On January 24, 2017, Legion Partners, LLC announced that in a separate press release, dated January 23, 2017, Banc of California, Inc. announced the resignation of Steven Sugarman as Chairman and CEO, the appointment of Robert D. Sznewajs as Chairman of the Board, and the commencement of a CEO succession process. Legion Partners stated that given the critical tasks of selecting a new CEO, adopting measures to address the Company’s corporate governance and oversee the investigation into the Company’s related party transactions, Legion Partners expressed its view that there is an urgent need to add new independent directors to the Board. Legion Partners also expressed its view that the Board should immediately hire an independent financial advisor and form a special committee of independent directors to consider all strategic alternatives for the Company, including a possible sale of the Company, at the same time.
Banc of California, Inc. is a bank holding company for its subsidiary, Banc of California (the Bank), a California state-chartered bank. The Bank provides a range of loan and deposit products and services through more than 90 full-service branches throughout California and in Denver, Colorado, and Durham, North Carolina, and full-stack payment processing solutions through its subsidiary, Deepstack Technologies, LLC. The Bank also serves the Community Association Management Industry nationwide with its technology-forward platform SmartStreet. The Bank is organized into four business groups: Community Banking, Specialty Banking, Deposit Services, and Payment Solutions. Specialty Banking is focused on serving clients in niche verticals by industry, including homeowner associations, venture banking, SBA lending, mortgage warehouse lending, media and entertainment and equipment finance. Deposit Services provide valuable services to clients in the Community and Specialty Banking groups.