Cooperative Bank named general manager customer banking David Cunningham as the new chief executive at the second-tier lender.
Cunningham has been part of the Wellington-based bank's leadership team since 2012 and held a number of leadership banking roles since 1990, Cooperative Bank said in a statement. Subject to regulatory approval, he replaces Bruce McLauchlan, who left at the end of March to take over the reins at the country's fifth-biggest fund manager, Fisher Funds Management.
Cooperative Bank chief financial officer Gareth Fleming had been acting CEO since March 31.
Chairman Steven Fyfe said Cunningham had helped develop the bank's strategy, which has seen its loan book grow to more than $2 billion as at December 31, from just $1.2b five years earlier.
"As a customer-owned bank which exists solely for the benefit of its 157,000 customers, we are well positioned to continue our growth, and to change banking for good," Fyfe said.
Cooperative Bank was granted a banking licence in the latter half of 2011 and rebranded from its former incarnation as PSIS when it had 127,000 customer-owners.
