Columbus, Ohio, Feb 8, 2026, 01:03 EST
- Senthil Kumar steps in as chief risk officer on Feb. 16. After that, Helga Houston shifts into her new role as senior executive adviser beginning March 1.
- Huntington’s move to bring on new talent follows its push into a stricter U.S. regulatory tier, after assets climbed past $250 billion.
- Huntington wrapped up its Cadence Bank merger on Feb. 2, lifting total assets to roughly $279 billion.
Huntington Bank has tapped Senthil Kumar, formerly the top risk officer at BNY, to take over as chief risk officer. His official start date is Feb. 16, with Helga Houston set to step aside and move into a senior executive adviser position on March 1, according to the bank. CEO Steve Steinour pointed to Kumar’s background as a key asset for bolstering Huntington’s risk culture as the company pushes into its next stretch of growth and innovation. 1
Huntington’s shift comes as it moves into Category III, the U.S. regulatory tier that banks hit after crossing $250 billion in assets. That new status means Huntington faces stricter liquidity requirements—more cash, more assets it can sell off easily—plus higher capital demands and more frequent Fed stress tests, according to Banking Dive. There’s also extra pressure on its “living will,” the blueprint for how a bank could be taken apart without wreaking havoc on the broader financial system. 2
Huntington wrapped up its merger with Cadence Bank on Feb. 2, forming a lender with roughly $279 billion in assets, $221 billion in deposits, and $187 billion in loans as of Dec. 31, 2025 balances, according to the company. CEO Steinour described the merger as a “springboard for growth” in Texas and the South. Huntington isn’t planning to shutter any of Cadence’s 390 branches ahead of a systems switch slated for mid-2026. 3
Huntington said Kumar steps in with 25 years of risk management experience. Most recently, he oversaw credit, market, operational and compliance risk at BNY. Before that, Kumar served in senior risk posts at Citigroup, including chief risk officer for the Institutional Clients Group, covering operations in over 100 countries. Earlier stops include Samba Financial Group. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, according to Huntington. 4
Houston has overseen Huntington’s corporate risk management since joining the company in September 2011, her biography states. Before that, she was a partner at Phoenix Global Advisors and logged about 20 years at Bank of America, according to the same bio. 5
It’s a tough spot: the CRO has to push a bank’s growth, yet steer clear of dangerous loans, slack controls, or regulatory headaches. In practice, that means watching out for loans that might not get repaid, wild moves in rates and prices, tech or process meltdowns, plus any slip-ups with banking rules.
Still, timing ramps up the pressure. Integrating a major acquisition just as the bank shifts into a stricter regulatory bracket means compliance costs could climb, and tech system migrations suddenly carry more weight—a process that often runs smoothly, until it doesn’t.
Huntington shares ended Friday roughly 1.3% higher.
News of the appointment reached beyond the usual U.S. banking trade wires, popping up in an overnight piece on El-Balad.com. 6
