Flagstar Bank, the bank subsidiary of New York Community Bancorp, expanded its commercial and private banking leadership team with the appointment of four accomplished senior executives.
“We are excited to welcome four outstanding new senior executives to our commercial and private banking team,” Joseph Otting, chairman, president and CEO of Flagstar Bank, said. “Their deep expertise and impressive track records are crucial as we enhance our client coverage and advance both our product and commercial capabilities. These new appointments reflect our commitment to delivering personalized experiences and strengthening our commercial and private banking strategy, which is central to our business model.”
Joining Flagstar’s senior leadership team, reporting to Rich Raffetto, senior executive vice president and president of commercial and private banking, unless otherwise noted, include:
Joe Abruzzo: Executive Vice President and Head of Regional Commercial Banking and Corporate Banking
Abruzzo brings nearly 40 years of experience to Flagstar in commercial, corporate and private banking. During his over 26-year tenure at JPMorgan, he leveraged his client-focused approach, strong credit risk management foundation and capital markets expertise to expand the firm’s corporate banking businesses in both commercial banking and corporate and investment banking. After JPMorgan, he successfully transformed and managed the U.S. commercial and private banking businesses at HSBC and Santander.
As an executive leader and member of each bank’s management committees, Abruzzo drove business improvement efforts by implementing effective new business development and sales management practices, recruiting top talent, enhancing product capabilities, optimizing expense and capital management and addressing regulatory compliance gaps.
Most recently, as head of commercial banking at Santander, he managed a national team of over 400 banking and treasury professionals serving the financial needs of more than 3,000 middle-market, mid-corporate, international, government and not-for-profit clients. Abruzzo is also actively involved in his community as a past honoree and supporter of organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City and the New Jersey PGA Golf Foundation and serving on the boards of the USO and Delivering Good.
Rita Dailey: Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial Deposits and Payment Solutions
Dailey joins Flagstar with 30 years of hands-on client relationship, product design and leadership experience, with a focus on profitability and strategic growth. Most recently, Dailey served as head of small and medium enterprise products at Bank of the West, where she was instrumental in developing new product strategies. Her background includes senior leadership roles at MUFG Union Bank and BMO/Bank of the West. Dailey is actively involved in her community and has served on several boards. She will be based on the east coast and lead a national team serving commercial, real estate, business banking and wealth clients.
Mike Mason: Executive Vice President, Head of Credit Products, Commercial and Private Banking
Mason joins Flagstar with more than 30 years of experience in credit risk management, underwriting, credit portfolio strategy and product development. Before joining Flagstar, Mason served as executive vice president and head of credit products at City National Bank, where he spearheaded a commercial lending transformation that established a new target operating model for credit delivery. This initiative drove consistency, enhanced controls, reduced operational and credit risk and achieved significant economic efficiencies. Prior roles include executive vice president and head of M&A integration and credit products at Regions Financial, managing director and corporate banking lead at Accenture Consulting, and head of wholesale credit portfolio strategy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Mike holds FINRA Series 24, 7, 79 and 63 licenses, as well as nCino LOS Configuration Certifications.
Matt Dalany: Senior Vice President, Head of Specialized Industries Credit Products
Dalany joins Flagstar with more than 30 years of experience in specialized industries credit underwriting, risk governance and portfolio management. From 2017 to 2024, Dalany led MUFG’s credit underwriting and portfolio management teams in support of its sponsor finance, technology, and healthcare sectors, and he recently played a key role in synchronizing the credit policies and risk management practices related to the merger with U.S. Bank. Prior, Dalany spent over 20 years at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in various roles. Notably, he spent ten years as a senior credit products executive, where he led commercial banking portfolio management and underwriting for the western U.S. and specialized sectors such as entertainment, agriculture and employee-owned companies. Dalany will report directly to Mason.
“We are thrilled to welcome these four new senior banking and finance executives. Their arrival marks an advancement in our strategic focus, emphasizing four key areas: providing personalized service, offering expert advice and industry insights, elevating product capabilities and achieving exceptional credit risk management,” Raffetto said. “With this strengthened leadership team, we are set to advance our client-centric model, drive innovation in product development and build stronger relationships. The expertise of these new executives will help Flagstar serve new client segments, deliver tailored solutions that significantly benefit our clients and meet evolving banking and finance needs more effectively.”
