First Foundation Articles

First Foundation Bank Posts Outstanding Growth Numbers

Scott Kavanaugh, Chairman and CEO, First Foundation Bank

August 1, 2009

We at First Foundation Bank were extremely gratified to be listed recently among Orange County's "Top 20 Banks and S&Ls" in a recent issue of the Orange County Business Journal.

Our $146 million in assets as of March 31 earned us the 20th spot on the overall ranking, and no other bank on the list came close to our 236% asset growth and 503% deposit growth in the preceding year. By any measure, this is outstanding performance for a de novo bank that was christened in October 2007. We have had an aggressive three-year growth plan from the very start, and our team's achievements in meeting it over the subsequent seven quarters has helped us surge past other institutions that were launched in the same timeframe.

Our greatest strength has been the synergies we have achieved because of our association with our affiliates, First Foundation Advisors and The Keller Group Investment Management (soon to be renamed First Foundation Investment Management). By the end of 2008, we had already tracked 230 deposits, loans, trust account and insurance project referrals from our affiliates. Our five highly qualified Private and Business Bankers, in association with our affiliate's colleagues, have given us great opportunities to build solid client relationships in these uncertain times. This has been and will continue to be an essential part of our success.

The broader financial crisis has produced a silver lining for us in a couple of ways.

First, we have been successful in attracting new clients who were formerly with larger banks but who had grown frustrated with the level of services they were getting. With these bank's managing large staff layoffs, loan delinquencies and mega mergers over the past twelve months many of their clients have been ignored. All during this time we have been focused on our clients and prospects because we have a strong capital position, prudent lending standards and a great team. This story resonates well with new prospects. Once we are introduced and tell our story, we've had a 90 percent success rate converting them into First Foundation Bank clients.

Another benefit of the financial crisis has been a chance to tap into a pool of very talented people as grow our bank. Back in October 2007, it was extremely hard to attract proven people. Now our solid reputation and proven success in performing during these difficult times has helped us to add very experienced staff as we need them.

« Back to Article Index