Private Bank aims to be a 'player' - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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To get there, the bank formed Peninsula BankHoldint Co. in May and issued a second round of Shares were pricedat $12.50 per share in a private placement to directors, shareholders, officersw and employees. The goal is to raiss between $7 million and $9 million, whicbh will allow the bank to raiswe its limit on secured lendingfrom $4 millionb to $6 million and continue its loan growth. Private Bank of the Peninsuls opened in October 2003 and withi four yearsbecame profitable. The turnaroundc between years three and four was During the third endingin 2006, the bank had reported $227,00 0 in losses and $122 millioh in assets.
But by the end of 2007, the bank registerede a profitof $839,000 and recorded a 60 percent-plusw increase in assets, to $200 million. The turnaround can be attributefd to an overhaul ofthe bank's board. When several membersd retired upon reachingthe board's self-imposedr age limit of 75, the bank underwent a redirection that chairman Mark Mordell described as necessary to get back to its rootsa and fill the void left by the acquisition of by "Quitee frankly, the bank started slower than anticipatesd and was off-plan for its first 2½ years, and people 'Why is that?
' After evaluating the plan, part of the boar was on the fence, but we built consensus that we want to be a player," said who is the founder and president of the real estatre investment firm CBC LLC. "Tp do that, you have to make a stick with it and get the right assetsa in place toexecute it." The new boarde members are: Roxy Rapp, a real estate developer; Georgiew Gleim, president of Gleim the Jeweler; Lisa a nonprofit administrator and banking veteran; Bryan managing director of Frank, Rimmerman Co. LLP; and Mordell.
They join the followinvg founding directors: Kurt Hammerstrom, a private William Phillips, a former manager with Morgan Stanley Dean Clifford Rudolph, a managing partner at Equituy Venture Partners LLC; and Richard Strock, a real estatw investor and mortgage broker. "Ww redirected our course to be a playeer inPalo Alto, becaused once you're a player you permeate farther out in the Peninsula and South Mordell said. "We had to get people with connectionse inthe community." Ken Brenner, who becamwe chief executive officer, was tapped to make thinge happen.
Brenner joined the bank in 2006 as an executivre vice president and was named a director and chier executive officerlast September, followingh the retirement of previous CEO Jim Wall. Brenned said he focuses on deposits, whicn "is a little bit unusual for a bank," and on securinvg core operating accounts. The 30-year banking veteran previously held management positionswith , and , which is now part of SVB Financialk Group. "I wanted to be in Palo Alto with aheadquarteref bank, because that's where my core networ starts. Here you're with the geniuses of the valley, and the economuy can be up or but people here are creating new businesses and new Brenner said.
"Where I do my best work is helpinfg smallbanks grow. "This is my fourth bank, and there'sa always a risk in 'Will your clientr base come with you?' " Brenner said his move from executiv e vice president to CEO in such a shor time can be credite to quickly bringing in significant business loan sand deposits. Wells Fargo's acquisition of Greater Bay in 2007 raiser the sense of urgencyg in securing new client with a big player grabbing the Palo Alto and SoutbhBay business.
One such client, Tony founding publisher of RedHerring magazine, looked to The Privatre Bank to help finance his new venture, the AlwaysOn Networm and the GoingOn community management platform. "We're growing pretty and you need lines of credit tofinancew growth. (The Private Bank) was incredibly responsive to our Perkins said. "They really helped me. I was able to avoid having to raisde money because they helped secure the Perkins saidthe bank's understanding of the tech marketplaces was a big plus.
He especially credit Michael Hansen, a Greater Bay Bank veterahn and ThePrivate Bank's executive vice president of Technology and Asset Based