When a respected community bank quietly loses its CEO and top banking officer within days, pays out a six-figure severance, and posts the worst financial performance in its peer group — shouldn’t someone be asking why?
For over a century, First Fed has been a cornerstone of the Olympic Peninsula’s financial and civic life. As the only community bank headquartered in the region — and one of the area’s major employers — its health matters to more than just shareholders. It matters to communities, nonprofits, small businesses, and everyday customers from Forks to Port Townsend.
That’s why recent leadership changes at First Fed, and the limited public discussion around them, deserve a closer look.
CEO resigns — quietly and quickly
On July 12, First Fed announced that President and CEO Matthew Deines had stepped down. The Peninsula Daily News, one of the bank’s largest advertising partners, reported the story two days later, describing the move as “mutually agreed” and quoting praise from Board Chair Cindy H. Finnie for Deines’ service.
What wasn’t mentioned in the article is that this transition was accompanied by a highly structured severance package.
$515,000 in severance (equal to one year’s salary)
90 days of COBRA health coverage
An agreement to assist with transition at a rate of $250/hour
Accelerated vesting of 5,996 shares granted just months earlier
Company filings also stated there was no disagreement between Deines and the board — but the sudden nature of his departure, and the careful legal choreography of the exit, suggests this was not a routine retirement.
A broader leadership gap
Just ten days earlier, on July 2, First Fed’s Chief Banking Officer, Christopher W. Neros, also announced his immediate retirement.
With the COO role already under Geraldine Bullard, who has now stepped in as interim CEO, the bank finds itself in a period of executive transition without a permanent CEO or Chief Banking Officer.
Ms. Bullard brings deep financial experience, including prior work at Sound Community Bank and Salal Credit Union. Her appointment includes a $143,000 temporary salary increase, a $250,000 retention bonus, and 7,500 restricted shares that vest after one year if she remains through the CEO transition. While these terms are not unusual for interim executives, they underscore the importance of retaining leadership during a potentially fragile moment.
A difficult few years for First Fed
These leadership changes follow a challenging period for the bank:
In July 2024, First Fed laid off 20 employees, roughly 9% of its workforce, following a 5% staff reduction in 2022
The bank has underperformed peers like Heritage Bank, Sound Financial, and Coastal Financial, with its stock price declining over 30% in two years
In 2024, the bank was named in a federal lawsuit alleging it had helped facilitate a fraudulent loan scheme connected to WaterStation Technology. While that suit was dismissed without prejudice in federal court, a new case has been filed in King County.
In isolation, none of these events are necessarily alarming. But taken together — and without a strong public narrative from the institution or deeper reporting from the local press — it’s understandable that community members may feel uneasy.
Leadership ties to other troubled institutions
Two key figures on First Fed’s board of directors — Cindy H. Finnie and Norman J. Tonina, Jr. — have played major roles in another public institution that has faced intense scrutiny in recent years: the Fort Worden Public Development Authority (PDA).
Cindy Finnie served as chair of the Fort Worden PDA board during a period when the organization was cited by the Washington State Auditor’s Office for serious financial mismanagement, including late debt reporting, missing oversight, and inadequate internal controls. Though she is widely respected in civic and arts communities, the oversight failures under her leadership contributed to long-term financial instability at the PDA.
Norman J. Tonina, Jr., who currently serves on First Fed’s board, has also been deeply involved in the PDA. He has served as Chairman of the Fort Worden PDA since 2015 — a period that includes some of the organization’s most turbulent financial years. Despite efforts at reform, the PDA continues to deal with the fallout of years of underperformance and debt challenges.
Both Finnie and Tonina now hold significant positions on the board of a publicly traded bank that is experiencing executive turnover, underperforming financials, and pending lawsuits. Their history at Fort Worden may not directly relate to the current situation at First Fed, but it does raise valid questions about board-level oversight, crisis management, and transparency.
In communities as small and tightly knit as those on the Olympic Peninsula, leadership roles tend to overlap — but that makes independent scrutiny all the more critical.
A call for constructive transparency
None of this is written to doubt integrity. First Fed has long been a good community partner, and it is entirely possible that the leadership transitions underway will position the bank for future success. But it’s also fair to ask questions — and for local media to do the same.
What led to two top executives stepping down within days of each other?
Why has First Fed underperformed its peers so dramatically?
What is the board’s plan to stabilize leadership and reassure investors and depositors?
In small communities, scrutiny and support go hand in hand. A local paper’s advertising relationship shouldn’t get in the way of honest journalism — and a bank’s longstanding reputation shouldn’t shield it from fair questions.
First Fed can weather this moment. But to maintain the public’s trust, transparency will be just as important as leadership.
Correction: a previous version of this article stated that Geraldine Bullard was serving as CFO; however, Phyllis Nomura was appointed CFO at the end of March, so that role is no longer held by Ms. Bullard.
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