Poppy Bank’s new San Francisco branch is latest expansion for Sonoma County institution

Symbolic of its growth pattern, Poppy Bank plans to open two additional locations in Northern and Southern California this spring — one in Long Beach in late February and another in Fremont by May.

The Santa Rosa-based bank opened a San Francisco branch last month, marking its 19th location by hosting a grand opening celebration on Jan. 12 in the Lucky Supermarket at 1750 Fulton St. in San Francisco.

“We thought it was time. We always intended to go into San Francisco,” President and CEO Khalid Acheckzai told the Business Journal on Jan. 24. “We are very excited to open a new branch in San Francisco as we continue our strategic initiative of opening branches throughout California,” he added in a statement.

The bank commemorated its new-found dedication to the metropolitan Bay Area city by closing on a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) funding transaction valued at $103 million for the Chinese Hospital in San Francisco, bank officials announced Jan. 27. The transaction goes towards refinancing outstanding debt. C-PACE financing is repaid in property assessment payments through the financing terms.

The bank also operates branches in Alameda, Pleasanton, Walnut Creek, Milpitas and Menlo Park.

As a result of the Bay Area-and-beyond expansion, Acheckzai added he anticipates asset growth potential exceeding 26%.

With assets amounting to more than $4 billion, privately-held Poppy Bank specializes in business lending including commercial loans and lines of credit as well as commercial real estate, construction and U.S. Small Business Administration- and U.S. Department of Agriculture-generated loans.

Aside from providing financial services throughout California, Poppy Bank, which launched its first location in 2005, also operates loan production offices in Utah, Texas, New York and South Carolina.