‘Tis the season for new hires in banking and fintech.

JPMorgan Chase famously declared that it would hire 1,000 tech engineers every year through its entry-level mentor program, Bank of America is shuffling its executives, and it has become common for financial institutions to seek talent from major tech companies. And while technology is integral to the current banking landscape, the person behind that technology and innovation is just as important, if not more.

Bank Innovation regularly compiles a list of the most notable hires and departures in the industry. And as we enter the final stretch of 2018, here are the ones that caught our attention. 

Swift CEO Gottfried Leibbrandt Quits
In an announcement today, the CEO of bank-backed international payments company Swift, Gottfried Leibbrandt, put in his six-months’ notice to the board of directors, stepping down from the role of CEO after serving in that capacity for seven years.

Leibbrandt didn’t specify a reason, saying “the seven-year mark feels the right point at which to hand over the reins to a new leader.” Leibbrandt will officially step down in June 2019. In the meantime, the 25-member board of directors will start a “rigorous search process which will look both inside and outside the organization,” for a replacement, according to the release.

The past few years have been trying for Swift, from increasing competition from rivals to cybersecurity scares.

Swift Chairman Yawar Shah said in a statement today:

During his [Leibbrandt’s] time as CEO, the industry has faced unprecedented change and challenges, but under his leadership, SWIFT has transformed itself to become a much stronger, more modern and agile organization that is now driving change across the industry. As CEO, Gottfried has ensured SWIFT remains on a sound financial footing, reinforced SWIFT’s risk and security functions; overseen an overhaul of SWIFT’s technology; dramatically modernized payments – and at the same time ensured SWIFT has responded well and wisely to threats.

Spanish Bank BBVA Welcomes New CEO
New year, new CEO? That seems to be Spanish bank BBVA’s new year resolution. As of Dec. 31, Onur Genç will take on the role of CEO of BBVA Group, replacing current CEO Carlos Torres Villa.

Currently, Genç is the CEO of the U.S. subsidiary BBVA Compass, as well as the bank’s country manager for the U.S. The board of directors approved his appointment late last month. Prior to that, he served as the deputy CEO of the Turkish lender Garanti, also assuming wholesale banking responsibilities. In his two-year reign at BBVA Compass, he brought a number of innovative projects to the bank’s digital strategy, including an improved mobile banking app.

As for BBVA Compass, the bank has not yet revealed a new CEO but plans to do so in “an orderly manner,” according to an email sent to Bank Innovation.

CEO and future chairman Carlos Torres Vila said in a statement:

Onur has had an extremely positive impact in our operations in the U.S. and in Turkey, and now that contribution will be extended to the whole Group. The Board has selected Onur as he is the ideal CEO to continue pushing forward our strategy and boosting our transformation throughout all our franchises, generating value for all our stakeholders: shareholders, employees, customers, and the overall society.

Bank of America’s co-head of Retail Banking Business takes charge of the bank’s corporate strategy and payments
Over the past few weeks, Bank of America has announced a series of staff reshuffles, not to mention the stepping down of its popular head of digital banking of more than 15 years, Michelle Moore. Earlier this week, the bank announced that Thong Nguyen, the bank’s co-head of retail banking, will be moved to the corporate strategy and payments department.

Dean Athanasia, who serves alongside Nguyen as co-president, will be the sole president of the retail division, which includes both consumer and small business banking.

In addition to co-heading the consumer and small business side, Nguyen currently leads Bank of America’s Enterprise Payments strategy. He oversees the operations of the bank’s coast-to-coast financial centers, contact centers, and ATM networks, according to the BofA website. He has served at Bank of America is various our executive roles.

Before joining Bank of America, Nguyen worked at GE Capital and McKinsey & Co.

A refugee from Vietnam from the 1970s, Nguyen was honored by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) honored Nguyen in November 2010 as one of 10 Refugees of Distinction. 

Barbora Polachova, Uber’s head of partnership joins fintech Yolt
FIs are looking towards the larger tech industry for hiring talent, as is evident in British money management company Yolt’s latest hire. Earlier this week, the company announced that the former head of partnerships of ride-share company Uber will serve as its head of partnerships.

The role was specially created for Polachova, according to the company announcement. At Yolt, she will be in charge of the development of Yolt Connect, an in-app marketplace. She will also be responsible for developing and running strategic initiatives surrounding new and existing partnerships.

Frank Jan Risseeuw, CEO at Yolt, said in the announcement:

It has been a very exciting time for growth at Yolt, we have cemented some great partnerships recently and are proud to be empowering over 500,000 registered users across three markets. Barbora’s appointment could not have come at a better time as we continue to build Yolt connect and realise our vision of becoming the only money app users need…Barbora is an extremely talented individual who will bring significant strength to our partnerships team. Her remit will include developing the existing relationships we have with our partners as well as seeking out potential new relationships.

Founded in 2017 and based in the U.K., Yolt is a venture of ING Bank. It currently has 500,000 users, according to its website. Aside from the U.K., Yolt is available in France and Italy.