Vince Siciliano

Among the first in the new wave of de novo lenders that emerged around the turn of the century was 1st Pacific Bank. With an initial stake of less than $12 million, 1st Pacific has streaked to more than $140 million in assets. By year end 2003, the Golden Triangle-based bank moved into the black with a 1.43 ROA (compared to -0.12 the year before), a 44 percent increase in deposits, and a 47 percent increase in loans.

CEO Vince Siciliano doesn’t want to take time to enjoy the view, and doesn’t like to talk about plateaus. “I like to think 2003 was a growth year,” he says.

It also was a rebound year. The bank earned $1.70 million, erasing a loss of $87,000 the year before. The results were somewhat inflated, though, by tax benefits resulting from its initial operations. The bank fully recognized its tax benefits during the fourth quarter, and from now on earnings will be fully taxable.

The bank is positioned as a business bank for firms with sales from $1 million to $30 million. Siciliano says the bank became the region’s leading SBA 504 (real estate) lender last year. But SBA has been in turmoil lately because of a decision to cap 7(a) loans at $750,000 and suspend lending for a few weeks in January. Lending has since been resumed.

“It has been somewhat chaotic the way the funding has been turned on and off again and that has had an effect on 7a loans,” Siciliano says. “How do you go from putting a $750,000 cap to suddenly having no funds available?”

He’s got an answer. “It’s an equation that gets mixed up in politics so it’s not completely amenable to rational discourse,” Siciliano says.

The CEO says relationships are the key to success and lists five values that drive the bank’s culture: integrity, teamwork, communication, accountability and significant results.

Siciliano has a 20-plus year career in San Diego banking, including the CEO role at International Savings Bank and Danielson Trust Co. He’s been active in both the local opera and symphony, and is chairman of the Ken Blanchard Center for Faith Walk Leadership, a foundation that provides faith-based leadership training.

The board’s banking experience includes former San Diego Port Commissioner Susan Lew’s stint on the board of Bank of Commerce; Albert Colucci served on the Rancho Vista Bank board. Former San Diego Mayor Susan Golding was on the board that opened the bank, but Siciliano says she was busy with activities that frequently took her out of town. She now serves on the bank’s advisory board.

As the bank approaches $200 million, Siciliano says there are no plans to be acquired. “We have 600 shareholders and nobody owns more than 4 percent of the bank, so there’s no one person controlling us. We’re a true community bank.”