Regulators have terminated two cease-and-desist orders against a small Los Angeles commercial bank after a recapitalization effort and a management shakeup.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the California Department of Financial Institutions issued the orders against First Standard Bank, now known as Open Bank, in February 2008 and August 2009.
"We are very pleased that the orders have been terminated and that our efforts to comply with the orders have been recognized by the FDIC and the DFI," Min Kim, the president and chief executive of the $136.3 million-asset Open Bank, said Friday in a news release.
Kim said that with the termination of the orders and the bank's new management, Open Bank has greater flexibility in executing its business plan. Kim was previously the president and chief executive of Nara Bancorp Inc.
The February 2008 order required the bank to take several steps, including retaining qualified management, completing a review of the structure and effectiveness of the bank's directors and officers by an independent consultant and requiring the board to increase its participation in the bank's activities. Since Kim joined the bank in April 2010, it has hired a new chief financial officer, chief credit officer and chief lending officer.
Under the 2008 order, the bank also had to maintain a Tier 1 capital ratio of 10%. In April, the bank raised $11.1 million in new capital by selling more than 3.9 million shares of common stock at $2.85 each in a private placement. At Sept. 30, the bank's Tier 1 risk-based capital was 17.43%.
The August 2009 order required the bank to implement a written compliance program, conduct a comprehensive Bank Secrecy Act risk assessment and improve its system for reviewing customer transactions for potentially suspicious activity.
