Heritage Commerce Corp (‘HCC’) operates as a bank holding company for Heritage Bank of Commerce (‘HBC’ or the ‘bank’) that provides a full line of banking services and products to business and individual clients, with a focus on small and medium-sized business and their owners, managers and employees.
The company has an extensive suite of online banking services, but its business is based largely on its network of various full-service branches around the San Francisco Bay and Silicon Valley are...
Heritage Commerce Corp (‘HCC’) operates as a bank holding company for Heritage Bank of Commerce (‘HBC’ or the ‘bank’) that provides a full line of banking services and products to business and individual clients, with a focus on small and medium-sized business and their owners, managers and employees.
The company has an extensive suite of online banking services, but its business is based largely on its network of various full-service branches around the San Francisco Bay and Silicon Valley areas of coastal Central California, including locations in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties.
The company’s loan portfolio is well-diversified among the commercial, real estate, construction, and land development, consumer, and Small Business Administration (‘SBA’) sectors. Both the company’s loan and deposit bases are originated primarily on the basis of its physical presence through its branch offices. The company offers a wide range of deposit products and loans for business banking and retail markets. The company offers a multitude of other products and services to complement those lending and deposit services. Through the bank’s Bay View Funding subsidiary, it also provides factoring financing to small businesses located throughout the United States.
Heritage Bank of Commerce
Heritage Bank of Commerce (HBC) is a California state-chartered bank. HBC operates through various full-service branch offices.
Lending Activities
The company offers a diversified mix of business loans encompassing the following loan products: commercial and industrial loans; commercial real estate loans; construction loans; and SBA loans. From time to time, the company has purchased single-family residential mortgage loans. It also offers home equity lines of credit, to accommodate the needs of business owners and individual clients, as well as consumer loans (both secured and unsecured).
Deposit Products
As a full-service commercial bank, the company focuses deposit generation on relationship accounts, encompassing non-interest-bearing demand, interest-bearing demand, and money market accounts. In order to facilitate the generation of non-interest-bearing demand deposits, it requires, depending on the circumstances and the type of relationship, its borrowers to maintain deposit balances with it as a typical condition of granting loans. The company also offers certificates of deposit and savings accounts. It provides ‘remote deposit capture’ and ‘mobile deposit capture’ products that allow deposits to be made via computer at the client’s business location or the client’s mobile phone. The company also offers clients ‘e-statements’ that allow clients to receive statements electronically, which is more convenient and secure than receiving paper statements.
For clients seeking full Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (‘FDIC’) insurance on certificates of deposit in excess of $250,000, the company offers the Insured Cash Sweep (‘ICS’) and Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (‘CDARS’) programs, which allow HBC to place the deposits with other participating banks to maximize the clients’ FDIC insurance. HBC also receives reciprocal deposits from other participating financial institutions.
Electronic Banking
While personalized, service-oriented banking is the cornerstone of the company’s business plan, it uses technology and the Internet as a secondary means for servicing clients, to compete with larger banks, and to provide a convenient platform for clients to review and transact business. The company offers sophisticated electronic or ‘internet banking’ opportunities that permit commercial clients to conduct much of their banking business remotely from their home or business, with the additional assistance of third-party products designed to mitigate fraud risk. All of HBC’s electronic banking services allow clients to review transactions and statements, review images of paid items, transfer funds between accounts at HBC, place stop orders, pay bills, and export to various business and personal software applications. HBC online commercial banking also allows clients to initiate domestic wire transfers and ACH transactions. However, the company’s clients always have the opportunity to personally discuss specific banking needs with knowledgeable bank officers and staff who are directly accessible in the branches and offices, as well as by telephone and email.
Other Banking Services
The company offers a multitude of other products and services to complement its lending and deposit services. These include cashier’s checks, bank by mail, night depositories, safe deposit boxes, direct deposit, automated payroll services, electronic funds transfers, online bill pay, homeowner association services, and other customary banking services. HBC operates ATMs at different locations. In addition, the company has established a convenient client service group accessible by toll-free telephone to answer questions and promote a high level of client service. HBC does not have a trust department. In addition to the traditional financial services offered, HBC offers remote deposit capture and mobile deposit capture, automated clearing house origination, electronic data interchange, and check imaging. The company continues to investigate products and services that address the growing needs of its clients and to analyze other markets for potential expansion opportunities.
Investment Securities
As of December 31, 2024, the company’s investment portfolio included U.S. Treasury and agency mortgage-backed securities.
Correspondent Banks
Correspondent bank deposit accounts are maintained to enable the company to transact types of activity that it would otherwise be unable to perform or would not be cost-effective due to the size of the company or volume of activity. The company has utilized several correspondent banks to process a variety of transactions.
Supervision and Regulation
With respect to the company, it is regulated and examined by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (‘DFPI’), the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Heritage Bank of Commerce files reports with and is examined by the FDIC, the DFPI, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (‘CFPB’). In addition to banking and financial institutions laws and regulations, the company is subject to a broad swath of other regulatory frameworks applicable to public companies generally, including federal and state tax laws, accounting rules developed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (‘FASB’), and federal and state securities laws. These statutes, regulations, regulatory policies, and rules are significant to the financial condition and results of operations of the company and its subsidiaries, including HBC.
The company and HBC are subject to a comprehensive capital framework (the ‘Capital Rules’) adopted by federal banking regulators (including the Federal Reserve and the FDIC).
As a bank holding company, HCC is subject to regulation, supervision, and periodic examination by the Federal Reserve under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the ‘BHCA’), and by the DFPI in accordance with the California Financial Code. HCC is required to file with the Federal Reserve periodic reports of its operations and such additional information as the Federal Reserve may require. In accordance with Federal Reserve laws and regulations, HCC is required to act as a source of financial strength to HBC and to commit resources to support HBC in circumstances where HCC might not otherwise do so.
HBC is a California state-chartered commercial bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve System and whose deposits are insured by the FDIC. HBC is thus subject to regulation, supervision, and regular examination by the DFPI and the Federal Reserve as HBC’s primary federal regulator.
HBC is a member of the Deposit Insurance Fund (‘DIF’) administered by the FDIC, which insures client deposit accounts.
Under the California Financial Code, HBC is permitted to pay a dividend.
The company is subject to a number of federal and state consumer protection laws that extensively govern its relationship with its clients. These laws include, among others, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the Expedited Funds Availability Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Service Members Civil Relief Act, the Military Lending Act, and these laws’ respective state law counterparts, as well as state usury laws and laws regarding unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices (‘UDAAP’).
The DFPI also has broad enforcement powers over the company, including the power to impose orders, remove officers and directors, impose fines, and appoint supervisors and conservators.
History
Heritage Commerce Corp was founded in 1994. The company, a California corporation, was incorporated in 1997.