Huntington Bank has appointed Senthil Kumar as its new chief risk officer, effective February 16. Kumar, who previously served as the chief risk officer at BNY, will succeed Helga Houston, who will transition to a senior executive adviser role starting March 1.
The leadership change coincides with Huntington's move into a more stringent U.S. regulatory tier, known as Category III, triggered after its total assets surpassed $250 billion. This classification subjects the bank to enhanced liquidity requirements, higher capital demands, and more frequent Federal Reserve stress tests.
Huntington recently completed its merger with Cadence Bank on February 2, creating a combined entity with approximately $279 billion in assets, $221 billion in deposits, and $187 billion in loans, based on December 31, 2025 figures. CEO Steve Steinour described the deal as a strategic growth platform for the Texas and Southern markets.
Kumar brings over 25 years of risk management experience to the role, including senior positions at Citigroup and Samba Financial Group. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Houston has led Huntington's corporate risk management since 2011, following a 20-year tenure at Bank of America.
The bank has confirmed it does not plan to close any of Cadence's 390 branches ahead of a scheduled systems conversion in mid-2026. Huntington shares closed Friday's session with a gain of roughly 1.3%.