Fiserv’s incoming CEO will bring broad industry expertise to leadership of the processing giant, based on prior works with banks and payments peers, according to analysts who follow the company.
That experience is the main reason Michael Lyons — Fiserv’s CEO-elect and the recent former president of PNC — has been well-received, said Charles Nabhan, managing director of fintech and payments research at Stephens Inc.
PNC is “one of Fiserv’s biggest clients,” Nabhan noted. That means Lyons is “familiar with what Fiserv is doing from a strategic perspective,” said Ryan Coyne, a Mizuho Securities analyst.
Michael Lyons
Courtesy of Fiserv
President Donald Trump nominated outgoing Fiserv CEO Frank Bisignano to lead the Social Security Administration, and Lyons was tapped in January as his successor.
In addition, Lyons serves as chair of Early Warning Services, the bank-owned company that operates the Zelle peer-to-peer payment network, according to his profile on Fiserv’s website. He also previously worked as a portfolio manager for Maverick Capital, a hedge fund focused on financial technology companies,
Bisignano will remain in his current roles at Milwaukee-based Fiserv until June 30, unless he is confirmed by the Senate sooner, according to a Jan. 23 news release announcing Lyons’ appointment. Lyons reports to Bisignano in the meantime.
The incoming CEO “has been well-received by the investors that we’ve spoken to thus far,” Coyne said.
Lyons is respected in the financial services industry, said Nabhan, citing positive comments from bank analyst colleagues who previously followed Lyons.
Still, there are questions about hiring a bank executive instead of an internal hire of someone from another payments company, Wells Fargo analyst Andrew Bauch said.
Investors are “questioning if the transition from bank executive to fintech executive will be seamless,” he said. “In certain respects, it requires different skillset.”
If confirmed by the Senate, Bisignano will lead an agency expected to lose thousands of workers. The Social Security Administration has announced plans to reduce its workforce from 57,000 to 50,000, as Trump continues his quest to shrink the federal government.
Frank Bisignano
Permission granted by Fiserv
Bisignano’s confirmation hearing has not been scheduled. Spokespeople for members of the Senate Finance Committee, which will consider Bisignano’s nomination, referred questions about the confirmation timeline to Sen. Mike Crapo, R-ID, the committee chair. A spokesperson for Crapo did not respond to a request for comment.
Analysts who follow Fiserv note the company has a deep bench of executives, including key leaders who will remain after Bisignano’s departure. Those executives include Chief Operating Officer Guy Chiarello, Executive Vice President Takis Georgakopoulos and CFO Bob Hau.
“They know the playbook,” Nabhan said. “It’s going to be business as usual.”
Spending trends also favor Fiserv, said Hal Goetsch, a managing director for B. Riley Securities. The company makes money when consumers use credit and debit cards at the point of sale, and surveys consistently show the percentage of consumers using cash is declining, particularly among young people, he noted.
“The ecosystems that are pushing every payment company along are very healthy,” Goetsch said.
Small businesses are also adopting more sophisticated point-of-sale software that lets customers leave tips and use reward points, Goetsch added.
As more merchants demand these services, the companies that provide them, such as Fiserv, stand to benefit, Goetsch said, stressing that Fiserv’s Clover — a point-of-sale system largely used by small businesses — is one of the payments company’s major strengths.
Bisignano previously served as the CEO of First Data Corp., a position he took in 2013 and held when Fiserv acquired the company in 2020. Prior to taking a job at First Data, he worked for JPMorgan Chase, where was promoted to co-chief operating officer in 2012.
When former Fiserv CEO Jeff Yabuki stepped down and Bisignano was named as his replacement in 2020, concerns were raised about the then-new CEO maintaining the company’s track record of growth and consistency, Nabhan said.
“I could say with pretty high certainty that he’s delivered and exceeded expectations,” he said
