City National Bank has grown its Commercial Banking presence on the East Coast with the addition of nearly a dozen new bankers and now offers commercial, institutional, and nonprofit banking services throughout the region with an expanded focus on upstate New York, the mid-Atlantic and Southeast.   

City National offers private banking, commercial banking, wealth management, treasury services, brokerage and leasing services, software solutions and more through over 70 offices nationwide. Commercial Banking serves the needs of middle market companies with up to $500 million in annual revenue.

Under the leadership of Zach Mayo, head of City National’s Commercial Banking division on the East Coast, and Michael Walker, head of the division nationally, the new teams of regional bankers create customized solutions for businesses by leveraging a vast array of financial services including tailored lending solutions, treasury services, derivatives and foreign exchange, trade and supply chain finance, leasing, investment banking, private banking and more. The new teams also include industry leading expertise in banking solutions for nonprofits.

“Our new regional teams of experienced bankers bring to City National incredibly deep industry expertise and the level of care our clients have come to expect,” said Mayo, who is based in New York. “As our Commercial Banking group expands to comprise the entire eastern corridor of the U.S., we are committed to continuing to provide customized solutions and high-touch personal service that can help businesses and nonprofit organizations grow to meet their strategic goals.”

The new teams include:

Upstate New York: Geoffrey Rispoli, based out of New York, has joined as senior vice president of Commercial Banking in upstate New York. Rispoli brings a wealth of experience with over 18 years of international commercial banking, including leadership positions at HSBC, KeyBank, and Citigroup.

Mid-Atlantic: Jim Earnest has joined as senior vice president and leads Commercial Banking in the mid-Atlantic region. Earnest’s new team also includes Khanh Le, formerly of Bank of America, and Blake Balsamo, formerly of Citibank, and will cover from Virginia to northern New Jersey. Prior to City National, Earnest spent 15 years at Citigroup where he was a director for Citi Commercial Bank. At Citi, Earnest held several different roles, most recently as the national business head for diversified & financial services.

Southeast: Allen Phinney, based out of Georgia, has joined as senior vice president and will lead the bank’s Commercial Banking team in the Southeast region. Phinney has spent the last 23 years in commercial banking in Georgia, including the past five years in Corporate Banking at Atlantic Capital and 17 years in leadership at BB&T. Phinney also serves on the Board of Governors of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.

Additionally, the bank has added a national Institutional & Nonprofit Banking team.

National Institutional & Nonprofit Banking:

Brett Lane, based out of New York, has joined City National as senior vice president and leads Institutional & Nonprofit Banking. Lane has more than two decades of experience in institutional and nonprofit sales, institutional distribution, relationship management and more. Prior to joining City National, Lane was the head of Institutional & Nonprofit Banking at Deutsche Bank. Lane is joined by Nick Attard who will serve as a regional manager for the eastern U.S.