Changes atop Fresno’s Security First Bank

Steve Jones, who was part of the leadership that established Fresno’s Security First Bank in 2005, has been appointed as the company’s new chief executive officer.

The bank’s board of directors named Jones – who has been the bank’s executive vice president and chief financial officer since its inception and was appointed as president in 2014 – to be the CEO after the resignation of Robert Hemsath. Hemsath, 51, served as chief executive since 2008 before he stepped down earlier this year to take over as CEO at Mills County State Bank in Texas.

Jones, 54, has a bachelor’s degree in business administration/accounting from the University of Portland in Oregon. Before joining Security First Bank, Jones was the president and chief financial officer of the Grange Bank in Columbus, Ohio, for six years. His banking career also includes turns as a banking officer/auditor/analyst with PacifiCorp Financial Services in Oregon and as an assistant vice president and regional finance manager with Wells Fargo in Oregon and Arizona.

In a written statement, Security First board president Everett Norcross thanked Hemsath for his tenure with the bank and wished him luck in his new venture, and he welcomed Jones to the new title. “Mr. Jones has been with the bank since 2005 during its organization and oversaw the capitalization and opening of the bank in 2007,” Norcross said. “The board is thrilled that he has accepted this new role.”

This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Changes atop Fresno’s Security First Bank."