Proposed de novo has new name, high-profile director

A proposed de novo has a new name and a high-profile addition to its board. 

Organizers of ConNext Bank submitted a new application to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Monday for deposit insurance. 

The group, which originally filed with the FDIC in June 2020, originally intended to call the de novo NewBank with a plan to base the financial institution in New York. The de novo, which would operate as a unit of NBF Holdings, will now operate out of Wilmington, Del.

The latest application added Manolo Sanchez to the proposed bank’s list of organizers. Sanchez, former CEO of BBVA Compass, will also join the de novo’s board, pending approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. 

The OCC originally approved the group’s charter application in October 2020. 

There has also been a change in the management team since the original filing. 

Les Lieberman, an organizer who was originally set to become chairman, will new serve as president and CEO. John McNamara, who had been listed as CEO in the initial application, remains an organizer.

Susan French will serve as head of BaaS product, while Phillip DeLeonardis, an organizer, will have an as-yet-undetermined senior position. 

Lieberman is a former executive vice chairman at FCB Financial Holdings in Weston, Fla., which was sold in 2019 to Synovus Financial. 

Lieberman and DeLeonardis were executives at Bond Street Holdings, which bought several Florida banks, including FCB, in the wake of the financial crisis. Bond Street raised $740 million in equity and used a shelf charter from the OCC to pursue its acquisitions. 

The proposed bank’s other organizers are Thomas Constance and Howard Curd.