Mark Rebal

Rebal graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) in 1983, and his career spanned areas such as indirect auto finance, risk management, and commercial real estate appraisal. Before founding California Republic, he, John DeCero, and Jon Wilcox all had years of experience in commercial banking and car loans, including stints at Westcorp Inc., an Irvine-based auto-oriented financial services firm; Westcorp was acquired by Wachovia in 2006 for $3.9 billion.⁠[1][2][2]

In 2007, as the financial crisis was beginning to unfold, Rebal, DeCero, and Wilcox founded California Republic Bancorp and its bank, California Republic Bank, where Rebal served as chief credit officer. DeCero later recalled that they had seen problems coming in 2005 and 2006 and wanted to start a “clean bank.”⁠[2][2][2][1]

On May 28, 2015, California Republic Bank and its subsidiary California Republic Funding entered into an underwriting agreement with Credit Suisse Securities (USA) for $390 million of asset-backed notes issued by California Republic Auto Receivables Trust 2015-2; Rebal signed on behalf of the bank as chief operating officer and executive vice president (COO & EVP).⁠[3][3][3]

In 2016, Mechanics Bank acquired California Republic for about $330 million. After the acquisition, Rebal, Mark Troncale, and Anthony Gressak decided to strike out on their own; all three had worked at California Republic Bank, where Gressak and Troncale were both senior vice presidents. Troncale said his clients did not find Mechanics a good fit for them. The three sketched out the new bank at a restaurant overlooking Newport Beach harbor, focusing on service, technology, culture, and a “low branch model.”⁠[2][1][1][1][1]

On September 14, 2017, Nano Financial Holdings filed a notice of private offering (Form D) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for up to $150 million, listing its industry as commercial banking; Rebal, Troncale, and Gressak were all listed as executive officers and directors. In 2017, the three co-founders raised $71.7 million in equity capital to acquire commercial banks in Southern California. An amended notice filed in June 2018 showed $71,629,290 sold to 73 investors. Troncale said the bank had originally aimed to raise as much as $200 million but closed its initial round at $71.7 million at the request of banking regulators when it acquired the Temecula Valley bank.⁠[4][4][4][4][4][1][5][1]

In 2018, the three bought Murrieta-based Commerce Bank of Temecula Valley for $23.3 million and renamed it Nano Banc; at the time, the bank had about $60 million in loans and deposits. FDIC records show that the name change took effect on April 30, 2018, that the bank joined the Federal Reserve System on August 13, 2018, and that its headquarters moved to Irvine on August 29 of that year. Rebal became chief executive, Troncale president, and Gressak chief credit officer.⁠[1][6][6][6][7]

Nano Banc grew quickly after its founding, from no assets in 2018 to $815 million as of December 31, 2019, and posted a profit of $2.3 million in 2019. The bank built its own software and hardware platform, had patents pending, and planned to license the technology to other community banks. As of early 2020, Rebal also served on the board of the Clearinghouse Community Development Financial Institution, which promotes business in poorer communities.⁠[1][1][1][1]

As of June 30, 2020, Nano Banc’s assets had grown 56% to $1.1 billion; as of June 30, 2021, its assets were $1.3 billion, up 13% from a year earlier.⁠[8][7]

On February 24, 2021, Nano Banc and its holding companies, Nano Financial Holdings and Allegiant United Holdings, entered into a written agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, which Rebal signed as chief executive officer of Nano Banc and Nano Financial Holdings and as a member of Allegiant. The agreement required the board to submit a written plan to strengthen oversight, retain an independent third party to assess corporate governance, board and management structure, and staffing, submit plans to reduce commercial real estate loan concentrations and to maintain sufficient capital, and refrain from paying dividends without approval. The Federal Reserve Board announced the enforcement action on March 4, 2021.⁠[9][9][9][9][9][9][9][9][9][9]

In the same month, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation also issued an order requiring Nano Banc to give advance notice before appointing, electing, or adding new individuals to its board or executive management.⁠[10][10]

In December 2021, Nano Banc placed two executives on administrative paid leave, named a new chief executive and chairman, and replaced six directors with five new ones. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation said this violated its February 2021 order requiring 30 days’ advance notice and issued a cease-and-desist order on December 15, 2021. On January 18, 2022, the Federal Reserve Board issued a consent cease-and-desist order against Nano Banc and its holding companies, requiring them to propose permanent executive officers to fill the roles of chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and chief credit officer and to conduct an independent review of insider transactions; the order was signed by Troncale as president.⁠[11][11][12][12][12][12][12]

By August 2022, Nano Banc had overhauled its executive team and board. Of the three founders, only Troncale was still working at the bank; Rebal, Gressak, and former chairman Randy Rector were no longer affiliated with it.⁠[7][7]

The Federal Reserve Board’s prohibition and civil money penalty order against Anthony R. Gressak III, effective November 1, 2024, states that as part of Nano Financial Holdings’ approximately $37 million capital raise in 2020, Gressak and the other founders of the bank formulated a plan under which they would receive commissions on the investments, even though the subscription agreement signed by investors stated that bank executives would receive no commissions or compensation for the investments. The order was directed at Gressak personally and issued with his consent; Gressak neither admitted nor denied its allegations.⁠[13][13][13][13]

On September 25, 2026, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation closed Nano Banc and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver; Sunwest Bank of Utah assumed substantially all of its deposits and agreed to purchase about $476 million of its assets. As of June 30, 2026, Nano Banc had total assets of $736 million and total deposits of $686 million; the FDIC preliminarily estimated that the failure would cost the Deposit Insurance Fund about $114 million.⁠[14][14][14][14]

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation said the reasons for the closure included Nano Banc’s deteriorating financial condition and a multi-year pattern of executive mismanagement and regulatory violations; the department said it had identified significant risk management weaknesses and violations of law at the bank as early as 2020, including repeated unauthorized changes to the board and executive suite and executive self-dealing. In March 2026, after Nano Banc reported a net loss of $75.3 million, the department ordered it to raise its tangible shareholders’ equity ratio to at least 9.5% or else voluntarily liquidate, sell, or merge with another institution, but the bank failed to complete any of those actions.⁠[10][10][10][10][10]