Community West Freed from Written Agreement with Fed

Community West Bancshares (CWBC) in Goleta, Calif., has been freed from a written agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

The $539 million-asset company had been operating under an April 2012 agreement that required its board to ensure compliance with a separate enforcement action issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The OCC written agreement — which required Community West to improve its capital ratios and address management deficiencies — was lifted in January.

"The termination of our company agreement with the Federal Reserve is another confirmation of the improvements we have achieved over the past two years," the company's president and chief executive, Martin Plourd, said in a Thursday press release. "This important milestone substantiates that our efforts to reduce problem assets, document the allowance for loan losses and return to profitability have been successful."

Community West had a 12.68% Tier 1 leverage ratio and a 16.84% total risk-based capital ratio as of Dec. 31, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. It earned $3.2 million in the fourth quarter, its sixth consecutive period of profits, and posted a net income of $9.6 million for the full-year 2013.

The company named Michael Phlaum as the chief operating officer of its bank in early March. Phlaum had previously served as the bank's senior vice president and community banking officer.