FirstMerit Corporation announced the appointment of William P. Richgels as executive vice president and chief credit officer. Mr. Richgels will be responsible for overseeing all of FirstMerit’s credit and portfolio management functions. He has over 25 years of banking industry experience and joins FirstMerit from JP Morgan Chase, in Chicago, where he was the senior credit executive overseeing a Midwest commercial portfolio of middle market customers.
“Bill brings a strong credit background that solidifies the initiatives we have put in place to improve our credit quality. His leadership and experience in credit risk management will contribute to the overall enhancement of our longer-term financial performance. We are delighted to welcome Bill to the FirstMerit team,” said Paul G. Greig, Chairman and CEO of FirstMerit Corporation.
The Company also announced today that Mark J. Grescovich, who had been interim chief credit officer, will assume the role of head of Commercial Banking.
About FirstMerit
FirstMerit Corporation is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Akron, Ohio, with assets of $10.3 billion as of March 31, 2007 and 161 banking offices and 176 ATMs in 25 Ohio and Western Pennsylvania counties. FirstMerit provides a complete range of banking and other financial services to consumers and businesses through its core operations. Principal wholly-owned subsidiaries include: FirstMerit Bank, N.A., FirstMerit Mortgage Corporation, FirstMerit Title Agency, Ltd., and FirstMerit Community Development Corporation.
