Signature Bank announced the appointment of two executives, effective May 13, 2013, both of which will strengthen its senior management team.
 
Eric R. Howell, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has been named to the post of Executive Vice President-Corporate & Business Development, a newly created position.

In this role, Howell will devote more time to assisting in client acquisition and promoting the Signature Bank client experience of being financially well cared for. He will become increasingly more involved in the recruiting and expansion of the Bank’s private client banking teams and development of new offices. Also, Howell will increase his involvement in assisting both Signature Financial, the Bank’s specialty finance unit, and Signature Securities’ Small Business Administration (SBA) Pool Assembling business. Lastly, he will retain oversight of investor relations.

Howell, 42, who joined the Bank in 2000, has served as CFO since November 2004. Prior, he was Vice President of Finance and Controller. Earlier in his career, he was an Associate Managing Director at Republic National Bank of New York, which he joined in 1992. During his tenure there, he held other numerous positions including CFO of both Republic’s retail broker-dealer and retail insurance agency.

Concurrent with Howell’s appointment, the Bank named Vito Susca, 44, who joined the Bank in March 2004, to the post of Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, to manage the Bank’s finance and accounting functions. Prior, he was Senior Vice President and Controller. Before joining the Bank, he held various positions at Republic National Bank of New York, which he joined in 1991, and then, HSBC Bank USA/HSBC Securities Inc., following the acquisition of Republic by HSBC. Roles Susca held include Vice President and Deputy Controller in the Derivative Products Group and Vice President in the Global Trading Operations Financial Control group. He was also First Vice President and Deputy Manager in Treasury Finance for HSBC Bank USA/HSBC Securities Inc.

Howell resides in Lloyd Harbor, Long Island with his wife and family. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the State University of New York at Albany, and is a Certified Public Accountant in New York. In both 2012 and 2013, Howell was named best mid-cap bank CFO by Institutional Investor in its annual ranking, entitled “All-America Executive Team: Best CFOs.”

Susca is a resident of Somers, N.Y. in Westchester County, where he lives with his wife and family. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Chartered Global Management Accountant, both in New York. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA). He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from St. John’s University in Queens, New York.