The New York Clearing House announced today that Victor J. Menezes, Chairman and CEO of Citibank, N.A., is now serving as the Clearing House Chairman of the Board. He, along with ten Board members, is responsible for overseeing the strategy and direction of the Clearing House, the nation’s oldest payments processor and bank association.
“The financial services industry faces many challenges,” said Mr. Menezes, “and the Clearing House is at the forefront of solving many of them, including most recently dealing with both immediate and on-going payment and financial issues resulting from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”
“I am both gratified and pleased that Victor has taken on this leadership role in the Clearing House,” said Jeffrey Neubert, President and CEO of the Clearing House. “We will benefit from his leadership, perspective and dedication to our organization as we continue to focus our resources on matters of critical importance to our owners and the payments industry.”
The Clearing House operates several payment systems for CHIPS, EPN and SVPCo, and runs a well-respected banking association. It recently launched its 5-year plan, which calls for establishing alliances and developing new systems enhancements to respond to the effects of globalization, e-commerce, and technology change.
“We also have new priorities such as increasing security and eliminating money laundering and the flow of funds to terrorist organizations,” said Neubert.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues in the financial services industry to respond to these challenges and more,” said Mr. Menezes.
Mr. Menezes succeeds Thomas Renyi, who was Chairman for two terms. Mr. Renyi will continue to serve on the Board, which is comprised of Chief Executive Officers of the Clearing House’s eleven owner banks.
“Mr. Renyi could not have been more helpful as I took over the Clearing House a little more than two years ago,” said Mr. Neubert. “I don’t think there has been a time of more change at the Clearing House. During Mr. Renyi’s term, we reorganized our business lines, completed and launched our five-year strategic plan, and began the task of reconfiguring our payments businesses to be responsive to the needs of our banks and their customers as related to global electronic commerce.”
Mr. Menezes is the 70th Chairman of the Clearing House Board. He joins numerous industry leaders who have held this post over its 150-year history, including: David Rockefeller, Walter Wriston, Sir Dennis Weatherstone, John Reed, and Walter Shipley.