CityFirst Bank is led by a dynamic group of professionals with decades of experience in finance and community development. As “stellar stewards” of community capital, they set strategy for the organization’s growth and manage approximately 100 dedicated and valued employees between Wahshington, DC and Los Angeles, CA.
Brian E. Argrett
President &
Chief Executive OfficerCloseBrian E. Argrett
Brian E. Argrett has been Director and Chief Executive Officer of City First Bank since 2011 Effective April 1, 2023, he became Chair of the Company and the Bank.
Formerly, Mr. Argrett was founder and managing partner of both Fulcrum Capital Group, an investment manager, and Fulcrum Capital Partners, L.P., an institutionally-backed private equity limited partnership. He also served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and director of Fulcrum Venture Capital Corporation, a federally licensed and regulated Small Business Investment Company. Prior to joining the Fulcrum entities, Mr. Argrett was an attorney with the real estate law firm of Pircher, Nichols & Meeks in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Argrett has served as chair, been a member, or held observer rights on numerous Fulcrum portfolio company boards, as well as having served on the boards of directors of other financial industry companies. Mr. Argrett was a presidential appointee to the Community Development Advisory Board of the U.S. Treasury Department under the Obama administration. Mr. Argrett has held leadership positions at the National Association of Investment Companies and the National Conference for Community and Justice and has been an elder at the Knox Presbyterian Church.
Currently, Mr. Argrett serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of City First Enterprises, a CDFI Loan Fund. Mr. Argrett is a recent appointee to the Board of IntraFi Network, and he also serves on the Board of the California Bankers Association. Mr. Argrett is a past Chairman and continues to serve on the Board of Directors of the Community Development Bankers Association. He also serves as a member of the Global Alliance on Banking on Values, and is a member of the Board of the Expanding Black Business Credit Initiative.
Mr. Argrett served as a director of the Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta from 2016 through December of 2021, during which time he served as the Vice Chair of the Board, Chair of its Enterprise Risk and Operations Committee, as well as a member of its Finance Committee and its Audit and Compliance Committee.
Mr. Argrett is a member of The Economic Club of Washington, D.C., the Federal City Council, and the Leadership Greater Washington Class of 2014. In addition, Mr. Argrett is a 2014 recipient of the Washington Business Journal Minority Business Leader Award. Mr. Argrett holds J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor’s degree from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.
Mr. Argrett’s extensive experience in the financial services and banking industries, public and private company board experience, knowledge and experience in the Washington D.C. and Southern California markets, and knowledge of the Bank’s business, history, organization, and mission, and executive management experience qualify him to serve as a member of the Board.
Ruth McCloud
Executive Vice President &
Chief Operating OfficerCloseRuth McCloud
Ruth McCloud, Executive Vice President, has been Chief Operating Officer, since 2021. Prior to her promotion she was EVP, Chief Retail Officer of Broadway Federal Bank. As COO, Ms. McCloud oversees all daily operations of the company including IT, digital banking, sales, service, and facilities. Prior to joining the Bank Ms. McCloud held a number of Sales and Service roles with First Federal and OneWest Bank.
Cynthia Newell
Senior Vice President, Chief of Staff
CloseCynthia Newel
Cynthia Newell is Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff at City First Bank. She oversees the bank’s strategy execution, mission aligned funding aggregation, impact management, marketing and communications, corporate strategic partnerships and enterprise risk management functions. She co-led the bank’s merger of equals integration to support City First Bank in becoming the largest Black-led Minority Depository Institution in the country. She led the bank in becoming certified as a BCorp and changing its incorporation to public benefit corporation status, making Broadway Financial Corporation one of two publicly traded financial services companies with that mission lock. She led the bank’s receipt of $150MM in Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP) Funding and over $5 million in funding from the CDFI Fund.
