MIAMI, Feb 9 - HoldCo Asset Management announced on Monday that it will not launch proxy contests at KeyCorp or Eastern Bancshares after each bank agreed to the principal reforms the activist had requested.
In a presentation released Monday, the hedge fund said it would not pursue a proxy fight at KeyCorp's 2026 annual meeting, noting that the Cleveland-based lender and Boston-based Eastern had made the main changes HoldCo had pressed for. The presentation identified KeyCorp's market capitalization as $26 billion and Eastern's as $5.2 billion.
HoldCo, which concentrates its investments in banks, had initiated campaigns at five regional lenders last year. According to the presentation, the firm has, for the time being, concluded all of those campaigns. The portfolio managers leading the activist push, Vik Ghei and Misha Zaitzeff, are scheduled to speak at the UBS Financial Services Conference on Monday, the presentation said.
At KeyCorp, HoldCo asked the board to halt further bank acquisitions, to deploy surplus capital toward share repurchases, and to remove the lead independent director along with board members who had approved KeyCorp's acquisition of First Niagara a decade ago. KeyCorp has publicly made several moves that align with those demands.
"We have no interest in purchasing a depository," KeyCorp Chief Executive Chris Gorman said in December.
The bank also announced a $300 million share repurchase program for the first quarter and indicated it expects to repurchase similar amounts in subsequent quarters this year. KeyCorp named a new lead independent director and put forward two new director nominees for election this year. In their presentation, Ghei and Zaitzeff wrote that Gorman - the CEO they had earlier sought to remove - is the "right leader for the institution going forward."
HoldCo's demands for Eastern included a public commitment not to pursue future bank acquisitions, a stated common equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital target range of 10% to 11%, and an explicit pledge to use excess capital to repurchase shares. Eastern's leadership delivered public statements and targets that exceeded some of those requests.
"We will not pursue any acquisitions as we are completely focused on organic growth and returning capital to our shareholders," Eastern's executive chairman Robert Rivers said in January.
Eastern also said it would "aggressively return capital to shareholders" and that it would manage toward a CET1 ratio of 12%. Following the bank's announcements, Ghei and Zaitzeff praised Eastern's leadership in the presentation.
HoldCo first drew attention in September when it indicated plans to mount a proxy fight at Comerica, pressing the Dallas-based bank to consider a sale after periods of underperformance. Earlier this month, Fifth Third completed its merger with Comerica and the combined entity became the ninth-largest U.S. bank.
After signaling at Comerica, HoldCo pressed for changes at several regional banks in quick succession, targeting Eastern, First Interstate BancSystem, Columbia Banking System, and KeyCorp. First Interstate and Columbia likewise agreed to the main changes HoldCo had sought, according to the presentation.
These developments reflect a period of heightened activist engagement in the regional banking sector, with HoldCo pressing for capital returns and governance alterations across multiple institutions. For the banks involved, the changes include public statements about acquisition strategy, adjustments to capital management frameworks, governance renewals, and concrete repurchase programs.