Banking Ordinance Language Still Being Hashed Out

After three years, the Responsible Banking ordinance looks to be on track for final approval by the Los Angeles City Council. The sticking point of the law, proposed by east San Fernando Valley Councilman Richard Alarcon, has been its implementation. There was no agreement between the councilman and city staff on how to measure the lending practices and community-related activities of the banks the city does business with. This month, the council’s Budget and Finance Committee is expected to take up the issue and move forward with creating a group of banking experts and other interested parties to come up with the measurement criteria to be ready by the summer, Alarcon said. “We need to be a diligent customer to ensure we are working with companies that are good to the people who provide the taxes we use to operate,” Alarcon said. In choosing which banks the city will do business with, Alarcon wants to consider job creation, small business lending, bank branches and ATM locations in underserved areas, and philanthropic activities. Alarcon proposed the ordinance in early 2009 as homeowners were threatened with losing their homes to foreclosure. The original motion sought to have the city divest itself from banks failing to participate in foreclosure prevention efforts. That language is no longer part of the proposal. There then followed a lengthy period as the ordinance worked its way through committee meetings, and became the subject of reports by the city attorney and the city administrative office. By the fall 2011 the spirit of the ordinance to put transparency into banking activities matched the anti-bank sentiment captured in the Occupy Wall Street movement. The pressure of the activists kept the ordinance alive so that it took on a life of its own, Alarcon said. “Without the Occupy L.A. movement I think the council would have brushed this aside and ignored it,” Alarcon said. “They are fearful to take on the banks.” New Banking Team First California Bank added a banking team with a background in commercial banking and loans and deposits. Ken Kross, Steve Rubinstein and Warren Chiang will work with clients in the Los Angeles County, the San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire. The team brings an opportunity to add new customers for the Westlake Village-based bank and broaden the industry sectors it serves, said President and CEO C.G.Kum. “Recruiting proven banking teams has been and continues to be an important element of our strategic plan to grow our business,” Kum said in a prepared statement. Kross will serve as senior vice president and regional manager. Rubinstein and Chiang are vice presidents and relationship managers. First California made an appointment to head up its new branch in Santa Barbara. Catharine E. Manset will serve as senior vice president and regional manager. Prior to joining First California, she was senior lending manager for Community West Bank in Santa Barbara. Bank Appointments Union Bank has added to its management ranks with two appointments of banking industry veterans. Stephen Sherline is the new regional managing director of The Private Bank in the Los Angeles region. The private bank has locations in Sherman Oaks and Woodland Hills. Drew Dyet has joined the bank’s consumer lending group in the newly created position of account executive. He will be responsible for building and managing mortgage broker relationships in an area that includes the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Simi valleys. Prior to Union Bank, Sherline was the managing director of investments for Fifth Third Bank. His experience has been in serving families and companies with $1 million to $1billion in assets. “His depth of knowledge and unique experience will be a tremendous asset to his team of professionals who are committed to helping our clients manage their financial success,” said Executive Vice President of Wealth Markets Dennis Mooradian in a prepared statement. Dyet had been a senior account executive for correspondent lending at Bank of America before joining Union Bank. “With his extensive broker relationships and customer service focus, we are confident that Drew will help us continue to grow our wholesale lending team to better serve our clients,” said Daniel Dawson, senior vice president and wholesale division manager, in a prepared statement. New Branches JPMorgan Chase & Co. is opening four new offices in the San Fernando, Conejo and Antelope valleys this year and hiring 65 to 70 new employees to staff them. The move is part of a larger plan by Chase to grow its branches by 80 in California this year, adding 1,200 jobs. Chase will have more than 1,000 branches nationwide following its latest expansion, which will see the addition of 175 new branches nationwide. The new branches will be located in Burbank, Encino, Lancaster and Newbury Park. Staff Reporter Mark Madler can be reached at (818) 316-3126 or by e-mail at [email protected]