Southern California Bancorp Reshuffles and New Advisory Members at FDIC

David Rainer, chairman, president and CEO of San Diego-based Bank of Southern California, is to take a sabbatical from the bank until early 2023, it announced last week.

Rainer has temporarily stepped down from his roles, effective from April 29, for “personal reasons unrelated to his health”, the bank said. He is expected to return in “early 2023”, although the bank’s statement added that “no assurances can be made”.

Lead director Irwin Golds is to take on the role of chairman on an interim basis. Thomas Dolan, chief financial officer, will become interim CEO, while chief banking officer Richard Hernandez has been appointed president.

In addition, Jean Carandang has joined from Suncrest Bank as CFO as of April 30, while Joann Yeung has been appointed chief accounting officer. Khoi Dang has been named chief administrative officer alongside his existing role as chief legal officer, and Tony DiVita has been appointed chief strategy officer.

Rainer said he was “confident in the board and management’s ability to continue executing on the relationship-based banking strategy we have put in place and I look forward to returning from this temporary sabbatical to once again lead this outstanding team”.

FDIC — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has appointed seven new members to its Advisory Committee on Community Banking. These include:

• Troy Campbell, president and CEO of Pennsylvania-based Altoona First Savings Bank
• Robert James II, executive vice president at Carver State Bank in Georgia
• Trey Maust, executive chairman of Oregon’s Lewis & Clark Bank
• Dominik Mjartan, president and CEO of Optus Bank, based in Columbia, South Carolina
• Arlen Osterbuhr, chairman and CEO of Nebraska-based Minden Exchange Bank and Trust Company
• Shane Pilarski, president and CEO of Alliance Bank in Indiana
• Kim Reigelsberger, president of Missouri’s Preferred Bank

Finward Bancorp — Todd Scheub has been named bank president and chief revenue officer of Indiana-headquartered Finward Bancorp and its subsidiary Peoples Bank.

He joined Peoples in 1996 and held a number of positions in the bank’s commercial lending arm before becoming chief banking officer, responsible for wealth management, retail banking, marketing, commercial, and retail lending.

Unity Bank — The New Jersey-based bank has named Aaron Tucker as vice chairman of its board, succeeding his father Allen Tucker, who has retired at the age of 95.

Allen Tucker has been a member of the Unity Board since 1995. Aaron Tucker is a Unity Bank director as well as president and CEO of Tucker Enterprises, a real estate company his father founded.

Climate First Bank — The Florida-based ‘green’ banking company has appointed Lex Ford to its board of directors. Ford joined the bank in October last year and is currently its president.

The bank now has $160 million in assets and aims to help grow the number of solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations, and energy-efficient buildings in central Florida through its lending business.