by Gerard Cassidy said in a note to clients Monday, using BNY Mellon’s ticker symbol. “We expect he will look to build upon strategies to make BK a better and even stronger custodial bank.”
BNY Mellon shares fell 1% to $32.22 at 10:23 a.m. in New York. They’re down 36% this year, more than the 32% decline in the S&P 500 Financials Index.
Prior to being named interim CEO, Gibbons was vice chairman and CEO of clearing, markets and client management, a role that oversees about half of BNY Mellon’s earnings. He was previously the bank’s chief financial officer for nine years and chief risk policy officer for six years.
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