Key Bank, First Niagara merge Hudson Valley executive team

Key Bank on Monday announced its new executive team to lead operations in the Hudson Valley/Metro NY market following the recently approved merger of KeyCorp, the bank”™s parent company in Cleveland, and First Niagara Financial Group. The regional team includes leaders from both First Niagara and Key Bank.

Ruth Mahoney, who led Key Bank in this region since 2010 as market president and also served as Key Private Bank market leader, has been named market president for Key”™s Capital Region NY market and is relocating to the Albany area. Bank officials said she will continue to lead the Key Private Bank team until a replacement is hired.

The Hudson Valley/Metro NY executive team is led by Joseph Markey as market president and commercial banking sales leader. Markey most recently spent nearly two years as senior vice president and middle market team leader at Key Bank.

Other executives on the merger team are Steven Hoffman, business banking sales leader for the upper Hudson Valley and Fairfield County, Conn.; Denise Povolny, business banking sales leader for the lower Hudson Valley and eastern Pennsylvania; Michael Muldoon, mortgage sales leader; Irina Damyanidu, area retail leader, Hudson Valley east; Jackie Kahrs, area retail leader, Hudson Valley north;  Louis Hoxha, area retail leader for Rockland County; Ken Raskin, area retail leader for Manhattan and Westchester and Fairfield counties; Denise Slettene, area retail leader, Hudson Valley west.

Markey in the announcement said the new Key Bank, which includes a network of more than 1,200 branches and 1,500 ATMs in 15 states, offers clients “enhanced convenience and capabilities designed to provide more financial confidence.”

He said First Niagara clients will continue to use their First Niagara accounts and other banking services until the fourth quarter this year, when accounts are expected to convert to Key Bank subject to regulatory approval by the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The First Niagara acquisition is expected to add assets of about $40 billion to KeyCorp, which reported approximately $101 billion in assets as of June 30.