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Bank Director Changes Course

Banc of California director Halle J. Benett has reversed course and decided to seek re-election after all to the Irvine-based bankโ€™s board, according to a filing Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Benett withdrew his name for re-election in December, citing personal reasons based on demands of his business activities. Benett who was a managing director at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, is now a managing director and head of financial services investing at Melody Capital Partners LP.

Separately, Chad Brownstein, a co-founder of the bank and vice chair, announced he will retire from the seven-member board. Brownstein, who had joined the board in 2011 and was the lead independent director, is Chief Executive Officer of Rocky Mountain Resource Holdings, a natural resources operating and investment company, according to the bankโ€™s proxy statement.

The company today also appointed a new director, Richard Lashley, who is co-founder of PL Capital Advisors LLC, which owns 6.9 percent of the companyโ€™s shares.

Benettโ€™s back-and-forth comes amid a tumultuous time of Banc of California, which is currently seeking a new chief executive.

The tumult started in October when the bank said in a press release that its board of directors initiated an independent inquiry into improper connections between bank executives and a convicted felon said to have ties to the organized crime. The bank retracted that claim last month, saying that the investigation had been conducted on an internal basis by management.

Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Steven Sugarman resigned at the same time, and the company announced on the same day that the Securities Exchange Commission had started its own investigation.

Benett could not be reached for comment.

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Peter J. Brennan
Peter J. Brennan
With four decades of experience in journalism, Peter J. Brennan has built a career that spans diverse news topics and global coverage. From reporting on wars, narcotics trafficking, and natural disasters to analyzing business and financial markets, Peterโ€™s work reflects a commitment to impactful storytelling. Peterโ€™s association with the Orange County Business Journal began in 1997, where he worked until 2000 before moving to Bloomberg News. During his 15 years at Bloomberg, his reporting often influenced financial markets, with headlines and articles moving the market caps of major companies by hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2017, Peter returned to the Orange County Business Journal as Financial Editor, bringing his heavy business industry expertise. Over the years, he advanced to Executive Editor and, in 2024, was named Editor-in-Chief. Peterโ€™s work has been featured in prestigious publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, and he has appeared on CNN, CBC, BBC, and Bloomberg TV. A Kiplinger Fellowship recipient at The Ohio State University, he leads the Business Journal with a dedication to uncovering stories that matter and shaping the local business community and beyond.
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