New Jersey Community Exits Consent Orders, Swaps Out Directors

New Jersey Community Bank in Freehold has exited a pair of regulatory orders.

The $102 million-asset bank also said in a press release Tuesday that two siblings have resigned from its board.

New Jersey Community said it had been released from consent orders with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance.

Nick Naqei, the bank's chief financial officer, said in an interview that the March 2014 order was tied to concerns with safety and soundness. He said the bank had to conduct a management study "to see if we had the right people in place," while also addressing issues related to concentrations of commercial and real estate loans.

The second order, which came in July 2015, required the bank to improve compliance functions. It required the bank to conduct "a look-back review of transactions to see if there were any fraud involved or suspicious activity," Naqei said.

The bank also announced that brothers Brendan and Rogan O'Donnell resigned from its board. Their father, Robert O'Donnell, resigned as chairman last August, four months after he stepped down as the bank's chief executive.

The brothers did not provide the bank with reasons for their departures. Once their father resigned "we kind of thought that this was going to automatically happen sooner or later," Naqei said.

Steven Meyer, founder of Advisors Mortgage Group, was appointed to fill one of the board vacancies.

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