When Greystone announced in December that Hafize Gaye Erkan was resigning as CEO after just three months on the job, some observers could have thought Erkan herself may have been the source of serial creative differences.
Erkan, after all, had left San Francisco-based First Republic Bank at the end of 2021, creating a leadership vacuum. The bank’s founder, Jim Herbert, less than three weeks earlier, had gone on medical leave and put the bank in the hands of his co-CEO, Erkan.
A report Monday that Erkan met with Turkey’s new finance minister, Mehmet Simsek — as a candidate to lead the nation’s central bank (Update: She was appointed to the role Friday) — may make the last 18 tumultuous months of Erkan’s career look positively purposeful.
In one dimension of the universe, Erkan could have been at the helm of First Republic when the crisis of confidence struck investors of regional banks. She could have been the one telegraphing gratitude to the 11 banks that handed First Republic $30 billion to keep it from failing. (It would fail anyway.)
JPMorgan Chase, when it acquired First Republic in May, made no mention of how the San Francisco bank’s leadership might fit under the new regime. But the LinkedIn profile for First Republic’s last CEO, Michael Roffler, indicates his tenure ends (or ended) this month.
Erkan could easily have been the one explaining to the House Financial Services Committee that “First Republic was in a strong financial position with strong investment grade ratings aligned with the nation’s largest banks … up until the cataclysmic events of March 10.”
That was the day Silicon Valley Bank failed and, even though First Republic “experienced a significant inflow of deposits” March 9 “from clients who had withdrawn their money from Silicon Valley Bank, … everything changed overnight.”
By contrast, Erkan now appears in control of her own destiny. If selected, she would become the first female governor of the Turkish central bank.
And, as for her transition from Greystone, she remains remarkably devoid of bad blood.
A December press release from the firm characterized Erkan’s departure as “amicable, and related to her decision to focus on new opportunities in the financial sector.”
Her exit from First Republic may have held a bit more tension. The Financial Times detailed “a series of interactions with other senior executives described in previous reporting ... as ‘toxic.’”
Erkan, however, threw the focus on the chance to exercise a multitude of skills.
“It was time for a change and for a new challenge, where I can be at a platform where I can utilize all my skill set in banking, private equity, investment and fund management,” Erkan told Bloomberg at the time.
Greystone, once a client of First Republic, had sought to accelerate its core commercial and multifamily real estate lending and capital markets business, and to offer expanded lending products, private wealth management and real estate and fintech fund management.
But real estate — especially, the commercial kind — has continued to slump.
“Greystone is an impressive organization, and I wish the firm and its employees continued success,” Erkan said in December. “I look forward to my next chapter building strong teams and driving growth at another market-leading company.”
That company, it may turn out, has a population hovering above 85 million and a gross domestic product near $3.6 trillion, according to International Monetary Fund estimates.
Simsek’s office declined to comment to Bloomberg on Monday. Erkan did not answer a call from the wire service seeking comment.
