The financial services industry may be in shambles, but that hasn’t stopped William Hawkins from throwing open the doors this month to a brand-new bank in Pasadena.

With $20 million in capital and 15 full-time employees, California General Bank became the first bank to launch in Southern California this year when it opened with Hawkins at the helm.

Despite the turmoil in the industry, the chief executive said he is taking it all in stride.

“We are a community bank with no bad assets,” Hawkins said. “The vacuum that’s been created in the marketplace because of current market conditions affords a newer bank an excellent opportunity.”

Still, the recent financial crisis did present some hurdles for the team that started California General. When the due-diligence process began two years ago, the economy was relatively healthy. Though the group intended to create a conservative institution, providing loans and lines of credit to local small businesses, investors became scarcer as the economy went south.

“We had to work real hard to raise the money,” Hawkins said. “As things began to break in the banking sector, I think people became more skeptical and more concerned about whether or not it was a good time to invest in banks.”

The team had to look to larger institutional investors to raise the necessary capital, an effort that was aided by a strong board, which includes a number of banking executives, nonbanking professionals and the former mayors of Pico Rivera and Alhambra.

Raising any capital is a feat in the current market. Another team of bankers is trying to raise $20 million to start SoCal Business Bank in Van Nuys. Charles Fenton, who will serve as chief executive, said in a recent interview that they have struggled to find capital.

Before the bust, though, investors were more than happy to plunk down significant sums for new banks, which opened regularly in recent years. When Alan Rothenberg started 1st Century Bancorp in 2004, he unexpectedly raised $34 million before regulators told him to stop taking money.

Hands On

Beverly Hills private equity firm Shackleton Advisors has acquired a leading niche technology company.

The one-year-old firm, which specializes in acquiring companies in industries such as software and information technology, bought CyberGlove Systems LLC, based in San Jose. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

CyberGlove, founded in 1990, develops so-called data glove solutions, which capture hand motions in virtual reality and allow users to manipulate digital objects.

CyberGlove had been owned by San Jose-based Immersion Corp., which decided to divest of the company in order to focus on its medical products business.

Bankruptcy Specialists

Kurtzman Carson Consultants, an El Segundo firm specializing in assisting companies undergoing Chapter 11 restructuring, announced it has been acquired by a global securities industry software provider.

KCC, founded in 2001, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Computershare Limited, based in Abbotsford, Australia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

C-Suite News

Unico American Corp., an insurance company based in Woodland Hills, announced that Cary Cheldin was elected chief executive and chairman effective April 1. … Los Angeles bank holding company Nara Bancorp Inc. announced that Bonnie Lee has been appointed chief operating officer. Lee had served as chief credit officer for the company before stepping down in September to join another institution. Downtown L.A.-based Wedbush Bank has hired D. Monique Johnson as senior vice president and director of marketing and relationship management.

Staff reporter Richard Clough can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 251.