While many financial institutions are trimming their physical retail presence, Poppy Bank is planning to open about 12 branches in California this year, including locations in Corona del Mar and Brea.
Locations in Huntington Beach and Anaheim are slated for the future.
“We’ve got our digital banking, online banking services available,” Poppy Chief Executive Khalid Acheckzai told the Business Journal on Feb. 4. “But we find that our clients still want a location to be able to go into should there be a need.”
The Santa Rosa-based bank celebrated its 20th anniversary in January and sees the need to stay closely connected with communities.
“It’s old-fashioned, but it works,” Acheckzai said.
Corona del Mar – officially called the Newport Beach Corona Del Mar Branch on the website – and Brea are slated for mid-2025 and regulatory approval is in place.
He said Huntington Beach will open next year with Anaheim planned for 2026 or 2027.
Poppy Bank was named after the state flower, which symbolizes growth and resilience.
It was founded by William Gallaher, a principal in Gallaher Companies in Santa Rosa, which since 1995 has developed senior assisted living and Alzheimer’s care communities in three western states. Gallaher, who is the bank’s chairman, was a homebuilder in Sonoma County, having built more than 500 homes in Oakmont and throughout the Santa Rosa and Windsor areas of Northern California.
Another director is Ajaib Bhadare, a co-founder of Cerent Corp., a telecommunications equipment maker that was acquired in 1999 by Cisco Systems for $6.9 billion in stock.
Laguna Hills, Costa Mesa
The bank already has a branch in Laguna Hills while the Costa Mesa branch “is one of our most successful branches.”
“We love the Orange County area,” he said.
All of the bank’s branches are in California.
“By the end of year, we’ll have about 45 branches in California,” he said.
He says Poppy keeps the branches about five to 10 miles apart.
$7B in Assets; Deposits Growing
He said the bank has grown to $7 billion in assets and has about $5.5 billion in deposits, ranking it 36 in our Banking list (see page 28).
“We’re actually doing great,” CEO said, adding that deposits are growing. “We’re very optimistic.”
He said the bank has been paying 4% on a CD and 4.25% on a “savings promotion especially in our Orange County branches.”
Acheckzai said the bank is approaching 300 employees and will stay privately held.
Poppy Bank’s geographic footprint includes the San Francisco Bay area, Sacramento area, greater Los Angeles area and the greater San Diego area in addition to OC.
