Opus Bank Further Expands Its Banking Team in San Francisco Region

- Peter B. Hooker Joins as Managing Director, Business Development Officer -

- Sheila Emami Joins as Director, Client Manager, Corporate Finance -

- Vicente Lopez Joins as Director, Business Development Officer -

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Opus Bank (“Opus”) (NASDAQ: OPB) announced today the expansion of its banking team in its San Francisco Region with the hires of Peter B. Hooker, a 23-year banking and finance veteran joining as Managing Director, Business Development Officer; Sheila Emami joining as Director, Client Manager, Corporate Finance; and Vicente Lopez joining as Director, Business Development Officer.

Michael Allison, Co-President of Opus Bank and President of Opus’ Commercial Bank, stated, “We are pleased that Peter, Sheila, and Vicente have joined Opus to expand our banking coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area. Each is a highly regarded banking veteran with a tremendous depth of experience providing tailored solutions to entrepreneurs, business owners, middle market companies, and private equity sponsor-backed companies for mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buy-outs, balance sheet restructurings, recapitalizations, and growth capital.” Michael Allison concluded, “We look forward to Opus continuing to grow its loan fundings, deposit base, and market presence, adding to the success Opus has already achieved having funded over $525 million of loans in the San Francisco Bay Area in the past two years.”

Mr. Hooker joins Opus most recently from Natixis Securities America LLC, where he served as Managing Director in the Debt Capital Markets Group. From 1993 to 2012, Mr. Hooker was a banker at J.P. Morgan, where he served since 2004 as Managing Director – Leverage Finance, focused on advising and providing debt financing to financial sponsors and corporations in a variety of industries. Mr. Hooker holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Drake University and an M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business, where he graduated with distinction.

Ms. Emami joins Opus most recently from Partender, a food & beverage SaaS company. Prior to Partender, Ms. Emami served as a Vice President, Relationship Manager at HSBC Bank USA, where she was responsible for establishing and building relationships with international middle-market corporations with up to $1 billion in total revenue. Ms. Emami began her banking career with Wells Fargo & Company as a Financial Analyst in the Credit Resolution Group, where she underwrote the restructuring of distressed cash flow and asset-based loans for both private and public companies. Ms. Emami graduated from Wells Fargo’s Credit Management Training Program in San Francisco in 2013 and participated in the International Rotation Program, during which time she was based in Wells Fargo’s Hong Kong office. Ms. Emami holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Economics from Pitzer College and is an alumna of the Summer Institute for General Management program at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

Mr. Lopez joins Opus from Community Bank of the Bay, where he served most recently as a Vice President, Relationship Manager and earlier as Credit Analyst. Mr. Lopez holds a B.A. in Business Economics from Claremont McKenna College.

About Opus Bank

Opus Bank is an FDIC insured California-chartered commercial bank with $7.5 billion of total assets, $6.1 billion of total loans, and $6.2 billion in total deposits as of June 30, 2016. Opus Bank provides high-value, relationship-based banking products, services, and solutions to its clients through its Retail Bank, Commercial Bank, Merchant Bank, and Correspondent Bank. Opus Bank offers a suite of treasury and cash management and depository solutions and a wide range of loan products, including commercial, healthcare, media and entertainment, corporate finance, multifamily residential, commercial real estate, and structured finance, and is an SBA preferred lender. Opus Bank offers commercial escrow services and facilitates 1031 Exchange transactions through its Escrow and Exchange divisions. Opus Bank provides clients with financial and advisory services related to raising equity capital, targeted acquisition and divestiture strategies, general mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, balance sheet restructuring, valuation, strategy, and performance improvement through its Merchant Banking division and its broker-dealer subsidiary, Opus Financial Partners. Opus Bank’s subsidiary, PENSCO Trust Company, is a leading tech-enabled alternative asset IRA custodian with over $12 billion of custodial assets and over 48,000 client accounts, which are comprised of self-directed investors, financial institutions, capital raisers, and financial advisors. Opus Bank operates 56 banking offices, including 32 in California, 21 in the Seattle/Puget Sound region in Washington, two in the Phoenix metropolitan area of Arizona, and one in Portland, Oregon. Opus Bank is an Equal Housing Lender. For additional information about Opus Bank, please visit our website: www.opusbank.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may include forward-looking statements related to Opus’ plans, beliefs and goals, which involve certain risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information presented in this press release is not a guarantee of future events, and actual events may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking information contained in this press release. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “intend” or “expect” or variations thereon or similar terminology. All such statements speak only as of the date made, and Opus undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Connect with Opus Bank

OpusBank.com │ LinkedIn │ Twitter │ YouTube

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160831005401/en/

Opus Bank
Mr. Jeff L. Leonard, 949-251-8146
SVP, Director of Communications

Source: Opus Bank

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• US Financial 15 Split Corp. declares $0.08058 preferred dividend
• Ralph Good Releases Helping the Wounded Heal, a Faith-Based Book on Freedom from Legalism, Fear, and Spiritual Abuse
• Enzymedica Launches Phytosome® Formulas for Sleep, Stress and Whole-Body Comfort*