Signature Bank Expands Executive Management Team With Appointment of Two Executives

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Signature Bank (Nasdaq: SBNY), a New York-based full-service commercial bank, announced today expansion of its executive management team with the appointment of two executives.

Lisa Bond was named to the newly created position of Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Social Impact Officer, which encompasses Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives, areas in which the Bank is expanding its efforts companywide. Ana Harris, Signature Bank Senior Vice President and Director of Human Resources, was also promoted to the post of Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).

Concurrent with these appointments, Signature Bank’s Board of Directors created a Corporate Social Responsibility (D&I and ESG) Committee.

Bond brings more than 30 years of human resources experience to Signature Bank. Over the course of her career, she guided companies through human capital strategies, helping them build client-centric, inclusive cultures.

Most recently, Bond was Vice President Senior Leadership and Professional Search at Macy’s, Inc., in New York, responsible for building and managing an internal executive search function. A key initiative Bond helped implement and execute was the acquisition of senior executive talent across Macy’s leadership, D&I and sustainability teams.

Prior, Bond held various senior vice president positions within human resources at several top luxury brands, including Bulgari, Lacoste and L’Occitane. Of particular importance, while serving as a senior leader at the Bulgari brand, she was tasked with supporting a global corporate initiative to foster greater diversity in the workforce through the recruitment and retention of executive women. Bond began her human resources career at Republic National Bank of New York, where she worked with two of Signature Bank’s co-founders and current executive management.

Reporting to President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph J. DePaolo, in her new capacity, Bond is responsible for enhancing the Bank’s D&I and ESG initiatives, which extend to all aspects of the franchise, including colleagues, clients and the communities served. The role consolidates these efforts into a centralized department, under her direction. Bond’s goal is to integrate these initiatives into the Bank’s culture to result in a more diverse, stronger inclusive workforce that strengthens client relationships and community partnerships.

Harris, with nearly 30 years of related experience, has led human resources for Signature Bank since its inception in 2001, holding roles of increasing responsibility. She has been instrumental in shaping the institution’s culture throughout its existence. Additionally, Harris is credited with helping the Bank reach several milestones, including creation of an award-winning wellness program and implementation of a major payroll systems conversion.

As CHRO, she oversees all the Bank’s human resources functions, spanning talent acquisition, employee relations, total rewards, training, payroll, human resources systems and compliance. She will continue to report to DePaolo.

Prior to joining the Bank, Harris also worked at Republic National Bank, where she served as a member of human resources management. She too worked with two of Signature Bank’s co-founders and current executive management.

“We recognize D&I, along with ESG, are critical to the success of any organization. These have been a priority for the Bank as these initiatives permeate every aspect of the institution – from our corporate culture, client-facing teams and client relationships to the community partnerships we have forged. We realize a well-rounded, diverse workforce makes for a better workplace, allows us to facilitate best practices and conduct better business,” explained DePaolo.

“The establishment of Lisa’s new position, coupled with Ana’s advancement, will allow Signature Bank to fortify its focus across these key areas. We welcome Lisa and look forward to the contributions both she and Ana will make to this institution in their new roles,” DePaolo said.

Scott A. Shay, Chairman of the Board, added: “The Board, along with the executive management team, views social responsibility as part of Signature Bank’s DNA. We started this Bank with a mission to not only make money but also to make the world a better place. Lisa’s new executive role crystallizes our commitment to doing our part to improve the world. And Ana’s contributions to our colleagues have contributed to the dedicated, stable workforce of more than 1,600 we have today. We look forward to strengthening our D&I, ESG and HR efforts with these new positions.”

About Signature Bank

Signature Bank (Nasdaq: SBNY), member FDIC, is a New York-based, full-service commercial bank with 36 private client offices throughout the metropolitan New York area, including those in Connecticut as well as California and North Carolina. Through its single-point-of-contact approach, the Bank’s private client banking teams primarily serve the needs of privately owned businesses, their owners and senior managers.

The Bank has two wholly owned subsidiaries: Signature Financial, LLC, provides equipment finance and leasing; and, Signature Securities Group Corporation, a licensed broker-dealer, investment adviser and member FINRA/SIPC, offers investment, brokerage, asset management and insurance products and services.

Since commencing operations in May 2001, Signature Bank, with $63.7 billion in assets, is one of the top 40 largest banks in the U.S., based on deposits (S&P Global Market Intelligence). Deposits as of September 30, 2020 reached $54.3 billion.

Signature Bank was the first FDIC-insured bank to launch a blockchain-based digital payments platform. Signet™ allows commercial clients to make real-time payments in U.S. dollars, 24/7/365 and was also the first solution to be approved for use by the NYS Department of Financial Services.

For more information, please visit https://www.signatureny.com.

This press release and oral statements made from time to time by our representatives contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks and uncertainties. You should not place undue reliance on those statements because they are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties relating to our operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and may be beyond our control. Forward-looking statements include information concerning our future results, interest rates and the interest rate environment, loan and deposit growth, loan performance, operations, new private client teams and other hires, new office openings, our business strategy and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on each of the foregoing and on our business overall. These statements often include words such as "may," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," “potential,” “opportunity,” “could,” “project,” “seek,” “target”, “goal”, “should,” “will,” “would,” "plan," "estimate" or other similar expressions. As you consider forward-looking statements, you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements and can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to us or in our control. These factors include but are not limited to: (i) prevailing economic conditions; (ii) changes in interest rates, loan demand, real estate values and competition, any of which can materially affect origination levels and gain on sale results in our business, as well as other aspects of our financial performance, including earnings on interest-bearing assets; (iii) the level of defaults, losses and prepayments on loans made by us, whether held in portfolio or sold in the whole loan secondary markets, which can materially affect charge-off levels and required credit loss reserve levels; (iv) changes in monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government, including policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; (v) changes in the banking and other financial services regulatory environment, (vi) our ability to maintain the continuity, integrity, security and safety of our operations and (vii) competition for qualified personnel and desirable office locations. All of these factors are subject to additional uncertainty in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is having an unprecedented impact on all aspects of our operations, the financial services industry and the economy as a whole. Although we believe that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, beliefs and expectations, if a change occurs or our beliefs, assumptions and expectations were incorrect, our business, financial condition, liquidity or results of operations may vary materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. Additional risks are described in our quarterly and annual reports filed with the FDIC. You should keep in mind that any forward-looking statements made by Signature Bank speak only as of the date on which they were made. New risks and uncertainties come up from time to time, and we cannot predict these events or how they may affect the Bank. Signature Bank has no duty to, and does not intend to, update or revise the forward-looking statements after the date on which they are made. In light of these risks and uncertainties, you should keep in mind that any forward-looking statement made in this release or elsewhere might not reflect actual results.