Paul W. Taylor named president of PacWest Bancorp and

LOS ANGELES, June 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PacWest Bancorp (Nasdaq: PACW) (the “Company”) and Pacific Western Bank (the “Bank”) today announced the appointment of Paul W. Taylor as Chairman of the Companies and the Bank from July 1, 2022. Mr. Taylor is currently a director of the Company and the Bank and is a member of each of their respective Asset/Liability and Risk Management Committees. His appointment follows the Company’s previously announced plan to appoint a successor to Matthew P. Wagner, current President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Wagner will retain his role as CEO until December 31, 2023, with Mr. Taylor reporting directly to Mr. Wagner during that time. Upon Mr. Wagner’s scheduled retirement as Chief Executive Officer on December 31, 2023, Mr. Taylor is expected to transition to President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and the Bank. Mr. Taylor will continue to serve on the Boards of the Company and the Bank. At the end of December 2023, Mr. Wagner is expected to assume the role of Executive Chairman of the company.

“I have known Paul personally and professionally for over two decades. I have a lot of respect for him as a leader with vision and strategic sense,” Mr. Wagner said. “I look forward to working with him as he takes on this role at PacWest and I am confident that he will quickly add value due to his solid experience and knowledge of our organization. I am confident that PacWest will continue to grow under his leadership and stand out as an industry leader, now and in the future,” he concluded.

Over the next 18 months, Mr. Taylor will work closely with the Boards of Directors and in conjunction with Mr. Wagner and the existing leadership team to ensure a smooth leadership transition to support employees, customers, shareholders and the communities that Pacific Western Bank serves. Mr. Taylor will work in the Denver Executive Office of Pacific Western Bank.

Mr. Taylor has over 35 years of experience in the banking industry, having most recently served as Chief Executive Officer, President and Director of Opus Bank, a publicly traded California chartered bank, from 2019 to 2020. Previously, he was the chief executive officer, president and director of Guaranty Bancorp, a publicly traded financial institution headquartered in Colorado, and the chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Guaranty Bank and Trust Company, a banking subsidiary of Guaranty Bancorp, from 2011 to 2018 Previously, he held various positions, including that of executive vice president, chief financial and operating officer and secretary of Guaranty Bancorp.

ABOUT PACWEST BANCORP

PacWest Bancorp (“PacWest”) is a bank holding company with over $39 billion in assets headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with an executive office in Denver, Colorado, with a banking subsidiary in wholly owned, Pacific Western Bank (the “Bank”). The Bank focuses on relationship-based business banking with small and medium-sized enterprises and venture capital-backed companies nationwide. The Bank offers a wide range of lending, leasing and deposit products and services through 69 full-service branches located in California, one branch located in Durham, North Carolina, and a branch located in Denver, Colorado, and numerous loan origination offices across the country. The Bank provides community banking products, including lending services and comprehensive deposit and cash management services to small and medium-sized businesses, primarily through our California-based branches and the Denver branch in Colorado. The Bank offers domestic lending products, including asset-based lending, equipment and real estate lending, and cash management services to nationally established middle-market businesses. The Bank offers venture capital banking products, including a full range of financial services focused on entrepreneurial and venture capital-backed companies and their venture capitalists and private equity investors, with offices located in key innovators across the United States. The Bank also provides financing for non-owner occupied investor properties for commercial purposes through Civic Financial Services, a wholly owned subsidiary. The Bank also provides a specialized range of services for the HOA industry. For more information about PacWest Bancorp or Pacific Western Bank, visit www.pacwest.com.

CONTACTS