Woodforest National Bank recently celebrated the opening of a new Commercial Banking Regional office in downtown Los Angeles to provide commercial lending, payments and cash management and wealth management services to middle market companies and larger corporations based on the West Coast. The geographic coverage for the office includes Northern and Southern California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
The new location will promote the bank's "WNB Commercial" brand for its strategy in this region and will be led by David Macdonald, Regional President for Woodforest National Bank. Macdonald previously lead HSBC's Southern California middle market & large corporate group where he established a new relationship management team in late 2010 and had tremendous success in building a significant commercial banking portfolio. Prior to HSBC, Macdonald was the Head of Corporate Banking for Lloyds Banking Group, responsible for their regional offices across the US and a number of dedicated sector teams.
The opening reception, held at the new regional office, featured guest speaker Bill Allen, CEO of Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC). Allen commented, "WNB Commercial is entering the fast growing western U.S. regional market at a propitious time. The LA metropolitan regional economy alone now exceeds $1 trillion per year and with innovative enterprises in many industry sectors scaling quickly here, we welcome the WNB Commercial team and their demonstrated commitment to providing commercial lending, wealth management and first class client service. And we salute the fact that their initial provision of capital to visionary entrepreneurs in our region is already helping create hundreds of well-paying new jobs here in LA County."
The new WNB Commercial team has a strong bench including Carlos Ramos, David Molnar and Kyle Kneubuhl, Senior Vice President Relationship Managers for Woodforest National Bank, who each worked with Macdonald in their previous organizations. WNB Commercial's strategy is to provide "big bank" expertise within a smaller, nimbler and more responsive institution while delivering an exceptional client experience. "We invested in the latest technology and experienced bankers so we can deliver a first class client experience with a "boutique" feel," said Macdonald.
Sector specialisms for the team include companies in the food and beverage sector, franchising, healthcare and professional practices, retail and apparel, and technology oriented businesses. In addition, middle market businesses and larger corporations within all key industries in the local economy are actively targeted.
The WNB Commercial team currently services a portfolio of over 40 family owned businesses, middle market, and large corporate clients. The client base includes such companies as Air Lease Corporation and Hooman Nissani of Nissani Bros. Auto Mall, who recently opened a location in Playa Vista with over 149 vehicle service bays and plans for up to 8 car dealerships, creating over 800 new jobs to help support the vibrant LA County economy.