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Private-equity investors in Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., are cashing in some of their chips.
November 18 -
Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., has promoted Jennifer Simmons to chief operating officer and appointed her to the executive committee.
October 29 -
Mark Simmons, a seasoned commercial lender, is planning to open a bank in Californias Orange County that is dedicated to making loans to businesses. Core Commercial Bank, expected to be the states first de novo since 2008, would jump into a market where commercial lenders are plentiful and aggressive.
November 25
Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., will cut about 10% of its workforce and cancel contracts for redundant systems and services.
The moves will produce about $7 million in savings, the $6.2 billion-asset bank said in a news release Monday. The majority of Opus' job cuts will come from retail banking and the rest will come from support and administrative roles.
"While Opus may have an industry-leading efficiency ratio, that doesn't mean we ever get comfortable," Chairman and Chief Executive Stephen Gordon said in the release.
Opus had a 47.5% efficiency ratio in the third quarter, according to its Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. call report.
Opus no longer needs some of the employees and outside vendors that it hired during its early years of growth, Jenny Simmons, chief operating officer, said in the release. Opus did not identify which vendor contracts it plans to cancel. It will be able to use data analytics and improvements in business processes to get by without the employees and vendors who would be eliminated, Simmons said.
Opus will also make revenue enhancements over time, the bank said in the release, providing no details on the enhancements.
