Columbia Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLBK) has announced the appointment of Matthew Smith as the new Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer effective November 25, 2024. Smith previously served as the Chief Digital Banking Officer and Head of Enterprise Product, Marketing, and Transformation at Webster Bank, and prior to that, he held various roles at Sterling National Bank, including Head of Digital Banking and Banking as a Service, and Chief Product and Marketing Strategy Officer.
Thomas J. Kemly, President and CEO of Columbia Financial, expressed his confidence in Smith's ability to drive innovation and growth in banking operations, emphasizing the company's anticipation to work with Smith as part of the executive leadership team to continue providing quality and convenient products and services to customers.
The company also acknowledged the retirement of E. Thomas Allen, Jr., the previous Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, effective January 31, 2025, thanking him for his three decades of dedicated service to the bank.
Columbia Financial, Inc., a Delaware corporation organized as Columbia Bank's mid-tier stock holding company, is a majority-owned subsidiary of Columbia Bank, MHC. The federally chartered savings bank is headquartered in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, operating 68 full-service banking offices and offering traditional financial services to consumers and businesses in its market area. The market has reacted to these announcements by moving the company's shares -1.5% to a price of $18.44. For more information, read the company's full 8-K submission here.
