Raymond E. Dellerba is stepping down as president and chief executive of Pacific Mercantile Bank, the Costa Mesa-based lender he founded 15 years ago.
The holding company said Tuesday that Steven Buster, a Tustin native and former chief executive of Richmond-based Mechanics Bank, will succeed Dellerba, who had planned to retire after turning 65 in January.
“We’ve been searching for the last seven months and I’m very pleased that Steve accepted the job,” Dellerba said. “He’s really got an interesting background. I think he’ll fit right in here.”
Buster, who received his bachelor of arts and MBA degrees from USC, held executive positions at First Interstate Bank and Standard Chartered Bank before joining Mechanics Bank, where he served as chief executive for more than eight years. He was also chairman of the California Bankers Association trade group.
Edward Carpenter, Pacific Mercantile’s chairman, said Buster has a strong reputation in the industry and was an obvious candidate when the board began searching for Dellerba’s replacement. “Steven Buster is a well-known banker in California,” Carpenter said.
Buster is expected to start next week.
Dellerba said he will help maintain customer relations and provide advisory support to the board for the next two years in the newly created position of vice chairman and CEO emeritus.
Pacific Mercantile has about $1.1 billion in assets and seven branches across Southern California. The business bank said last month that it would sell nearly $15 million in stock to fund the creation of a new division that will dispose of bad loans.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7922 or rclough@ocregister.com
