Californians can say goodbye to the 1st Century Bank name, a Century City-based institution founded in 2004.
Last week, the bank announced plans to align its California operations under the MidFirst Bank brand, a decade after its acquisition by the Oklahoma City-based lender.
Starting today, 1st Century will be known as MidFirst Bank California in what President and Chief Executive Jason DiNapoli called a “focused effort to build brand awareness.”
“It’s like we got married 10 years ago, and now we’re finally changing our name,” DiNapoli said. “This was always the plan, to unify the brand.”
MidFirst, the largest privately held bank in the U.S. with more than $42 billion in assets, counts roughly 200 employees in California. The Golden State has been one of the bank’s fastest-growing markets, ballooning more than 300% since it acquired 1st Century in 2016.
‘Enormous and endless opportunity’
In the fallout of California’s regional banking crisis, 1st Century hired more than 65 bankers from San Francisco-based 1st Republic Bank, which regulators shut down in 2023 following a major deposit run. The bank now runs seven client-facing branches in the state and plans to open a major hub in an Arts District building it bought last year.
“If we want to move forward and move fast and continue to pursue this enormous and endless opportunity in front of us in California,” DiNapoli said, “one brand will be easier on the technology and easier on the marketing, brand awareness efforts.”
