Division Managers
- Willy Chua
- Allen H. Court
- Brandon D. Day
- Darlene M. Esquerra
- Annette Isaacs
- John Nixon
- Lourdes Ochoa
- Jocelyn Pastore
Willy Chua -
Vice President & International Trade Finance Manager
Send emailChua brings more than 35 years of international financing experience to Grandpoint Bank. He was previously Vice President and Trade Finance Officer at First Commerce Bank, which merged with Grandpoint in December 2010.
Before joining First Commerce in 2005, Chua was an International Analyst at Comerica Bank and a Senior Letters of Credit Negotiator for Mizuho Corporate Bank of California (formerly Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank of California) since 1995. Previously, he worked for Bank of America, Bank of Leumi Le Israel, and California First Bank (now Union Bank). Chua spent 11 years in commercial banking in the Philippines.
Chua earned a bachelor of science degree in Commerce/Accounting from Far Eastern University in Manila, Philippines.
Allen H. Court -
Senior Vice President & Regional Manager
Newport/Irvine
Send emailPrior to joining Grandpoint, Court held a senior executive position with First Regional Bank from 1997 until 2010. He opened the bank's first regional office in Orange County, which served as the prototype for First Regional's regional office structure. In 2010, First Citizen's Bank of Raleigh, N.C., acquired First Regional Bank. Court remained as the Irvine Regional Senior Vice President until he joined Grandpoint in April 2011.
Previously, Court held key business development and managerial positions with City National Bank, Imperial Bank, Mitsui Manufacturers Bank, Toronto Dominion Bank and Union Bank.
He received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration/Economics from Norwich University in Northfield, Vt., and earned an MBA from Pepperdine University. Court is a graduate of the Pacific Coast School of Banking, University of Washington, and carries the Omega Commercial Lender certification.
Brandon D. Day -
Senior Vice President & SBA Manager
Send emailDay brings more than 20 years of SBA lending experience to Grandpoint. During his career, he has successfully managed the SBA lending operations of Pacific Commerce Bank, Professional Business Bank, Sterling Bank and The Pacific Bank. He has a solid track record of building experienced SBA lending divisions for banks. Most recently, he was Executive Vice President of Pacific Commerce Bank, where he established the SBA Division in 2007, obtained the bank's PLP lending status and became the most profitable division of the bank.
Day received his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his M.B.A. from California State University, Sacramento. Day is also a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington, and he is a member of the Pasadena Rotary Club.
Darlene M. Esquerra -
Senior Vice President & Institutional Banking Manager
Send emailEsquerra most recently served as Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager for Global Correspondent Banking at Wells Fargo Bank. In that position, she managed the sale and delivery of financial products and services to a large portfolio of community banks, consistently exceeding goals for relationship development and portfolio growth. She maintained full portfolio compliance and created an on-site client/staff training program that enhanced product knowledge and led to strong portfolio growth.
From 1994 to 1996, Esquerra was Assistant Vice President and Operations Manager in the Real Estate Division of First Interstate Bank of California. She was responsible for ensuring the operational integrity of the Escrow Deposit Services and Foreclosure/Reconveyance departments, which handled work for the 12 states in First Interstate's Northwest and Southwest regions. In that capacity, Esquerra developed a highly effective tracking program for title referrals and refined operating procedures that significantly increased the efficiency of both departments. Previously, she served as a Client Services Team Leader, working with title and escrow clients. Esquerra launched her financial services career in 1978 at Crocker National Bank.
Esquerra is actively involved in many community and philanthropic organizations. Her passion is feeding homeless women and children, and she and her husband created, funded and work a program focused on the needs in downtown Los Angeles.
Annette Isaacs -
Senior Vice President & Treasury Management Services Manager
Send emailMost recently, Isaacs worked at City National Bank, first as Vice President of Treasury Cash Management Sales beginning in 1999, and, from 2007 to 2010, as Vice President and Team Leader for Treasury Management Sales. She managed a staff of sales officers who supported the Bank's branches, commercial banking offices and specialty units, working collaboratively to analyze client needs and cross sell treasury management services.
From 1991 to 1999, Isaacs served as Assistant Vice President and then Vice President of Cash Management for Imperial Bank. She was responsible for marketing cash management services to middle market companies, municipalities, trust companies and the health care industry as well as supporting Imperial's branch offices. In 1988, she joined the Los Angeles office of First National Bank of Chicago as a Service Consultant in the Cash Management Services division. In that capacity, she was responsible for providing cash management services for 300 West Coast client relationships. Isaacs began her banking carerr in 1978 at First Interstate Bank of California..
Isaacs is a member of the Association for Financial Professionals of Southern California and volunteers with the Y.W.C.A. - West San Fernando Valley, Wonder of Reading program and Soccer Committee. She earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from California State University, Los Angeles.
John Nixon -
Senior Vice President & Regional Manager
South Bay
Send emailPrior to joining Grandpoint, Nixon was Senior Vice President of Preferred Bank, where he worked from 1994 to 2010. In that capacity, Nixon managed a team of Business Development Officers and underwriting staff whose efforts were focused in corporate finance, real estate development and professional services. Additionally, he was involved with credit administration, strategic planning, human resources and special assets.
Previously, Nixon was with Marathon Bank in Los Angeles. He worked in various capacities at Marathon, including business development, commercial lending, real estate lending and credit administration. Prior to that, Nixon was employed by regional banks located in the Southwest.
Nixon earned a bachelor's degree in Finance from the University of Oklahoma.
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Lourdes Ochoa -
Senior Vice President & Director of Residential Lending
Send emailPrior to joining Grandpoint in 2009, Ochoa served as Senior Vice President responsible for residential lending and loss mitigation at First Federal Bank of California, where she managed all aspects of loan operations, underwriting, secondary marketing, lending compliance, sales and loss mitigation.
During her tenure at First Federal, she developed procedures that improved efficiency within the lending unit, in addition to fully expanding a traditional portfolio lender into the Secondary Market. She also designed, structured and managed a new Loss Mitigation and Loan Modification Department.
From 1997 to 2004, Ochoa served as Mortgage Center Compliance Specialist and then Vice President and Mortgage Center Operations Manager at East West Bank. She was previously the Real Estate Funding Department Manager for Community Commerce Bank overseeing commercial, construction and residential real estate loan documentation, funding and compliance.
Ochoa previously served on the Compliance Committee of the Mortgage Bankers Association and is a member of the West San Gabriel Valley Association of Realtors, National Hispanic Business Women Association and Heartlink Network. She completed the Mortgage Lending Certificate program at California State University, Fullerton, in 1996.
Jocelyn Pastore -
Executive Vice President & Regional Manager
Brentwood, Encino
Send emailBefore joining Grandpoint, Pastore was Administrative Executive Vice President for branch operations, marketing and business development at First Commerce Bank. First Commerce merged with Grandpoint in December 2010.
Prior to joining First Commerce in 1999, Pastore was Senior Vice President of Bank of Los Angeles, where she was the administrator in charge of business development and all bank branches. She joined Bank of Los Angeles in 1995 as a branch manager. Previously, she worked for World Trade Bank in branch administration and business development until the bank merged with Bank of Los Angeles in 1995.
