Neil NePote

Neil NePote joined North County’s 1st Pacific Bank of California this summer as senior vice president and regional manager. Previously, he was a senior vice president for Pacific Mercantile Bank in La Jolla.

Currently, 1st Pacific’s North County footprint comprises its Oceanside office, but the bank recently completed a merger with Solana Beach’s Landmark Bank, which also had an office in La Jolla.

NePote, 58, says he sees a growth opportunity in North County similar to the development of San Diego. “I was born and raised in San Diego, and I can remember when a trip to Oceanside was a half-day up Route 101,” he says. Today, he notes the development of the Route 78 corridor from Oceanside to Escondido, new business parks in Carlsbad, and light industrial in San Marcos, complete the urban development cycle.

"That’s the normal pattern, first homes, then retail follows, then industrial and manufacturing," he says.

NePote sees the Fed’s moves to pump liquidity into the stock market as largely a calming influence, but says commercial lenders have tightened their underwriting criteria "considerably."

In this environment, NePote says small businesses are being squeezed by higher rates, and community banks are being squeezed by bigger banks that will use the opportunity to gain market share by lowering their rates.

So, even with the growth in North County, NePote says 1st Pacific will be in a "wait and see mode" for a while as it gauges the market and digests its Landmark acquisition before expanding into other areas or making other acquisitions.

NePote moved to Hawaii in 1969 and lived there until 1997, when he moved back to San Diego. He graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1978. He and his wife, Kamuela, have one daughter, Hoku, who lives in Portland, Ore.