Rick Sanborn

Rick Sanborn knows how hard it is to find qualified lenders. He used to run an executive training program at Wells Fargo, before deciding he’d like to run an entire bank. As the recently appointed president of Chula Vista’s Seacoast Commerce Bank, Sanborn gets to join the countywide chase for lending talent, and try out what he learned at Wells on a new generation of lenders.

“The big banks stopped providing training programs as their business models changed,” says Sanborn. “It’s not so much who manages the account; there’s no relationship. People input numbers into a computer, it’s like lending in a box.”

Sanborn will need some savvy lenders to change course at Seacoast Commerce, with assets of $66 million and an ROA that has drifted below zero.

“There hasn’t been a lot of growth,” Sanborn says. The bank lacked a strategy for growth, something Sanborn plans to provide with “significant changes,” he says, and a return to profitability in the next six to 12 months.

Sanborn has some experience with turnarounds. He credits former Bank of Southern California President Tom King with giving him significant management experience at the once troubled San Diego bank. Sanborn also had a stint as CEO of $75 million Palomar Savings & Loan, which was sold in 2001 to Redlands-based Centennial First Financial. Sanborn was working for Pacific Western Bank when he was recruited by Seacoast Board Chairman Bruce Nunes, who was seeking a replacement for retiring CEO Douglas Shearer.

Sanborn is the son-in-law of former Bank of Commerce CEO and former mayoral candidate Peter Q. Davis. “He’s a fantastic resource and mentor for me,” Sanborn says. “He’s seen a lot and done a lot and when I had questions, he’s been very helpful.”

Sanborn says he’s planning to use Seacoast’s geographical niche as the only bank headquartered in the South Bay to increase lending among the area’s manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors working in the import/export trade.

Asked if 2007 was a challenging time to lead a turnaround, Sanborn says, “We’re challenged around two things: a limited supply of talent, and deposits. There are plenty of loan deals. Those are two big challenges for every bank.”