Commercial Bank of California has moved its headquarters from Costa Mesa to a building it has purchased in Irvine.
The bank, which previously had its office near South Coast Plaza, has set up in the Centerpointe business park where MacArthur Boulevard crosses Jamboree Road. The 20,000-square-foot, two-story building was previously occupied by a branch of First California Bank, which was closed after its acquisition by PacWest Bancorp for about $243 million last year.
Commercial Bank of California, or CBC, has occupied the ground floor of the Centerpoint building for now, and plans to lease or use the top 10,000 square feet as needed, according to Chief Executive Ash Patel, who joined the bank last September.
CBC, as of the end of June, had $221.6 million in assets, up about 13% year-over-year. It had $173.8 million in deposits, a 9% year-over-year growth, and $133.3 million in loans, up nearly 22%.
Its net income for the first half of the year was $187,000, versus $569,000 a year earlier.
Patel said he expects the relocation to boost the bank’s visibility and exposure.
It’s also a move toward its “new vision and new culture,” he said.
“I’d describe our culture as human capital-centric, where the employees of the bank are No. 1,” Patel said. “If we have a fully engaged management team and employees, our customers will be well served, which will eventually take care of shareholder returns.”
He said the bank is expanding and has been hiring. It currently has 33 employees.
CBC spokesperson Chris Nichols said the bank had been planning the move since it tapped a slate of new executives last year, including Patel, along with Chief Financial Officer Mike Sisk and Chief Credit Officer Christopher Colella.
“With [the new management], we were thinking about what we were going to do in the next 12 months,” Nichols said. “It was important to pick a new location that would be indicative of our journey.”
Patel founded and headed Premier Commercial Bank in Anaheim until it was sold to California United Bank in 2012 for about $42 million.
CBC’s founding president and chief executive, Bala Balkrishna, now serves as chairman, a role previously held by Gen. William Lyon, executive chairman of Newport Beach-based William Lyon Homes. Lyon continues to serve on the bank’s board as director.
Commercial Bank of California is the latest example of Irvine’s emergence and growth as a regional banking hub over the past few years.
The bank joins a handful of other financial institutions that have relocated their headquarters to Irvine from other Orange County cities or from outside of the county.
Other Banks
Opus Bank, for instance, moved its headquarters to Irvine from Redondo Beach in 2011. It’s grown to reach $4.3 billion in assets as of June 30, which makes it the second largest bank based in OC.
First PacTrust Bancorp Inc. moved to Irvine from Chula Vista in March 2012, and since then has made a few acquisitions and rebranded as Banc of California. It had nearly $4.4 billion in assets at the end of the second quarter.
Others that have moved to Irvine include Pacific Premier Bank, Sunwest Bank, and California Republic Bancorp.
The newcomers joined a roster of longer-standing Irvine-based banks that includes: California First National Bank; CommerceWest Bank; First Foundation Bank; Orange County Business Bank; and Pacific Enterprise Bank.
Irvine now is home to nearly half of the 24 banks with headquarters in Orange County.
