LOS ANGELES, Jan. 7, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- City National Bank announced that Rodney F. "Rod" Banks, 51, today joined the company as executive vice president and manager of Commercial Banking Services. He also becomes a member of the bank's executive committee.
Reporting to City National Bank President Christopher Warmuth, Banks will be responsible for commercial banking strategy, business development and client service in California, which boasts the eighth-largest economy in the world and is home to more than 800,000 businesses. He will oversee the coordinated delivery of credit, depository and cash management services to middle-market companies. Banks also will work with the company's Private Banking Services and Wealth Management divisions to provide clients with trust, investment management, brokerage and advisory services.
"City National has added one of the top commercial bankers in California," said Warmuth. "Rod is an experienced leader in the financial services industry, and he understands the communities we serve very well. He knows what businesses need to be successful, and his expertise will help our colleagues deliver the full range of capabilities and superior client service that City National has always been known for."
Banks has been in financial services for 30 years, including the past eight years in California as Bank of America's business and commercial banking head. From 2005 to 2007, he served as regional president of business banking for California, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. He and his team managed a portfolio that included $5 billion in loans and $10 billion in deposits.
From 2002 to 2005, Banks was the regional small business banking executive for California, Nevada and Arizona. Before that, he was Bank of America's California commercial banking head from 1999 until 2002.
Between 1983 and 1999, Banks served in a variety of roles in the southeast United States with Bank of America (and predecessor banks NationsBank and Citizens and Southern Bank), including client manager, SBA (Small Business Administration) manager, Atlanta area executive, corporate sales manager and regional commercial head for the mid-south banking region.
Beginning in 1980, Banks spent two years as a national bank examiner with the Comptroller of the Currency and one year as a commercial banker with Gainesville National Bank in Georgia. He began his career in 1978 in public accounting.
Banks is active in the community. He is the immediate past chairman of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., an executive board member of the California Council on Economic Education and a trustee of the Los Angeles Zoo. He served on the boards of the California Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Southern California Leadership Council, and the United Way of Greater Los Angeles.
A native of Georgia, Banks earned a bachelor's degree in accounting at Georgia State University, attended the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University, the Duke University Executive Management Program and the Leadership Institute's Leadership at the Peak Program in Boulder, Colo.
Banks and his family reside in La Canada, Calif.
About City National
City National Bank is the wholly owned subsidiary of City National Corporation (NYSE:CYN). It is backed by $15.5 billion in total assets, and provides banking, investment and trust services through 62 offices, including 15 full-service regional centers, in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, Nevada and New York City.
The company and its nine majority-owned investment affiliates manage or administer more than $57 billion in client investment assets, including $35.9 billion under direct management.
For more information about City National, visit the company's Website at cnb.com.
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