Enterprise Expands Its L.A. Presence

In big local push, firm has hired three banking veterans.

Midwestern financial institution Enterprise Bank & Trust is following up on its significant push into the Los Angeles area with the recruitment of three local veteran banking executives.

The bank, which acquired Cerritos-based First Choice Bancorp in a $400 million stock deal in May 2021, recently announced that it had hired Peter Pacheco, Kate Armado and Bryan Arguello, three executives with more than a half-century of combined experience in the Southern California area.

Pacheco, joining as senior vice president and relationship manager, will manage high-profile commercial loan portfolios to support “Enterprise’s high-touch business model,” according to the company. Armado comes to Enterprise with nearly two decades of combined banking and client management experience and will serve as senior vice president and business development manager. Arguello joins as senior portfolio manager.

The company has 1,100 employees worldwide, with 192 in California and 67 in the Los Angeles area. In an email to the Business Journal, John Meek, the company’s executive vice president and director of commercial banking in Los Angeles and Orange counties, said Enterprise had hired 29 associates in California in 2022 — 11 of them in L.A. County.

Meek said the acquisition of First Choice Bancorp created an opportunity to partner with a strong commercial bank that saw this as a solution to help clients grow through access to more capital, better technology, and a deeper bench of expertise.

“Enterprise is able to continue what First Choice Bancorp did well, but now also provides the ability to finance larger deals and offer expanded services including advanced treasury management and wealth management capabilities, and a larger breadth of complementary products and services,” Meek said.

Enterprise is investing substantially in the L.A. market with the expectation of high growth, he said. Meek, a 32-year banking executive, was relocated to the area as part of the company’s L.A. growth campaign.