NEW YORK, Oct. 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amalgamated Bank (Nasdaq: AMAL) today announced that Keith Mestrich has informed the Board of Directors that he will step down from his positions as President and Chief Executive Officer on January 31, 2021. At that time, he will transition from a director to special advisor to the Board through July 2021. Mr. Mestrich joined Amalgamated Bank in 2012 and has served as its President and Chief Executive Officer since 2014.

The Board has formed a Search Committee comprised of Lynne Fox, Chair of the Board, and four independent directors to oversee a national search process for a new CEO. The Board has engaged Ellig Group, a leading executive search firm, to assist the Search Committee in identifying and evaluating a robust and diverse slate of candidates.

If the Board has not selected a new CEO at the time of Mr. Mestrich’s departure, Ms. Fox will become Interim President and CEO, in addition to her present role as Chair. As a Board member for the past 20 years and Chair for the past four, Ms. Fox has intimate knowledge of the bank, its operations and culture, and is well acquainted with the management team. In 2016, Ms. Fox became the first woman in Amalgamated’s near 100-year history to serve as Chair. She also serves as the International President of Workers’ United, which owns 41% of Amalgamated Bank’s common shares.

In making this announcement, Mr. Mestrich said, “Today, Amalgamated Bank is financially and operationally strong, and in an excellent position to prosper going forward, as demonstrated by the preliminary third quarter results we announced this morning. It has been a privilege to lead this bank’s successful turnaround, during which time we nearly doubled the bank’s asset base, expanded its geographic reach to the West Coast with the acquisition of New Resource Bank, and took the bank public in 2018. Perhaps most importantly, we built an outstanding leadership team that allowed the Company to continue to grow profitably during these unprecedented past few months. Amalgamated Bank is a special institution, and the decision to leave came after much reflection, but, given all that we accomplished, there could not be a better time for me to turn over the reins and pursue the next chapter in my career. I’m looking forward to working closely with the Board and our next CEO, when that person is identified, to achieve a seamless transition of leadership.”

Ms. Fox said: “The Board is deeply grateful to Keith for his leadership over the past eight years, and we respect and understand his decision to step down and pursue new opportunities at this time. Keith was not a traditional banker when he was named CEO in 2014, but he was the ideal executive for the bank to achieve what the Board believed needed to get done in order to position the Company for the future. He has accomplished every goal the Board and he set out to achieve, and he has done so while maintaining the bank’s commitment to social responsibility that makes us a leader among financial institutions. We greatly appreciate that he will be staying on through next summer to advise us through this transition process.”

Ms. Fox continued, “As America’s socially responsible bank, we look forward to identifying a new CEO who can continue to provide long-term, sustainable value for our customers and shareholders, while promoting our deeply held values in support of other socially responsible organizations, progressive causes, and social justice.”

About Amalgamated Bank
Amalgamated Bank is a New York-based full-service commercial bank and a chartered trust company with a combined network of six branches in New York City, Washington D.C., San Francisco and Boston. Amalgamated was formed in 1923 as Amalgamated Bank of New York by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, one of the country’s oldest labor unions. Amalgamated provides commercial banking and trust services nationally, and offers a full range of products and services to both commercial and retail customers. Amalgamated is a proud member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values and is a certified B Corporation®. As of June 30, 2020, total assets were $6.5 billion, total net loans were $3.6 billion, and total deposits were $5.9 billion. Additionally, as of June 30, 2020, the trust business held $32.0 billion in assets under custody and $13.3 billion in assets under management.