Some 30 investors of Embarcadero Bank, a community bank in organization for downtown San Diego, raised a bit more than $21 million in capital this summer, a record for a new local bank.
Steve Rippe, chief executive, said the bank is awaiting regulatory approvals from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and finishing training of its staff before a planned opening in December or January.
Of the hefty capital stash, Rippe said the amount was “a balancing act.”
“You want to make sure you raise enough capital to sustain the business for three to five years. But you also don’t want to raise too much so that it’s difficult to generate good returns.”
Rippe named Maria Kunac as president, and Steve Cooper as chief financial officer. Kunac formerly worked at Imperial Capital Bank as chief lending officer.
The minimum investment in the new bank was $100,000. One private equity fund, which Rippe declined to name, has more than 9.9 percent, which triggered an additional review from FDIC’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
, Mike Allen
