California

Community 1st Bank in Auburn, Calif., has named Kevin Watson chief financial officer.

The San Francisco company hopes to lower its costs by driving out human intervention as much as possible. To get there, it has made the counterintuitive decision to locate its operations staff in one of the country’s most expensive cities.

Summit State Bank in Santa Rosa, Calif., has exited the Small Business Lending Fund.

Ebrahim Shabudin, former chief operating officer and chief credit officer at United Commercial Bank in San Francisco, has been sentenced to 97 months in prison for securities fraud related to the bank's failure.

Pacific Mercantile Bancorp in Costa Mesa, Calif., has reached an agreement to swap about 3 million shares of common stock for all of its outstanding preferred stock and warrants.

Oak Valley Bancorp in Oakdale, Calif., has agreed to buy Mother Lode Bank in Sonora, Calif.

Tri-Valley Bank in San Ramon, Calif., plans to raise $1.35 million in a private placement of its common stock.

Santa Cruz County Bank in California has named Angelo DeBernardo its chief lending officer.

Heritage Oaks Bancorp in Paso Robles, Calif., has named Jason Castle chief financial officer, following CFO Lonny Robinson's resignation after grooming him for the job.

Banc of California in Irvine is looking for a new chief financial officer, after Ronald Nicolas announced his resignation.

CU Direct, a provider of lending, automotive and strategic solutions to the credit union industry headquartered here, on Wednesday said it has entered into a new agreement with Credit Union Leasing of America (CULA).

Broadway Financial in Los Angeles has named former MUFG Union Bank executive Erin Selleck to its board.

Presidio Bank in San Francisco has named Larry Nibbi, a minority owner of the San Francisco Giants, to its board.

Jolina M. Sanchez faces trial for allegedly diverting over $300,000 in member deposits.

Bank of the West in San Francisco has sold its insurance subsidiary to an insurance brokerage.

Intuvo, a division of CU Direct that provides marketing automation software to the credit union industry, announced that it has entered into new partnership agreements with four credit unions.

Coast Bancorp has sold two buildings next to its bank's headquarters in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and has refinanced debt.

Banc of California in Irvine, Calif., has named James McKinney principal accounting officer

Heritage Oaks Bancorp in Paso Robles, Calif., has purchased of $3 million worth of its trust-preferred securities.

First Foundation in Irvine, Calif., has begun an initial public offering to raise up to $100 million.