Solera Hires New Chief Credit Officer

Solera National Bancorp (SLRK) in Lakewood, Colo., has hired a veteran risk manager as its chief credit officer.

Lindsay Sandham will succeed Larry Heesch, who is set to retire at the end of the month, the $155 million-asset Solera said Tuesday.

Sandham is a past president of the local chapter of the Risk Management Association, a trade group for bank credit officers. Sandham has experience across a broad range of risk management and lending activities, Solera said.

Most recently, he was the chief credit officer at Native American Bank, where he created and administered the bank's loan policies and procedures while overseeing credit risk and exposure. Prior to joining Native American, Sandham was the chief credit officer at Federal Trust Bank, and his background also includes senior-level positions at Seacoast National Bank and SunTrust Bank.

Last week Solera said that it had recruited a 40-person mortgage banking team in five offices across Colorado from a rival lender to start its own residential mortgage division. Earlier this year, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency lifted a consent order that required Solera to strengthen its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and reduce risk in its loan portfolio.