The board of directors of Southern California Bancorp, the holding company for Bank of Southern California, appointed executive chairman David I. Rainer to succeed Nathan Rogge as president and CEO of the company and the bank, effective immediately.

“The board and I are confident that David’s extensive banking experience and success in Southern California banking make him an ideal choice for president and CEO to continue the implementation of the bank’s commercial banking strategy,” John Farkash, chairman emeritus of Southern California Bancorp and Bank of Southern California, said. “On behalf of the board and the entire company, I want to express our appreciation for Nathan’s leadership and vision during the last 15 years. He has overseen the growth of the franchise from $50 million to $1.7 billion in assets and really created a strong franchise.”

“Fifteen years ago, I set out to build a premier community business bank. We created a strategic plan to grow the bank quickly through seven acquisitions and steady organic growth. We successfully grew the bank to 15 locations as we expanded into the Los Angeles and Orange County markets,” Rogge said. “I feel like I have accomplished what I set out to do. The bank is now well poised for its next step of increasing its commercial banking profile with new locations and depth in Los Angeles County. In departing the company, the bank and the boards of directors, I leave a newly augmented team, which includes outstanding, proven and experienced banking professionals who can continue the company’s mission of banking excellence. I want to thank each and every one of my colleagues who brought the bank to its position as a premier community banking institution.”

“I am very excited about the opportunities for the Bank of Southern California franchise and am humbled at the board’s confidence in me,” Rainer said. “We have a strong executive leadership team that is committed to expanding our commercial banking platform in Southern California. I am excited to be working closely with them to accomplish that goal while providing all of our communities with unparalleled service and expertise. We also recently announced the acquisition of Bank of Santa Clarita, which is expected to significantly increase our footprint in northern Los Angeles County.”

Rainer joined Southern California Bancorp in November 2020 with more than 40 years of banking industry experience at both national and community banks. He most recently served as a founder, chairman and CEO of CU Bancorp and its wholly-owned subsidiary, California United Bank, from 2005 through its sale in 2017. Prior to that, he was the executive vice president of commercial banking for the western U.S. at U.S. Bank. He served two three-year terms on the board of directors of the Los Angeles branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He is a member of the Price Board of Councilors at the USC Price School of Public Policy and previously served on the board of directors for the Boys and Girls Club of the West Valley, Inner City Arts, Junior Achievement and the LA Urban League.