** Regional lender First Foundation FFWM.N announces retirement of CEO Scott Kavanaugh after ~15 years at the helm
** Former Huntington Bancshares HBAN.O executive Thomas Shafer set to succeed Kavanaugh
** Raymond James says, with the recent capital raise and a plan in place for balance sheet optimization, Kavanaugh leaves the bank well-positioned for Shafer to continue with the turnaround
** FFWM, which has a huge portfolio of multi-family real estate loans, had disclosed a $228 million "unexpected" capital raise in July
** Brokerage says Kavanaugh is leaving the bank in capable hands, given Shafer's experience running larger banks and executing on deals
** Raymond James says it is excited to see the trajectory of the bank under Shafer, whom it expects to continue executing on the plan in place
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru)
((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))
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