OceanFirst Bank, the wholly owned subsidiary of OceanFirst Financial, welcomed two experienced commercial banking leaders to advance its strategy and accelerate commercial banking growth across its footprint. Andrew “Andy” Bregenzer has been named president of commercial banking and Eric R. Howell joins as president of premier banking. Both executives will report to Joseph J. Lebel III, president and chief operating officer, and will join the bank’s senior leadership team.
“We welcome two of the region’s most respected commercial bankers as we strengthen our commercial banking platform and build on OceanFirst’s momentum,” Christopher D. Maher, CEO of OceanFirst, said. “Andy brings deep experience expanding commercial banking at scale, while Eric has helped to quickly build the Premier Bank into a strong source of new clients and deposits. Both are proven leaders who build high-performing teams and lasting client relationships that deliver strong business results. Their leadership positions us to build on our success as a $23 billion bank serving the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and to capture the commercial banking opportunities ahead.”
Lebel III commented, “Andy and Eric share our belief that great banking starts with the customer. They build teams that understand their clients’ businesses, act quickly and provide practical solutions. That is the kind of bank we are building at OceanFirst, and I look forward to working with them, delivering for the businesses and communities we serve.”
Susanne Svizeny, chief commercial and industrial banking officer, will retire after seven years with the bank and a distinguished 45-year career in commercial banking. She will work closely with Bregenzer over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition for clients and colleagues.
Bregenzer brings more than 30 years of experience in commercial, business and retail banking with a track record of both building de novo businesses and scaling mature ones. He joins OceanFirst from TD Bank, where he most recently served as co-head of U.S. commercial banking, overseeing the regional commercial bank’s approximately 1,500 employees across 15 states. Previously, as regional president for Metro New York, he helped expand TD’s New York, Northern New Jersey and Fairfield County, Connecticut markets, overseeing more than 3,000 commercial banking employees and a retail network of more than 300 branches. He previously served on the boards of the New York Bankers Association, the American Cancer Society of New York and the United Way of New York City, and is a recent Ascend A-List Award recipient and a City & State Power 50 in Finance honoree.
At OceanFirst, Bregenzer will lead commercial lending, treasury management, escrow services and wealth management. He will be responsible for driving relationship-based growth in loans, core deposits and treasury management services, and for continuing to develop the bank’s commercial banking teams throughout the organization.
“I’m thrilled to join OceanFirst at such a critical moment in the organization’s evolution,” Bregenzer said. “OceanFirst has a 124-year history of serving its communities, a client-centered culture and a clear strategy to deepen relationships and further its market penetration across the most attractive commercial banking markets in the country. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with Joe, Chris and the entire OceanFirst team to build on this momentum and take the organization to even greater heights as we fulfill our ambition to be a top regional bank across the markets we serve.”
Howell, whose appointment was announced during the company’s third quarter earnings call, has more than 30 years of executive experience in commercial banking, finance, and capital markets. Most recently, he served as senior executive advisor to OceanFirst, where he helped establish the Premier Bank, which has grown to over $650 million in deposits. Earlier, he spent more than two decades at Signature Bank, joining at its founding in 2000 and advancing from controller to chief financial officer, senior executive vice president of corporate and business development, chief operating officer and, ultimately, president. In those roles, he played an integral part in the bank’s growth from a start-up into a bank with more than $100 billion in assets, recruiting senior banking teams, launching multiple business lines and expanding into new markets. He then served as president of the commercial bank at Flagstar Bank, and later as senior advisor.
In his new role, Howell will lead the Premier Bank, which serves deposit-rich businesses, their owners and managers with a full suite of products and services and a personalized, relationship-based approach.
“We’re very proud of the strong foundation we have built for the Premier Bank at OceanFirst. Our clear strategy, a committed leadership team and, following the Flushing Bank merger, a meaningful presence in the New York Metro area have allowed us to capitalize on a unique opportunity in the marketplace,” Howell said. “I have enjoyed working alongside the OceanFirst team over the past two years and am excited to take on this elevated role. There is a tremendous opportunity to bring a relationship-first banking model to businesses throughout our footprint and I am looking forward to building on the momentum the Premier Bank teams have already created.”
