Another major national bank is capitalizing on the 2023 collapse of three major banks to establish a foothold in Orange County.
Oklahoma City-based MidFirst Bank, the nation’s largest privately owned family bank with $42 billion in assets, has opened offices in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa with intentions to expand.
The lead Orange County executive is SVP, Senior Managing Director Joanne Stockdale, who spent 20 years at First Republic Bank before its collapse.
“It was a really challenging time,” Stockdale told the Business Journal. “I had been there so long, and I loved the culture. It was like a death in the family. I was grateful to find a place like MidFirst.”
Another First Republic Bank veteran who joined MidFirst is Chris Coswell, a senior managing director. Both are leading MidFirst’s efforts in Orange County.
The collapse of First Republic, as well as Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank, has made available the business they used to handle and talented local bankers. In 2022, First Republic and Signature Bank controlled about $5 billion in deposits in Orange County and employed almost 200, according to the Business Journal’s annual list of commercial banks.
Citizens Private Bank, a unit of Providence, Rhode Island-based Citizens Bank, opened a Newport Beach branch in February. Flagstar Bank, which is based in New York, is aiming to double its headcount here. Seattle-based WaFd Bank hired OC banking veteran Timothy Chelf as the regional president of California.
Customers Bank, which has $24 billion in assets and is based in West Reading, Pennsylvania, announced in December its new office at Irvine’s Park Plaza; the branch has hired about a dozen people who had worked at Signature Bank.
“Why do all the banks want to be in Orange County? That’s where the deposits are,” said Jason DiNapoli, president of MidFirst Bank California, referring to the county’s $163 billion in deposits.
“Orange County is the third largest in deposits in California. It’s a massive market, larger than most states.”
The bank’s Newport Beach branch, which opened in September at 680 Newport Center Drive, already has more than $200 million in deposits, which would have ranked it the 41st largest bank with operations in Orange County, according to the Business Journal’s annual list.
MidFirst Background
MidFirst Bank’s roots date to 1954 when it began as a mortgage company by W.R. Johnston, then became a community bank and eventually a national bank.
G. Jeffrey Records Jr., a grandson of Johnston, was chief executive for 30 years, growing the bank’s assets from $4 billion to $40 billion. The bank has been profitable each year under Records’ time as CEO, including 2008-2009 during the Great Financial Crisis.
The bank, which is owned by the Records family, expanded into Los Angeles in 2016 by acquiring 1st Century Bank, which got its start in 2004 and where DiNapoli was its third employee.
Last week, MidFirst announced that the 1st Century name will disappear as a brand, and it will be known as MidFirst Bank in California.
“Aligning under the MidFirst name reflects our long-term commitment to investing in California and supporting the continued growth of businesses and clients across the region,” Records, who is currently chairman at MidFirst, said in a statement.
A Tragedy in Banking
The collapse of Republic Bank and Signature Bank did lead to opportunities, DiNapoli said. More than 65 former First Republic employees have joined MidFirst as the bank expands its offices in Southern California.
“What happened was a tragedy in the banking community,” DiNapoli said. “Like Citizens and Flagstar, we saw it as an opportunity to grow in Southern California and create new teams.
“It’s a huge opportunity for us to bring Joanne,” DiNapoli added.
Stockdale, who has been in Orange County for more than two decades, said the bank is focused primarily on real estate and professional service firms. Stockdale said MidFirst’s edge is customer service, saying it offers “white-glove service.”
Since it is a privately held bank, the executives said neither they nor their clients need to worry about falling stock prices that could trigger a run on the bank. Stocksdale noted that none of its previous clients at First Republic lost money when that bank collapsed.
“The greatest thing is we are a privately held bank,” she said. “At the end of the day, the majority of clients who followed us are because of the relationships. They feel safety and security,”
