Santa Maria Branch Opening and Staffed with Local Leadership

November 18, 2022

Montecito Bank & Trust Announces Santa Maria Branch Opening Staffed with Local Leadership

Santa Barbara, Calif. – Montecito Bank & Trust (MB&T) has received FDIC approval to open their 15thbranch in Santa Maria. The forthcoming opening of the Bank’s newest full-service branch will be located at 2125 South Broadway, Santa Maria, 93454, with a Grand Opening event planned for January 2023.

Janet Garufis, Chairman and CEO of Montecito Bank & Trust is eager for this expansion noting "We have been planning an expansion to northern Santa Barbara County for some time, but waiting for the right team to staff it! Now that we have the right, local leadership, Santa Maria is the perfect place for us to expand our service and philanthropy."

"We are excited about our expansion into the Santa Maria market," said George Leis, President and COO at Montecito Bank & Trust. "At MB&T, we lead with people. Having local community members leading our Santa Maria banking team allows us to provide unique solutions to this vibrant and diverse community. I am pleased to introduce Barbara Luis, our Branch Manager, and Karly Davis, our VP ofCommercial Banking. This community is the home to many of our associates and is a natural extension of the Montecito Bank & Trust banking experience."

Barbara Luis, VP Branch and Community Relations Manager for Santa Maria, is a 40-year banking veteran driven by customer service excellence. Her long tenured career at financial institutions like Mechanics Bank, Union Bank and Bank of America has provided her a unique ability to manage a breadth of client needs while always keeping her community front and center. Having attended school locally, Barbara now enjoys hiking, yoga and attending community events and being a proud mom of her three daughters.

Karly Davis, VP Commercial Banking, has lived in Santa Maria for nearly 20 years. She studied Agricultural Business with a concentration in Finance and Appraisal at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Beginning her career in the title insurance industry, Karly transitioned into banking in late 2007 and continues to enjoy helping meet the lending needs of her clients and her community. Karly is thrilled to join MB&T's Commercial Lending Group and "looks forward to meeting the financial needs of the community and providing the World Class Experience that Montecito Bank & Trustis known for". When not meeting with clients, Karly enjoys hiking, reading, and spending time with her husband Dustin and their dog Fiona.

The Santa Maria based MB&T team is eager to begin welcoming clients this December. In addition to Barbara and Karly, MB&T's SVP Director of Community Banking, Jen Napoli, also calls Santa Maria home, with her family having owned and operated a successful local small business for decades. Jen notes, "While Santa Maria's growth has been tremendous, we still enjoy the benefits of a small town with personal service. Montecito Bank & Trust not only recognizes this but also understands the needs of an expanding community. Our entrance into the Santa Maria market will complement what the community has grown to expect; world class service. We are perfectly positioned to not only serve the community, but also to meet the increasingly complex financial needs that come with a growing community."

Montecito Bank & Trust is the oldest and largest locally owned community bank in the Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Founded in 1975, the bank celebrated its 47th anniversary on March 17, 2022 and operates 11 branch offices in Santa Barbara, Goleta, Solvang, Montecito, Carpinteria, Ventura, Camarillo and Westlake Village. Montecito Bank & Trust has a history of unwavering corporate philanthropy in the local communities it serves, annually donating over $1.5 million dollars and volunteering over 5,400 hours to nonprofit organizations in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. The bank offers a variety of competitive deposit and lending solutions for businesses and consumers, including business loans and lines of credit; commercial real estate finance; SBA loans; mortgage loans, consumer loans; credit cards; merchant services; and online services, including mobile banking and cash management. Its Wealth Management Division provides comprehensive trust services and full investment management for all branch office markets. The Bank has earned 23 Best Bank awards in the last 9 years, in addition to numerous accolades for Best Mortgage and Best Financial Services Company in Santa Barbara, Best Investment Company in Santa Ynez Valley and the fourth Best Bank to Work For in the United States (American Banker Magazine).

For more information, please contact
Megan Orloff, EVP/Chief Strategy Officer
(805) 564-0236 or [email protected]