The Bank Slate

INSIGHTS INTO THE BANKING INDUSTRY

Blue Ridge Bank hires fintech division president

Blue Ridge Bankshares in Charlottesville, Va., which was ordered last year to improve its oversight of fintech partnerships, has hired an outsider to serve as president of its fintech division.

The $2.9 billion-asset company said in a press release that Kirsten Muetzel is responsible for managing a portfolio of partners, strengthening regulatory compliance and overseeing its Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform.

Muetzel worked at the Federal Reserve for nearly 11 years, most recently serving as an executive in the San Francisco Fed’s financial institution supervision and credit division, according to her LinkedIn profile. She has also been involved with several fintechs in various capacities.

“Kirsten is a respected thought leader in the industry, and she brings the perfect combination of banking supervision experience coupled with fintech industry knowledge and business acumen,” Brian Plum, Blue Ridge’s CEO, said in the release.

“Kirsten will be instrumental as we continue building the necessary infrastructure to support current partnerships while preparing the foundation upon which to build future success,” Plum added.

The hiring comes months after Blue Ridge entered into a written agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency instructing the company to improve how it monitors fintech relationships.

The August agreement required the bank to create a compliance committee and adopt, implement and follow a written program to assess and manage the risks posed by third-party fintech relationships. It is also required to obtain OCC non-objection before onboarding or signing a contract with a third-party fintech partner, among other things.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *