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Craley Joins Webster Bank as Sponsor Finance Senior Originator

By Webster Bank

(STAMFORD, CT) September 9, 2024 | 1 min read —

Webster Bank has announced that Christopher Craley has joined the Bank as Senior Managing Director, Sponsor Finance. In his role, Craley will report to Ross Catlin and will originate and execute middle market private equity backed deals for the Sponsor Finance General Industries team.

Andre Paquette, Executive Managing Director of Sponsor & Specialty Finance Group said, “We are excited to have Chris join our senior originations team in Sponsor Finance. His origination and deal closing acumen, quality sponsor relationships and strong credit skills will be invaluable as we expand our General Industries portfolio.”

Craley has over 30 years of experience in origination, underwriting, and private equity investing. Most recently he worked as a Managing Director, Leveraged Finance for Bank of Ireland. Previously, he was a Vice President at De Visscher & Co., providing investment banking and consulting services to middle market businesses. He began his career at Marakon Associates after studying at the University of Cologne as a Fulbright Scholar.

Craley graduated magna cum laude from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Santander Holdings USA, Inc. ( “Santander US” ) is a wholly -owned subsidiary of Madrid -based Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: SAN) (“Santander ”), recognized as one of the world’s most admired companies by Fortune Magazine in 2026, with more than 182 million customers in the United States, Europe and Latin America. Santander US is the intermediate holding company for Santander’s five growing businesses in the United States. Santander’s U.S. presence consists of auto lending, retail and digital banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth management businesses. In August 2026, Santander closed on its acquisition of Webster Financial Corporation and, indirectly, Webster Bank, N.A, creating a leading retail and commercial bank in the United States by assets with an expanded presence in the Northeast. In the U.S. market, Santander also is recognized as top-10 auto lender and a top -10 multifamily bank lender and servicer, and operates one of the fastest growing digital banks, Openbank by Santander, as a division of Santander Bank, N.A. For more information about Santander US, please visit www.santanderus.com.

Contact Information

Media Contact:

Elaine K. Ficarra

[email protected]

203-913-2716

Investor Contact:

Emlen Harmon

[email protected]

212-309-7646

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