New York-based Piermont Bank now has a bicoastal presence through the expansion of its commercial real estate team and the addition of a Los Angeles office.
In a Nov. 10 website post announcing the expansion, the company wrote that “as a digital bank built for the modern entrepreneur, we are ready to meet California’s businesses where they are.” The bank’s commercial real estate team has secured between $1 million and $10 million in financing for business locations throughout New York City.
According to a statement from founder and chief executive Wendy Cai-Lee, the company plans to stick to the same funding strategy with its expansion into Southern California. The bank is fully digital, and has already been remotely working with clients in Los Angeles.
“We are entering the Southern California market backed by the success we have already enjoyed in the Greater New York market. We have put together a team of Commercial Real Estate bankers based in Southern California, who have expertise in supporting CRE businesses and local market knowledge,” Cai-Lee said.
A spokesperson for the company noted to the Business Journal that prior to launching Piermont, Cai-Lee managed CRE lending at East West Bank, with most of that business based in Los Angeles and San Francisco. She will draw on that experience locally, according to the company.
The bank’s expansion will be led by Sabrina Liu, who recently joined the CRE team in Southern California; she has 17 years of experience in CRE lending.
Piermont says its expansion continues a trend that’s held steady since the company’s founding in 2019. The bank highlighted its growth within the last three years, with assets totaling over $440 million as of the second quarter of 2022. More than 50 percent of Piermont’s loans are made in low- and moderate-income communities and to women- and minority-owned businesses, according to the company’s website.
