Representatives of two large national bank holding companies, Western Alliance Bancorporation and Truist Financial Corp., are eyeing Orange County for expansion.
Torrey Pines Bank has officially opened its office in Costa Mesa where it shares space with Bridge Bank. Both are part of Western Alliance Bank, the primary subsidiary of Phoenix-based Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE: WAL), with approximately $50 billion in assets.
Torrey Pines Bank, which has nine offices in San Diego and Los Angeles, in Orange County has been financing local nonbank private lenders for commercial real estate development.
“We have quite a few of those customers,” Robert McAuslan, executive vice president for Western Alliance Bancorp, where he is managing director of the Los Angeles region, told the Business Journal.
“There’s a lot of business here.”
A sign of the bank’s interest in Orange County occurred early last month when Chief Executive John Maguire and his executive team held an economic forecast at the Center Club in Costa Mesa.
The parent company’s size helps Torrey Pines Bank offer a variety of services including loan, deposit and treasury management capabilities, McAuslan said.
“We can service a lot of good size clients,” said McAuslan, a resident of Corona del Mar.
Truist Intentions
Charlotte-based Truist Financial (NYSE: TFC) was formed in 2019 when BB&T; finalized its $28 billion purchase of SunTrust.
It’s now the nation’s sixth-largest bank, serving 10 million consumer households and holding $530 billion in assets.
While it has offices for investment banking and insurance in Orange County, it doesn’t yet have a bank branch. It’s currently studying entering the California market, according to Marina del Rey-based Victoria Rixon, who heads Truist Wealth’s western region division.
In the meantime, it recently opened a wealth management office in Irvine, headed by Sam Moini, who has been working in Orange County since 1981. His experience includes 18 years as a managing director at Wells Fargo Bank in Irvine. During his career, he has held key roles with Citibank Private Bank in London, Bank of America and Sanwa Bank of California, which is now Bank of the West.
Orange County “is clearly one of the dominant markets for wealth,” Moini said when explaining the bank’s interest.
“Truist has taken steps to grow to a strong base. With the merger, there is more resources and capital to grow.”
Truist and its executives are growing their stature in Southern California. Rixon has joined the Orange County United Way at the behest of its CEO, Sue Parks, and the bank will be one of the official sponsors of NFL Super Bowl slated for Inglewood in February.
Executives at both Truist Wealth and Torrey Pines Bank say they are hiring for their Orange County offices.
