First California Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of First California Financial Group Inc., has announced plans to expand its operations into Santa Barbara. To support the initiative, the company named Catharine Manset as senior vice president and regional manager.
“We believe the Santa Barbara marketplace represents a highly attractive growth opportunity that would welcome a strong, client focused, community business bank,” said C.G. Kum, president and chief executive officer. “First California has the resources and breadth of product offerings to serve a wide range of local area businesses. With more than 25 years of banking experience and widely known and respected in the Santa Barbara market, Catharine is the ideal professional to lead the growth of our business in this community.”
“Catharine is a seasoned banker in the Santa Barbara community, with an excellent reputation and following,” said Stacy Peterson, First California Bank’s market president. “She will be instrumental in supporting our efforts to establish and build First California’s presence throughout Santa Barbara.”
Manset, a Santa Barbara native, most recently served as the senior lending manager for Community West Bank, a Santa Barbara-based community bank.
Before that, she served as chief lending officer for the California Coastal Rural Development Corporation. Earlier, she held the position of vice president, commercial loan officer and branch manager for Montecito Bank & Trust. Manset began her banking career at Security Pacific Bank, later acquired by Bank of America.
Manset recently served as immediate past president of the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table and currently sits on the board. She has also been involved with the UCLA Alumni Scholarship Committee for nearly 25 years and has served as a part-time instructor for UCSB Extension and SBCC. Manset also serves on the Leadership Council for the Special Olympics-Santa Barbara County Region.
Manset earned a master’s degree in business administration from Drake University and a bachelor’s degree in economics and history from UCLA.
— Matt Sheldon is a publicist representing First California Bank.
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