David Navarro is overseeing the growth of Columbia Bank in Southern Nevada as its market director.
The $70 billion asset bank centered on the West Coast has roots in Southern Nevada that date back to 2015 when it opened an office, and has since grown that operation.
“Last year when I came onboard, we saw a reinvigoration of investment in Southern Nevada from Columbia Bank,” said Navarro, a Las Vegas native. “We’ve hired more individuals to join the team.”
Columbia was previously under the name of Umpqua Bank, whose name was changed to Columbia Bank on Sept. 1. The bank has dual headquarters in the Pacific Northwest in Tacoma, Washington.
“People may have gotten acquainted with us under that former name, and now we’re getting out there and reminding people that we are still here,” Navarro said. “We have a different brand name as we continue to expand, but it’s still that same grass-roots bank. Our goal is to be the business bank of choice so we focus on that commercial banking space in Southern Nevada.”
Columbia caters to middle-market businesses that are typically privately held along with some smaller publicly traded companies. It helps them with their traditional banking needs.
Columbia also helps the small business segment with a business banking group. It also has a robust retail presence across the West Coast.
“We have a smaller presence here in Southern Nevada in terms of branches,” Navarro said. “We also have a wealth and trust division of the bank. Those are the verticals we operate in and have done so pretty successfully for a number of years.”
When he came on board a year ago, Navarro said the goal was to bring back the business development effort for Southern Nevada.
“The bank saw that this is a community that’s growing and has a lot of upside,” Navarro said. “We need to be investing there and bringing the right people there to let them know our story and come work with us.”
Columbia has one retail branch in Las Vegas in Summerlin near Town Center Drive and the 215 Beltway in the former Pacific Premier Bank branch after that bank was acquired Sept. 1.
“We do have plans to continue expanding, and that means new office space for the additional hires we’ve made,” Navarro said. “We’re making a pronounced investment to serve Southern Nevadans.”
Since Pacific Premier Bank did business in Nevada, it’s excellent for those clients that Columbia can offer them greater capabilities. In addition, previous Columbia clients now have a bank branch to walk into for translations.
“I think it’s a positive step in the right direction for people’s ability to work with us here,” Navarro said.
Columbia Bank offers a variety of business loans for owner-occupied real estate loans where companies want to own their property. Columbia uses the Small Business Administration to help with financing as well. It provides lines of credit and equipment loans and helps companies finance mergers and acquisitions.
Navarro, who has spent 15 years in banking, is active with nonprofits in Las Vegas and serves on several boards, including serving as chair of Make-A-Wish Nevada. He also works with Teach For America to help solve the teacher shortage issue in Las Vegas. He is also a board member of Special Olympics Nevada.
“I love helping these nonprofits thrive that are doing such great work,” Navarro said.
Navarro, an UNLV alum has a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in accounting. He serves as president of the Alumni Association, and is also an adjunct professor at UNLV teaching Finance 111, a personal finance course. He is enthused to see his students “when they graduate from UNLV with the skillset they went to school for, they are also equipped to make prudent financial decisions,” Navarro said.
One of his proudest moments was starting the Navarro Family Access for All Endowed Scholarship. “I started a scholarship there a couple of years ago. I was a first-generation college student, so our scholarship is geared toward providing funds to first-generation college students, primarily low-to-moderate income.”
