SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Republic Bank’s (NYSE:FRC) Board of Directors today announced leadership transitions effective January 1, 2022.
Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO Jim Herbert will take a medical leave of absence from his executive position in response to a recent medical recommendation regarding a coronary health issue. This leave is in accordance with First Republic Bank policies and will begin on January 1, 2022, for a period currently expected to be six months. Herbert will also step down from the Board of Directors during this time and is expected to be reappointed to the Board upon his return.
“Jim is now the third-longest serving CEO in the S&P 500,” said Reynold Levy, Lead Independent Director. “He has built a unique culture, consistent profitability and incredible value for our clients, colleagues and shareholders since founding First Republic over 36 years ago. The Board fully supports Jim’s decision to step away from the stress of day-to-day operations to focus on his health.”
Hafize Gaye Erkan will continue to serve as Co-CEO, as well as assume additional responsibilities. Erkan has been part of the executive management team since joining First Republic in 2014. She was appointed President in 2017, Board Member in 2019 and Co-CEO in 2021. Previously, she worked at Goldman Sachs, as Managing Director and Head of Financial Institutions Group Strats and has over 20 years of finance and banking experience.
“I am extremely proud of the caring, sincere and client-focused culture of First Republic,” said Jim Herbert, Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO. “As a longstanding shareholder, I have full confidence in Gaye alongside our terrific management team, the continued consistency and stability of our business model and, very importantly, the exceptional colleagues who put our culture and our clients first each day.”
The Board of Directors has appointed Mike Roffler President, effective January 1, 2022. Roffler joined the company in 2009 and has served as its CFO since 2015, with over 25 years of accounting and banking experience, including as a partner at KPMG. He will also continue to serve in the role of CFO for an interim period.
“We are delighted to promote Mike to the position of President,” shared George Parker, Board Member. “Mike has been an instrumental cultural and strategic leader at First Republic for over a decade. He is well regarded by shareholders, clients and colleagues, and is a key member of our executive team.”
Beginning January 1, 2022, George G.C. Parker will serve as Acting Chairman of the Board. Parker has served as a Board Member of First Republic since 2003. He is a Professor Emeritus at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he taught finance and banking for over 30 years. With extensive board and chair experience, Parker previously served on the Boards for Continental Airlines and Threshold Pharmaceuticals, Inc., among others.
About First Republic Bank
Founded in 1985, First Republic and its subsidiaries offer private banking, private business banking and private wealth management, including investment, trust and brokerage services. First Republic specializes in delivering exceptional, relationship-based service and offers a complete line of products, including residential, commercial and personal loans, deposit services, and wealth management. Services are offered through preferred banking or wealth management offices primarily in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Newport Beach and San Diego, California; Portland, Oregon; Boston, Massachusetts; Palm Beach, Florida; Greenwich, Connecticut; New York, New York; and Jackson, Wyoming. First Republic is a constituent of the S&P 500 Index and KBW Nasdaq Bank Index. For more information, visit firstrepublic.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are hereby identified as “forward-looking statements” for the purpose of the safe harbor provided by Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Any statements about our expectations, beliefs, plans, predictions, forecasts, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and may be forward-looking. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “can,” “could,” “may,” “predicts,” “potential,” “should,” “will,” “estimates,” “plans,” “projects,” “continuing,” “ongoing,” “expects,” “intends” and similar words or phrases. Accordingly, these statements are only predictions and involve estimates, known and unknown risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in them.
Forward-looking statements involving such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: projections of loans, assets, deposits, liabilities, revenues, expenses, tax liabilities, net income, capital expenditures, liquidity, dividends, capital structure, investments or other financial items; expectations regarding the banking and wealth management industries; descriptions of plans or objectives of management for future operations, products or services; forecasts of future economic conditions generally and in our market areas in particular, which may affect the ability of borrowers to repay their loans and the value of real property or other property held as collateral for such loans; our opportunities for growth and our plans for expansion (including opening new offices); expectations about the performance of any new offices; projections about the amount and the value of intangible assets, as well as amortization of recorded amounts; future provisions for credit losses on loans and debt securities, as well as for unfunded loan commitments; changes in nonperforming assets; expectations regarding the impact and duration of COVID-19; projections about future levels of loan originations or loan repayments; projections regarding costs, including the impact on our efficiency ratio; and descriptions of assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: significant competition to attract and retain banking and wealth management customers, from both traditional and non-traditional financial services and technology companies; our ability to recruit and retain key managers, employees and board members; natural or other disasters, including earthquakes, wildfires, pandemics or acts of terrorism affecting the markets in which we operate; the negative impacts and disruptions resulting from COVID-19 on our colleagues and clients, the communities we serve and the domestic and global economy, which may have an adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations; interest rate risk and credit risk; our ability to maintain and follow high underwriting standards; economic and market conditions, including those affecting the valuation of our investment securities portfolio and credit losses on our loans and debt securities; real estate prices generally and in our markets; our geographic and product concentrations; demand for our products and services; developments and uncertainty related to the future use and availability of some reference rates, such as the London Interbank Offered Rate and the 11th District Monthly Weighted Average Cost of Funds Index, as well as other alternative reference rates; the regulatory environment in which we operate, our regulatory compliance and future regulatory requirements; any future changes to regulatory capital requirements; legislative and regulatory actions affecting us and the financial services industry, such as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), including increased compliance costs, limitations on activities and requirements to hold additional capital, as well as changes to the Dodd-Frank Act pursuant to the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act; our ability to avoid litigation and its associated costs and liabilities; future Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) special assessments or changes to regular assessments; fraud, cybersecurity and privacy risks; and custom technology preferences of our customers and our ability to successfully execute on initiatives relating to enhancements of our technology infrastructure, including client-facing systems and applications. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, see First Republic’s FDIC filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in First Republic’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent reports filed by First Republic with the FDIC. These filings are available in the Investor Relations section of our website.
All forward-looking statements are necessarily only estimates of future results, and there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from expectations, and, therefore, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Any forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed throughout our public filings under the Exchange Act. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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