LONDON,
ON, Dec. 9, 2024 /CNW/ - VersaBank (TSX:
VBNK) (NASDAQ: VBNK), a North American leader in
business-to-business digital banking, as well as technology
solutions for cybersecurity, today announced the transition of key
members of the executive team responsible for the success of the
Receivable Purchase Program ("RPP") to VersaBank USA in support of the Bank's US RPP
opportunity:
- Nick Kristo, previously Chief
Credit Officer, VersaBank Canada, has been appointed Chief Credit
Officer, VersaBank USA;
- Mike Dixon, previously SVP,
Point of Sale Financing, VersaBank Canada, has been appointed SVP,
Receivable Purchase Program, VersaBank USA; and
- David Robinson, previously
Senior Director, Point of Sale Financing, VersaBank Canada, has
been appointed VP, Receivable Purchase Program, VersaBank
USA.
Messrs. Dixon, Kristo and Robinson join the already announced
distinguished executive team at VersaBank USA, which includes: Tel Matrundola,
President; Shawn Clarke, Chief
Operating Officer; Tim Bloom, Chief
Risk Officer; and Kevin Sullivan,
Bank Secrecy Act ("BSA") Officer.
"Messrs. Kristo, Dixon, and Robinson, along with Mr. Matrundola
and Mr. Clarke, have been fundamental in the growth and success of
the RPP in Canada with a portfolio
that has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27% over
the last five years and provided more than C$10.5 billion in financing for point of sale
lenders since inception 14 years ago with no loan losses," said
David Taylor, President and Chief
Executive Officer, VersaBank. "Their extensive experience with the
RPP in Canada will be invaluable
as we scale the US RPP program throughout 2025 and capitalize on
the significant growth potential in the multi-trillion-dollar US
point of sale market."
VersaBank also announced the following appointments to the
executive team at VersaBank Canada:
- David Thoms has been appointed
SVP, Point of Sale Financing, VersaBank Canada; and
- Saad Inam has been appointed
Chief Credit Officer, VersaBank Canada.
"We have an experienced team to support the continued expected
growth of our RPP in Canada,"
continued David Taylor President and
Chief Executive Officer. "Throughout his 19 years at VersaBank, Mr.
Thoms has held multiple roles that have been integral to the Bank's
success, including working closely with Mr. Dixon on the RPP in
Canada. For the last 7 years, Mr.
Inam has worked closely with Mr. Kristo in increasingly senior
credit roles. Their deep understanding of our Canadian operations
will ensure the continued strength of our business as we continue
to expand with existing customers and attract new ones,
capitalizing on the continued growth in the Canadian point of sale
market."
Mr. Kristo joined VersaBank in 2004. Throughout his 28 years of
work in the financial services industry, Mr. Kristo has gained
significant credit adjudication experience in several different
product lines including commercial and residential real estate,
leasing, retail lending and securitization. Beyond the credit
adjudication spectrum, he has had significant influence in the
development of credit policy and procedure, expected credit loss
development, risk rating development and stress-testing.
Additionally, he has operated in the capacity of a Chief Risk
Officer where he has developed and implemented both of VersaBank's
Enterprise and Operational Risk Management Frameworks. Mr. Kristo
received a Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Business
Administration degrees from the University of
Windsor.
Mr. Dixon joined the Bank in 2005 and over the past 19 years,
has held several management roles within the Bank's Structured
Finance, Infrastructure Finance, Corporate Development, Consumer
Finance & Point of Sale Financing departments, including
underwriting the Bank's first RPP in 2010. Mr. Dixon has
operated as the Senior Vice President, Point of Sale Financing
since March 2017, during which time,
the Point of Sale portfolio has experienced significant growth with
no losses under his leadership. Mr. Dixon earned a Master of
Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier
University, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from
McMaster University.
Mr. Robinson joined VersaBank in 2016 and has been a significant
contributor to the growth of the Bank's Point of Sale program. He
has managed strategic relationships, and developed new customers,
while balancing growth initiatives with an appropriate risk
management mindset. Prior to joining VersaBank, he worked for 18
years for GE Capital (now Wells Fargo) in a variety of business
development, account management and senior sales leadership roles.
Mr. Robinson holds both Bachelor of Business Administration and
Master of Business Administration degrees from Wilfrid Laurier University.
Mr. Thoms joined VersaBank in October
2005 as an Account Manager, Corporate & Public Sector
Finance and was subsequently promoted to Assistant Vice President
in 2007, and Vice President in March
2016. He has over 25 years of banking and financial services
experience, including previous roles held at Scotiabank.
VersaBank's Point of Sale portfolio has experienced significant
growth under his leadership over the past 8 years. Mr. Thoms holds
a Master of Business Administration from York
University (Schulich School of Business) and a Bachelor of
Arts (Kinesiology) from Western
University.
Mr. Inam joined VersaBank in November
2017 as Assistant Vice President, Credit Risk and was
subsequently promoted to Vice President, Credit Risk in
November 2020. He has over 20 years
of banking and financial services experience, including previous
roles held at TD Bank and Bank of Montreal. VersaBank's Point of Sale portfolio
has experienced significant growth with no losses under Mr. Inam's
detail-oriented, proactive approach to risk management. Mr. Inam
holds a Master of Business Administration from York University (Schulich School of Business) and a
Bachelor of Commerce from University of
Toronto.
About VersaBank
VersaBank is a North American bank (federally chartered in
Canada and the US) with a
difference. VersaBank has a branchless, digital,
business-to-business model based on its proprietary
state-of-the-art technology that enables it to profitably address
underserved segments of the banking industry in a significantly
risk mitigated manner. Because VersaBank obtains substantially all
of its deposits and undertakes the majority of its lending
electronically through financial intermediary partners, it benefits
from significant operating leverage that drives efficiency and
return on common equity. In August
2024, VersaBank launched its unique Receivable Purchase
Program ("RPP") funding solution for point of sale finance
companies, which has been highly successful in Canada for nearly 15 years, to the underserved
multi-trillion-dollar US market. VersaBank also owns Washington, DC-based DRT Cyber Inc., a
North America leader in the
provision of cyber security services to address the rapidly growing
volume of cyber threats challenging financial institutions,
multi-national corporations and government entities.
VersaBank's Common Shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange
("TSX") and Nasdaq under the symbol VBNK.
Visit our website at: www.versabank.com
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SOURCE VersaBank