Customers Bancorp has ousted CFO Carla Leibold for violating company policy and promoted Philip Watkins to succeed her, the company said in a filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Customers Bancorp said Leibold was terminated Wednesday, effective immediately, for “cause” under her employment agreement but did not disclose details, according to a filing the same day. Leibold, however, has disputed the company’s characterization of her separation, the filing said. She had been CFO and executive vice president since 2018.

Watkins, who had served since January 2023 as CFO of Customers Bank, the bank holding company’s subsidiary, was promoted to his current role Friday. As the finance head of the $22 billion-asset subsidiary, he has “provided vital strategic financial insights and oversight, and played a pivotal role in shaping the bank’s financial strategies, capital allocation, investment decisions and investor relations to help drive the organization’s long-term success,” the company said.

Watkins joined the company in early 2020 and led the bank’s real estate and digital lending groups. Prior to joining Customers Bank, he was the CFO of Megalith Financial Acquisition for about 2½ years, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also worked in real estate private equity investing at Morgan Stanley for more than two years. 

Customers Bank did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

West Reading, Pennsylvania-based Customers has set its sights on expanding the bank’s deposit growth potential and strengthening its presence on both the East and West coasts. In a strategic move last week, Customers Bank onboarded 10 experienced banking teams in New York, California and Nevada, the bank said in a release Tuesday. Moreover, the bank has plans to open three new locations in California, North Carolina and Colorado to support its venture finance customers.

Customers Bank last June acquired a $631 million venture-banking portfolio once owned by the failed Signature Bank and hired 30 of its bankers.

Leibold’s departure follows a spate of CFO changes in the banking sphere. New York Community Bank announced the hiring of a new CFO on Friday. Earlier this month, Royal Bank of Canada dismissed CFO Nadine Ahn after the bank found evidence that she was in an undisclosed personal relationship. And Evansville, Indiana-based Old National Bank placed its CFO, Brendon Falconer, on administrative leave after he was arrested on two charges of child molestation.