First Niagara Financial Group Inc., preparing to merge with New Haven’s NewAlliance Bancorp., has hired veteran bank finance executive Gregory W. Norwood as its new chief financial officer, a regulatory filing shows.
The Buffalo, N.Y. lender is pending with a $1.5 billion merger with NewAlliance.
Norwood, 54, also joined First Niagara’s management committee, according to the 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The banking company’s previous CFO, Michael W. Harrington, has been appointed treasurer and chief investment officer, effective April 4, the filing said.
Previously, he was president and chief risk officer of Ally Bank, formerly GMAC Financial Inc. Prior to joining Ally in 2009, Norwood was treasurer at Wachovia Corp., now Wells Fargo Corp. From 2001 to 2005, he was corporate controller for Bank of America.
According to the filing, his pay package includes a $500,000 annual base salary, plus he is eligible for a 2011 bonus of $350,000. Norwood also can collect 90 percent of his pay as long-term equity, if the bank achieves unspecified performance targets.
