BBVA Compass has named banking industry veteran James Ligman as its Orange County City President, bolstering the bank's California presence by promoting from within.
Ligman has been in the industry for more than two decades and will be tasked with managing the bank's commercial and Global Wealth operations in the Orange County area. His most recent role with BBVA Compass was as the Orange County area's commercial banking manager.
"Our Orange County market is growing exponentially, and James is the perfect choice for this position," said BBVA Compass California CEO Everett Orrick. "I consider myself fortunate to have been able to work side-by-side with James for the past six years while further developing BBVA Compass' California presence. He's going to enhance our already solid operations in Orange County."
Before his role as City President, Ligman joined BBVA Compass in 2013 as a mid-corporate relationship manager, tasked with developing relationships with business clients with revenues from $500M to $3 Billion. He has more than 20 years of experience in the banking industry, with a focus on commercial and healthcare lending.
Before joining BBVA Compass, Ligman worked in corporate lending, leverage lending, as well as technology banking. He earned his Bachelor's degree from the University of California at Irvine, and his M.B.A from California State University at Fullerton. He also was selected to attend the BBVA Compass Executive Education Program at the University of Texas in 2018.
BBVA Compass has been in the California markets for over 10 years since its parent group's foray into the United States, but has been vigorously expanding its presence recently. Ligman is the bank's seventh market president for the state of California.
The most recent hiring before Ligman was Heather Sanchez as its Ontario City President in December. BBVA Compass also touted its Los Angeles operations and Market President Stephen Flynn in this profile article, where Flynn speaks about the bank's energetic "startup" like team.