John Battaglia

The Cooperative Bank has elevated one of its own be its new president and CEO.

The $439 million-asset bank’s board appointed Senior Vice President of Residential Lending John Battaglia to the position Thursday, effective immediately, after what the bank described as “an extensive nationwide search” for the position.

Battaglia has worked for the Roslindale-based bank since 2016. He will replace interim chief Phil O’Connor who had previously worked for the bank as its CFO. O’Connor will continue with the bank as a member of TCB’s board of directors.

“John’s wealth of knowledge and leadership will afford TCB the opportunity for continued success in the years ahead,” O’Connor said in a statement. “We’ve been expanding our leadership team this past year and we are extremely confident that TCB’s board of directors has chosen the right strategic leader for this role”

Prior to joining TCB, Battaglia had founded and was president of the Cambridge Mortgage Group Inc., and before that he was a senior vice president in of Citizen’s Mortgage Corp., an Atlanta based mortgage banking and servicing company and subsidiary of Citizens’ Financial Group Inc. At Citizens, he directed the institution’s the residential lending and residential construction and community lending activities for approximately 133 bank branches and 17 loan production offices throughout New England.

Battaglia is also a former chair of the Mass. Mortgage Bankers Association and the former treasurer of the Chelsea Neighborhood Housing Services and as former director of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

“I am extremely honored and humbled for the opportunity to lead TCB in the months ahead,” Battaglia said in a statement. “We all look forward to continuing to deliver high quality products and services with the support and dedication of an experienced, talented team across our several branches.”