LOS ANGELES, June 4, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- First Standard Bank (OTCBB:FSTA) announced the appointment of James C. Hong to serve as Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer. He assumed these positions on May 23, 2007.
Mr. Hong comes to First Standard Bank from Center Bank in Los Angeles, California where he served in various capacities since 1989 including Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer since 2002. While at Center Bank, he also held positions as Senior Vice President of Special Assets and Consumer Loans and Senior Vice President of International and Corporate Lending. As Chief Credit Officer he was responsible for supervision of the bank's credit management activities including credit approval and other credit administration issues such as regulatory compliance, loan grading and loan loss reserve. Prior to joining Center Bank, Mr. Hong was an executive with Citicorp from 1983 to 1989, including a Vice President in the Credit Risk Division.
Mr. Hong has an MBA, University of Michigan and a BA, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
About First Standard Bank
First Standard Bank (the "Bank") is engaged in the general commercial banking business in Los Angeles County and is focused on serving the banking needs of small and medium-sized businesses, professionals and residents with a particular emphasis on the Korean and other ethnic minority communities. The Bank had total assets of $151 million as of March 31, 2007. Its headquarters are located at 1000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 100 Los Angeles, California 90017. Phone (213) 892-9999. www.FirstStandardBank.com. Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender. OTCBB:FSTA.