Flagstar Bancorp Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Flagstar Bank FSB announced that their respective boards of directors have appointed Alessandro DiNello to serve as president and chief executive officer of each entity, effective immediately. Upon becoming CEO, DiNello will replace Michael Tierney as a director of the company and the Bank. Tierney, who has served as CEO of both the company and the bank since November 2012 and as president of the company since October 2012, will resume his role as the bank's executive vice president, personal financial services, a position he held prior to becoming president. In addition, the bank also announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Lee M. Smith to serve as chief operating officer.
The bank has received non-objection from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for DiNello to begin serving immediately as CEO and a director of the Bank. DiNello's appointment as president, CEO and a director of the Company is subject to receipt of non-objection from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Smith's appointment as COO of the Bank is subject to receipt of regulatory non-objection from the OCC.
DiNello was appointed president and chief administrative officer of the bank in December 2012 and has been serving in that capacity since March 2013, when the Bank received non-objection from the OCC. In that role, DiNello has been responsible for all banking operations, including commercial banking and personal financial services, as well as regulatory matters and regulatory compliance. DiNello joined the Company in 1979 and has served in various senior management roles, including executive vice president, Retail Banking.
Smith has most recently been a Partner with MP (Thrift) Global Advisers III LLC, the investment adviser to the Company's largest shareholder, MP Thrift Investments L.P. Prior to that, Smith was a Partner with MatlinPatterson Global Advisers LLC, the investment adviser to the MatlinPatterson family of private equity vehicles. Over the past two years, he has been an outside advisor to the Flagstar management team and the Compliance Committee of the Flagstar Board of Directors.
John Lewis , non-executive chairman of the Flagstar Board of Directors, said, "Sandro is an accomplished executive with more than 30 years of experience at Flagstar. He has deep roots in Michigan and a thorough understanding of our markets and consumers. The board is confident that he is the right person to lead Flagstar going forward. We are also very excited to have Lee Smith joining the management team. The board and the management team have come to know Lee over the years by virtue of his role with MP Thrift and we believe that he will be a critical part of this management team going forward. With the team we now have in place, I am confident that we will build a best-in-class mortgage business and Michigan community bank."
DiNello said, "I look forward to working closely with the board, the management team, Flagstar's talented and dedicated employees and our valued customers as we continue to execute on our strategy. Our focus remains on enhancing our culture of compliance as we create new growth opportunities and pursue sustainable profitability. We are committed to maintaining our position as a top-tier mortgage originator and leading Michigan bank with a strong focus on providing excellent customer service and serving our local communities. I would like to welcome Lee to the Flagstar team and thank Mike Tierney for his hard work over the last several months and am confident that, together, we will build an even stronger future for Flagstar Bank."
"I am honored to have led Flagstar during this transition period," said Tierney. "Sandro is a highly respected executive at Flagstar with extensive knowledge of our industry and the bank and Lee is a great addition to the team. I am confident that they are the right team to lead Flagstar into its next chapter."
