Finance
Alternative Lending
Mission Valley Bank saw its profits double over the first nine months of last year, thanks in part to something unusual: its accounts receivable financing product – a lending approach that may look like factoring but one that bank executives say is, in fact, substantially different. The Sun Valley-based bank’s total assets were $588 million as […]
Credit Unions Expand
If this year has taught banking consumers anything, it’s how fast the rug can be swiped from under them. A string of deposit runs in the spring’s regional banking crisis pulled at mass confidence from high-flying, fast-rising financial institutions, and set the stage for local financial players to gain back market share because of shaken […]
Shifting Into Lower Gear
While rapid growth is often considered the holy grail of success, one company in the San Fernando Valley is challenging the norm. Liberty Company Insurance Brokers Inc. has been on a meteoric rise, but it is making the decision to deliberately put the brakes on its expansion. Why would a company want to slow down […]
Ventura Farmers Prep for El Niño
Farming operations nestled in the hills of Ventura County accounted for more than $2.1 billion in economic activity last year. However, the expected return of the infamous El Niño weather pattern this year could drown out some the bounty for the area-leading crops dependent on drier climates, such as avocados and lemons. Farmers are bracing […]
PennyMac Mortgage Issues Notes
PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, a subsidiary of the large Westlake Village mortgage lender PennyMac Financial Services Inc., released millions in senior notes last month. The offering, which closed on Sept. 21, aggregated $50 million in a principal amount. Notes offered, bearing an interest rate of 8.5%, are due in 2028 and guaranteed by PennyMac Corp., […]
VC Firm Doubles Down on Cryptosphere
In a bold defiance of the ongoing cryptocurrency bear market, a trio of seasoned crypto entrepreneurs – Tim Draper, Alon Goren, and David Bleznak – have formed Draper Goren Blockchain, a new incubator separate from the existing Goren Holm Group LLC venture capital firm and incubator. Located in Westlake Village, this venture studio, which is […]
Restaurant Takes Show On the Road
The Cheesecake Factory Inc., one of the most recognizable casual dining chains in the country, has deployed its top executives across investor conferences this year to reiterate its confidence amid market concerns about the chain’s shaky status with customers. Most recently, the Calabasas-based restaurant sent president David Gordon and chief financial officer Matthew Clark to […]
Nonprofit’s $2M Grant to Aid Public Teachers
A Los Angeles-based community development nonprofit is expanding its footprint in the San Fernando Valley. New Economics for Women received a $2 million grant from Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel to contribute to a mixed-use development with affordable housing units above a commercial ground floor that will house the organization’s Women’s Business Center. The grant, awarded in […]
Zest Expands Its Roster of Risk Products
ZestFinance Inc. continues to expand its product suite as institutions across the country look for more accurate risk forecasters in a turbulent economy. The company unveiled Zest Portfolio Management on Sept. 12. It’s a tool the company said is able to analyze millions of customers’ credit data and issue quarterly reports, giving credit unions greater […]
Farmers Lays Off 369 at HQ as Sector Retrenches
The recent decision by Farmers Insurance to cut 11% of its workforce may have been a shock to those who were handed pink slips. For those who follow insurance from the outside, it was probably a long time coming for the increasingly challenged industry. The Woodland Hills-based insurance giant said it was responding to the current state […]