Dixiana Berrios
About Dixiana Berrios
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. since July 2020; previously EVP & Director of Bank Operations at Amalgamated Bank (2011–2020) and senior operations roles at Sterling National Bank (1996–2011). She holds an MA from The Fletcher School at Tufts University and a BA from The University of Alabama; age 52 . As COO, she has been a visible sponsor of MCB’s “Modern Banking in Motion” digital transformation, with the bank earning 2025 industry awards for digital experience and onboarding under her operational remit . Company performance in 2024: Net Income $66.7M, loans $6.0B, deposits $6.0B, and NIM 3.53% amid completion of the BaaS exit and continued tech investment .
Company financials across her tenure window:
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($) | 26,593,000 | 27,903,000* | 23,829,000 |
| Net Income ($) | 59,425,000 | 77,268,000 | 66,686,000 |
- Values retrieved from S&P Global.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. / Metropolitan Commercial Bank | EVP & Chief Operating Officer | 2020–Present | Leads enterprise operations and digital platform transformation (“Modern Banking in Motion”); supported technology and onboarding wins in 2025 . |
| Amalgamated Bank | EVP & Director of Bank Operations | 2011–2020 | Ran bank operations at a mid-sized NY bank; depth in operational controls and process modernization . |
| Sterling National Bank | Various roles incl. SVP & Director of Bank Ops | 1996–2011 | Led operations; built core execution capabilities across operations lifecycle . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industry groups and civic organizations (not specified) | Active participant | n/a | External engagement and network-building; details not specified in filings . |
Fixed Compensation
- Not disclosed. Ms. Berrios was not a Named Executive Officer (NEO) for 2024 in the 2025 proxy (NEOs were CEO DeFazio, Lublin, Dougherty, Capra, Rosenberg), so individual base salary and bonus details were not itemized .
Performance Compensation
- Company AIP design (context for executives): annual incentives use corporate financial metrics and individual goals, with threshold/target/maximum constructs; corporate metrics for 2024 were Adjusted Net Income Growth and Adjusted ROATCE with explicit targets; NEO outcomes/payout mixes are disclosed, but not for non-NEO executives like the COO .
| Metric (Corporate AIP) | Weighting (Berrios) | 2024 Target | 2024 Actual | Payout | Vesting Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted Net Income Growth | Not disclosed | 11% target; threshold 9.35–10.99% | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Cash/RSU mix used for NEOs; RSUs vest ratably over 3 years in the long-term plan . |
| Adjusted ROATCE | Not disclosed | 10% target; threshold 8.5–9.99% | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Same as above . |
| Individual goals (role-specific) | Not disclosed | Set to operating remit | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | NEOs received a portion of AIP in RSUs that vest over 3 years; approach informs exec design . |
Additional elements (company-wide policies):
- Long-term incentives: time-based RSUs (3-year ratable vesting) and PRSUs; 2024 PRSUs for CEO/Lending Chief tied to ROATCE percentile and safety/soundness or role goals; Berrios-specific grants are not disclosed .
- Clawback: Dodd-Frank compliant recoupment policy adopted 9/26/2023 for incentive comp tied to financial measures over the prior three fiscal years in the event of a restatement .
- Anti-hedging/short sales and margin/pledging restrictions via Insider Trading Policy; pledging or margin accounts require Board approval; hedging prohibited .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Beneficial ownership: Not individually disclosed for Berrios in the stock ownership table (directors and NEOs are shown; other executive officers are not itemized) .
- Executive stock ownership guidelines: CEO 6x salary; other NEOs 3x; other executive officers (like COO, if not an NEO) 1x salary; compliance window five years from adoption/appointment .
- Hedging/pledging: Prohibited hedging and short sales; pledging or margin accounts require Board approval, reducing alignment risks from collateralization .
- Related party transactions: Company reports none requiring approval or disclosure in 2024, mitigating conflict risks .
Employment Terms
- Employment contracts and CIC economics disclosed for CEO (3x salary + prior-year bonus; equity acceleration; 280G gross-up), and Lublin (2x salary; equity acceleration) . Change-in-control agreements exist for Capra, Rosenberg, and Dougherty (multiples as disclosed) .
- No employment or change-in-control agreement is disclosed for Berrios in the 2025 proxy . Non-compete/non-solicit specifics for Berrios are not disclosed.
Additional Context on Performance, Governance, and Pay
- 2024 operating highlights: Net Income $66.7M, loans +7.3% to $6.0B, deposits +4.3% to $6.0B, NIM 3.53%; elevated non-interest expense included a $10.0M regulatory reserve tied to legacy BaaS matters while technology costs rose with digital investments . Capital ratios remained “well capitalized” (total risk-based capital 13.3% at HoldCo; 13.0% at Bank) .
- Governance and risk: Board formalized a joint Risk Committee in 2024 to sharpen enterprise risk oversight; safety-and-soundness is embedded in incentive design (e.g., CEO’s scorecard included a discrete safety & soundness component) .
- Say-on-Pay: 2024 approval at 91.40% .
- Compensation peer group updated in 2024 to align to commercial banking focus; list disclosed (AMAL, BY, CNOB, DCOM, etc.) .
- Legal/regulatory backdrop: FRB and NYSDFS consent orders (2023) addressing legacy prepaid/BaaS; 2024 included a $10.0M reserve and resolution with WA Attorney General; Voyager litigation disclosed (defense planned) .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment: Corporate AIP metrics centered on Adjusted Net Income Growth and Adjusted ROATCE, with use of safety-and-soundness overlays; clawback, anti-hedging, and ownership guidelines enhance alignment. For Berrios specifically, absence of NEO status limits line-of-sight to her individual targets and payouts, but company policies indicate strong alignment architecture .
- Retention risk: No disclosed employment or CIC agreement for the COO may imply lower contractual retention protections versus peers with agreements; offset by equity-based incentives policy and ownership guidelines that encourage stickiness, though Berrios’ individual equity holdings are not disclosed .
- Insider selling pressure: No individual Form 4 data is presented in the proxy; policy prohibits hedging and limits pledging/margin, reducing forced-selling risk; no Section 16(a) filing delinquencies in 2024 .
- Execution track record: Digital operations program has earned external recognition in 2025, indicating operational follow-through on tech modernization within Berrios’ remit; however, legacy BaaS/regulatory matters remain an overhang on non-interest expense and litigation risk .
- Bottom line: Governance enhancements, risk-sensitive incentive design, and digital delivery wins are positives; limited transparency on COO-specific comp and equity ownership is a residual gap for assessing direct alignment and retention economics. Continued monitoring of litigation/regulatory outcomes and disclosure of executive ownership/awards would refine the view.