Opus Bank Announces Expansion of Its Merchant Bank

– Russell D. Beer Joins as Managing Director, Head of Commercial Real Estate Investment Banking –

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Opus Bank (“Opus”) (NASDAQ: OPB) announced today that Russell D. Beer has joined Opus as Managing Director, Head of Commercial Real Estate Investment Banking within Opus’ Merchant Banking division. Mr. Beer, a 20-year investment banking veteran, is responsible for providing equity capital solutions and mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) advisory and execution services to commercial real-estate companies and investors.

Stephen H. Gordon, Founding Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Opus Bank stated, “Opus’ Income Property Banking division has consistently experienced considerable success providing billions of dollars of senior debt solutions to its relationship-based clients who invest in, own, and operate multifamily and other assets in major metropolitan markets up and down the West Coast. Those very same clients are constantly looking to raise or create equity in a more efficient manner. Additionally, given where real estate valuations and cap rates are, our clients are thoughtful around their acquisition-related growth strategies and creating greater scale. Opus wants to be squarely in the middle of these important strategic decisions and transactions. The addition of Russell joining our Merchant Banking division better positions Opus to provide our Income Property Banking clients the comprehensive and tailored equity and M&A products, services, and solutions they need.”

Dale Cheney, Senior Managing Director, Head of the Merchant Banking division added, “We are excited that Russell has joined Opus to lead our Commercial Real Estate Investment Banking efforts. We look forward to Russell successfully partnering with Opus’ industry leading Income Property Banking division and its multifamily banking team, consistent with Opus’ strategy to provide holistic debt, equity, and advisory solutions to our client verticals. Russell is a highly-talented and experienced investment banking professional, having executed over $14 billion of global investment banking and private equity transactions in more than a dozen countries.”

Ed Padilla, SVP, Senior Managing Director, Head of Commercial Real Estate Banking, concluded, “We’re thrilled with the addition of Russell to the team here at Opus. His addition creates a one-stop debt and equity solution for our vast income property and multifamily real estate investor client base. We look forward to introducing our existing borrower clients to the equity and M&A advisory and execution capabilities of our Merchant Bank, and then driving increased revenue for both our clients and Opus.”

Mr. Beer joins Opus’ Merchant Banking division most recently from Big Ocean, LLC (“Big Ocean”) a New York based real estate investment firm, where he was a Founding Principal. Big Ocean provides financial advisory and capital raising services and specializes in domestic and cross border advisory services utilizing a global network to provide capital to primarily U.S. based clients. From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Beer served as Director of Real Estate Investment Banking for RBC Capital Markets, where he focused on raising capital and M&A advisory for U. S. based real estate companies. From 2006 to 2007, Mr. Beer served as Senior Vice President of Real Estate Private Equity for Urdang Capital, where he was responsible for identifying sponsors to co-invest in joint venture real estate investments. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Beer served as Director of Real Estate Equity for GE Capital, where he was responsible for real estate equity originations and joint ventures in the Western United States. Earlier in his career, Mr. Beer served in investment banking roles at Babcock & Brown and CIBC Wood Gundy. Mr. Beer holds Bachelor of Arts Degrees in Business, Chemistry, and German from the University of Arizona and a Master’s Degree in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

About Opus Bank’s Merchant Banking Division

Opus’ Merchant Banking division focuses on providing capital and advisory solutions to middle market companies for mergers & acquisitions, growth capital, leveraged buy-outs, recapitalizations, and balance sheet restructurings. The Merchant Banking division’s equity services and solutions include raising capital through the private placement of equity for clients in the Healthcare, Technology, Commercial Real Estate, Consumer, and Food and Beverage sectors, as well as other sectors served by Opus’ Commercial Banking division.

About Opus Bank

Opus Bank is an FDIC insured California-chartered commercial bank with $6.6 billion of total assets, $5.5 billion of total loans, and $5.3 billion in total deposits as of December 31, 2015. Opus Bank provides high-value, relationship-based banking products, services, and solutions to its clients through its Retail Bank, Commercial Bank, Merchant Bank, and Correspondent Bank. Opus Bank offers a suite of treasury and cash management and depository solutions and a wide range of loan products, including commercial business, healthcare, technology, multifamily residential, commercial real estate, and structured finance, and is an SBA preferred lender. Opus Bank offers commercial escrow services and facilitates 1031 Exchange transactions through its Escrow and Exchange divisions. Opus Bank provides clients with financial and advisory services related to raising equity capital, targeted acquisition and divestiture strategies, general mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, balance sheet restructuring, valuation, strategy, and performance improvement through its Merchant Banking division and its broker-dealer subsidiary, Opus Financial Partners. Opus Bank operates 58 client experience centers, including 33 in California, 22 in the Seattle/Puget Sound region in Washington, two in the Phoenix metropolitan area of Arizona, and one in Portland, Oregon. Opus Bank is an Equal Housing Lender.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may include forward-looking statements related to Opus’ plans, beliefs and goals, which involve certain risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information presented in this press release is not a guarantee of future events, and actual events may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking information contained in this press release. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “intend” or “expect” or variations thereon or similar terminology. All such statements speak only as of the date made, and Opus undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Connect with Opus Bank

OpusBank.com │ LinkedIn │ Twitter │ YouTube

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160209005672/en/

Opus Bank
Mr. Jeff L. Leonard, 949-251-8146
SVP, Dir. of Corporate Strategy/Communications

Source: Opus Bank

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