Prior to City First Bank, she spent over 7 years advising actors across the inclusive financial markets ecosystem. While a Manager at Deloitte, she incubated, managed, and championed the development of Deloitte’s Social Finance go to market strategy, building internal and external relationships with public and private sector clients. Her efforts led to a flagship win to build an Impact Investing Infrastructure Fund for the UN. She also worked for a boutique private equity fund that invested in microfinance institutions in East and West Africa. Through her access to finance consulting work she has traveled and consulted with financial institutions and regulators in the U.S., Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, Bolivia, Senegal, Nigeria, and Bermuda.
She has nuanced knowledge of CDFIs having worked as a consultant with over 100 community development loan funds, banks, credit unions, and venture capital funds to enhance their ability to invest in underserved markets. She has provided guidance to various clients on how to expand partnerships with CDFIs and other financial inclusion organizations including the Ford Foundation, the SEIU, the United States Postal Service to name a few. Ms. Newell has also worked with many other shapers of inclusive markets including the Ford Foundation, the United Nations, Gates Foundation, the World Bank, USAID, and the African Development Bank.
John Tellenbach
Executive Vice President & Western Commercial Regional Executive
CloseJohn Tellenbach
John Tellenbach is the Executive Vice President, Western Commercial Regional Executive, for City First Bank based out of Los Angeles. John has over thirty years of experience in the banking industry with over twenty of those years dedicated to leadership functions in Commercial Lending. Most recently, he was the Chief Credit Officer at Malaga Bank in Southern California for over 7 years. Prior to Malaga, John served in leadership roles such as Chief Banking Officer at Sunwest Bank, Group Manager at Comerica Bank, Chief Lending Officer at First Private Bank & Trust, and more. In John’s leadership role overseeing all commercial lending efforts in California, he is committed to growing our Income Property and Commercial Lending channels that will work together to meet the needs of the communities City First Bank serves. Born and raised in Southern California, John moved his family to the Palos Verdes Peninsula over two decades years ago and has been working in the greater LA metro area ever since. He has been married to his high school sweetheart for almost thirty years and is father to two amazing sons.
Brian F. Wagner
Senior Vice President,
Chief Human Resources OfficerCloseBrian F. Wagner
Brian F. Wagner currently serves as Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, drawing on his extensive banking background of some 15 years, primarily leading Human Resources functions in large commercial banking organizations.
As a senior certified HR professional, Mr. Wagner has more than 20 years of practice in the areas of strategic human capital planning, employee relations, talent and performance management, corporate staffing & sourcing, organizational development, and employee experience. He has created and improved multiple processes involving new-hire orientation, talent selection & assessment utilization, instilling coaching cultures with modeled behaviors, training and development, recognition platforms, total rewards programs, employee engagement and retention strategies.
Prior to joining City First Bank, in July 2021, Mr. Wagner spent 14 years with BB&T (now Truist), BBVA USA (now PNC), and most recently EagleBank Corp. He has served as Regional Employment Manager in Texas to build brand, culture and HR presence; and as a Senior Talent & HR Advisor, customizing leadership solutions for executive leaders throughout the U.S.
Mr. Wagner commits his profession to the theory and application of organizational behavior, the values of a dynamic culture, and how aligning employee personal values to the values of the organization are critical for success and long-term profitability. He is responsible for the leadership and oversight of all HR plans, policies, procedures, and strategies to support the achievement of the bank’s overall strategic business objectives, leading as a strategic business consultant to the senior leadership team and across all lines of business regarding key organizational and management issues or challenges.
He functions as the mergers and acquisition lead in project planning (pre and post-acquisition), partnering with members of the ideal team to raise any due diligence HR-related compliance issues, finance, legal, and other functions on aspects of the integration to execution. Additionally, he develops, designs, and administers compensation plans and comprehensive benefit plans based on corporate compensation philosophy; and utilizes strategic talent acquisition and retention plans to meet the human capital needs of the organization, leveraging skills-based hiring and assessments.
