5/13/2026
EagleBank Hires Western Alliance Exec as Its Next CEO
Banking Dive (05/13/26) Ennis, Dan
Eagle Bancorp (NASDAQ: EGBN) has hired Western Alliance (NYSE: WAL) executive Stephen Curley as its next CEO, the Bethesda, Maryland-based lender announced Tuesday. Curley, Western Alliance’s chief banking officer for national lines, will join EagleBank on July 6 and serve on the bank’s board, the lender said. The hire ends $9.9 billion-asset Eagle’s six-month search for a successor to CEO Susan Riel, who announced in November she would retire. The search drew fire from investor Diligence Capital Management, which outlined four proposals for the future of Eagle’s business, and demanded the ouster of three board members. In turn, Diligence suggested three replacement board candidates – selected for their experience reducing risk tied to an overreliance on commercial real estate. “[We’ll] still be a strong player in commercial real estate, but … we’re going to add some other specialties. We’re going to balance and diversify the balance sheet by doing more [commercial and industrial banking], we’ll do maybe a little more consumer, maybe a little bit of residential,” Curley told the executives. “I think it’s not real estate or something else. It’s both.” Curley said, however, that he does not want to “make hasty decisions,” and intends to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of Eagle’s business lines in his first 90 days. At Western Alliance, Curley developed the bank’s specialized mortgage services business, which he continues to lead. He also helped shape the bank’s corporate finance, municipal lending and affordable housing efforts. Curley joined Western Alliance in 2009 and more recently began overseeing information technology, bank operations, branch banking, product development, and third-party risk management, according to his bio page with the Phoenix, Arizona-based bank. “My time at [Western Alliance] far surpassed what I could have imagined when I joined more than 16 years ago. I am deeply grateful for the trust, opportunities, and experiences the organization has given me,” Curley wrote Tuesday in a LinkedIn post. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to lead an organization with such a strong reputation for client relationships, community banking and disciplined growth.” Eagle, however, has been beset by what Riel last year called “asset quality challenges.” The bank last year saw two consecutive quarterly losses of roughly $70 million each but has since recovered to log $14.7 million in profit in the first quarter of 2026. Issues at the bank have proliferated for years, though. EagleBank agreed in 2022 to pay a $22.9 million penalty to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve to settle claims the lender’s former CEO, Ron Paul – not to be confused with the former congressman – engaged in insider lending. The settlement marked the end of a three-year probe of EagleBank by the regulators into alleged third-party lending and improper disclosures. The bank disclosed the investigation to shareholders in 2019. Paul retired earlier that year, citing health concerns. He was permanently banned from working in the banking industry and fined $521,000. Riel, for her part, will remain CEO until July 5, Eagle said, and will stay on the bank’s board if she’s reelected Thursday at the company’s annual meeting. She’ll also continue as a consultant with the bank through July 27. “Susan’s tenure at EagleBank has been defined by steady and devoted leadership and maintaining a ‘Relationship First Culture’ that defines our values,” Eagle’s board chair, Jim Soltesz, said in a statement Tuesday. Curley also touched on culture in the video interview Eagle posted. He told Eagle executives he “felt so much alignment with the culture you have,” adding that any shift in culture would be “subtle.” “The key for us is being front and center with our customers, delivering exceptional advice, value and service,” Curley said. “Build a personal relationship and then underpin that with state-of-the-art technology. “With that, we can grow organically, we can grow through [mergers and acquisitions],” Curley added. Curley outlined his thoughts on how to address the needs of what he calls a “virtual circle” of individuals with interest in the bank. “What we all have to do is take care of the safety of the bank,” he said. “If we take care of the bank, the bank can take care of the employees. And if we take care of the employees, they’ll take care of the customers. … The customers, in turn, take care of the bank.”
Read the article