Oak Valley Community Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oak Valley Bancorp,, announced Hamit Utush has joined the bank as Vice President in the Commercial Real Estate Group. He will be based out of the Sacramento - Capitol Mall Office.

Hamit has 15 years of experience in the banking industry, predominantly in the Commercial Real Estate field. He will be responsible for business development, identifying financing solutions for clients, and assessing commercial real estate projects in the greater Sacramento region. “We are confident in Hamit’s expertise in the Commercial Real Estate industry. His broad understanding of all aspects of commercial banking and real estate finance make him a valuable asset to the bank,” stated Cathy Ghan, Senior Vice President, Commercial Real Estate Group.

Utush received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration/Economics from Saint Mary’s College of California and later returned to earn his Executive MBA. He completed a curriculum from the Certified Commercial Investment Member Institute and is a Keiretsu Forum Academy graduate. Keiretsu is the world’s largest angel investor network. Utush and his family are long-time residents of the Sacramento area and they currently reside in Rocklin. Outside of the office, he enjoys training and coaching all facets of the game of soccer and spending time with his family.

Oak Valley Bancorp operates Oak Valley Community Bank & their Eastern Sierra Community Bank division, through which it offers a variety of loan and deposit products to individuals and small businesses. They currently operate through 17 conveniently located branches: Oakdale, Turlock, Stockton, Patterson, Ripon, Escalon, Manteca, Tracy, Sacramento, two branches in Sonora, three branches in Modesto, and three branches in their Eastern Sierra division, which includes Bridgeport, Mammoth Lakes and Bishop.