He earned his MBA and B.S. in Business Management and Human Resources from the University of South Carolina. Mr. Wagner is a Certified Senior Professional in Human Resources, HRCI and is certified in Human Resources Management.
LaShanya Washington
Executive Vice President, Chief Credit Officer
CloseLaShanya Washington
LaShanya Washington is the Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer for City First Bank and has over two decades of experience in commercial banking with a track record of executing change management processes to drive increased performance. In her current role, LaShanya manages the ongoing credit analysis of the banks diverse loan portfolio. In addition, she oversees the loan closing process for the commercial and wholesale lending divisions. As the head of the Credit Administration department, Ms. Washington is also responsible for reporting & analytics, portfolio management, CECL implementation and stress testing the portfolio.
Prior to her current role, Ms. Washington was the Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief Officer and formerly the Credit Risk Manager for City First Bank. As the SVP, Deputy Chief Credit Officer and Credit Risk Manager, Ms. Washington oversaw board reporting, credit risk, reporting and managed a portfolio of complex deals including NMTC, PACE and Charter Schools. Prior to joining City First Bank, Ms. Washington spent her career in commercial banking in various capacities including underwriting, managing loan accounting, loan operations and post booking review for community and regional banks headquartered in the Washington DC metro area.
Ms. Washington is a graduate of Columbia Union College with dual degrees in Business Administration and Healthcare Administration. She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland. In addition, she holds a Project Management Certification with a concentration in Risk Management from George Washington University.
Ms. Washington is active in her community volunteering for several non-profits as well as supporting local athletic teams by coaching and officiating events.
Sonja Sanders Wells
Executive Vice President &
East Commercial Regional ExecutiveCloseSonja Sanders Wells
Sonja Sanders Wells is the Executive Vice President, Eastern Commercial Regional Executive, for City First Bank and has over three decades of experience in commercial lending with a track record of achieving exceptional results. She oversees the bank’s Eastern Commercial Region loan portfolio and lending team and is an expert in customizing commercial credit facilities specific to client needs and industry segments, inclusive of leverage and leverage source loans in NMTC transactions.
Sonja is a member of the Executive Management team and is responsible for the strategic direction of the Eastern Commercial Banking Group. She a critical City First Bank brand ambassador and maintains relationships with industry influencers and key community and strategic partners to expand and enhance City First Bank’s reputation in the marketplace.
Prior to joining City First Bank; Sonja was a Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager at M&T and a Business Banker for First Union Bank/Wachovia now known as Wells Fargo.
Prior to her Commercial Banking and Real Estate career, Sonja was a Shopping Center Leasing Executive for the Taubman Company in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a Marketing Executive for the Rouse Company in Columbia, Maryland and a Retail Buyer and Executive for several high-end retail specialty stores along the East Coast.
Sonja is a member of DC Chamber of Commerce, Jubilee Baltimore, Inc., the African American Real Estate Professionals, the Southeast Community Development Corporation and Wildflower Public Charter School’s Board of Directors, and the Maryland Casino Business Investment Fund’s (MCBIF) Loan Committee. Sonja is active in several professional and community organizations throughout DC, Maryland and Virginia.
Sonja is the Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Directors for the Baltimore City Community College Foundation and was formerly the Vice President of the Butcher’s Hill Neighborhood Association’s Executive Board, member of the loan committee for Maryland's Department of Housing and Community Development's Neighborhood Business Works program, the United Way of Central Maryland’s Marketing Committee, Howard County Hospital’s Marketing Committee, the Columbia Association’s Marketing Committee and numerous other philanthropic and community organizations.
Sonja is a graduate of Boise State University with extensive certifications, training and experience in Commercial Banking and Real Estate, Marketing, Retail Management and Buying.
Sonja and her husband of 25 years reside in the District of Columbia. Her husband, Ernest N. Wells, Jr. is Department Head and Systems Engineer/ Electronic Engineer for the U. S. Department of the Navy in Washington, DC.