Montecito Bank & Trust is pleased to announce that Suzi Schomer has joined the bank as a vice president and business development officer, reporting to Jeff Pittman, senior vice president and director of Wealth Management.
“Suzi has spent her career assisting individuals, families, business owners, private foundations and charitable organizations, and her expertise will prove to be valuable for Montecito Bank & Trust clients,” Pittman said. “The knowledge and experience she brings will make our outstanding Wealth Management team even stronger.”
Schomer has more than 30 years of experience in financial services, with expertise in investment and asset management working with local Central Coast clients and in the Portland, Ore., and Austin, Texas, markets. Her experience also includes the successful development and implementation of wealth management strategies for multifaceted, complex trust, investment management and private banking clients.
“Montecito Bank & Trust is dedicated to providing our clients with complete wealth solutions and a world-class experience,” President and Chief Executive Officer Janet Garufis said. “Suzi’s experience and commitment to the community make her a perfect addition to our talented Wealth Management group. We are excited to add another great team member who will help make the communities we serve better places to live and work.”
Schomer has been an active volunteer in the Santa Barbara area for more than two decades. She is completing her term as foreman of the 2012-13 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury, and she serves as secretary for both the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation and the Channel City Club, and treasurer for the Santa Barbara Cemetery Association.
Schomer is also a board member of the Foundation for Santa Barbara City College and is on the Planned Giving and United for Literacy committees for United Way. Previously, she served on Planned Giving committees for the Music Academy of the West, Direct Relief International, Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care and the Storyteller Children’s Center.
She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Southern California, and lives in Santa Barbara.
Montecito Bank & Trust’s Wealth Management Division provides full investment management as well as trust and estate services for all branch markets. The bank has branches in Santa Barbara, Goleta, Solvang, Montecito, Carpinteria, Ventura and Westlake Village, with a second Goleta branch now open at Storke Road and Hollister Avenue. The bank offers a variety of competitive deposit and lending solutions for businesses and consumers including: business loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate finance, SBA loans, consumer loans, credit cards, merchant services, online banking, mobile banking, and cash management.
Montecito Bank & Trust, an S Corporation, is a locally owned community bank founded in 1975. It is known for its ongoing support of the community through unique giving programs like Anniversary GrantsSM and Community Dividends, which annually gifts $1 million to more than 150 local nonprofits.
— Carolyn Tulloh is the director of marketing for Montecito Bank & Trust.