1st Century brands to MidFirst, embraces area

By Jorge Mercado

Executive Editor

MidFirst Bank’s, previously 1st Century Bank, Santa Barbara office.

It is a new era for 1st Century Bank as the financial entity will now operate under the MidFirst Bank name beginning April 20.

Announced April 14, MidFirst Bank acquired 1st Century in 2016 to break into the California market. 1st Century is a relationship-focused bank that has been serving businesses, professionals and high-net-worth clients across California since 2004.

Since being acquired, 1st Century’s California business has grown more than 300% to become one of MidFirst’s fastest-growing markets.

Jason DiNapoli, president of MidFirst Bank California, said the name change was “always a part of the plan.

“When we did the transaction in 2016, we benefited from MidFirst’s balance sheet, but they really left us alone, and almost all of the leadership of 1st Century Bank is still here, so they actually did no harm, and we’ve been extremely successful in California,” DiNapoli told the Business Times. 

“It really is just a name change. It’s not a systems change, it’s not a conversion, it’s not a merger, it’s just a brand unification that we think will serve our clients today and our future growth plans.”

MidFirst is the largest privately owned, family-owned bank in the United States with $41.4 billion in assets. With this move, DiNapoli said MidFirst is not just “highly committed to California” but also believes that “Santa Barbara is a really important part of that California plan as well.”

MidFirst California first opened its Santa Barbara location in 2023, filling the spot left behind by First Republic, which was sold to JPMorgan Chase.

There are currently seven people working out of the Santa Barbara office, including Karin Napel, who was hired from First Republic Bank. In fact, MidFirst California has hired 65 former First Republic team members since First Republic shut down.

“We really loved working for First Republic. It was such a great bank to work with, It was very client-centric and so when we were looking at where our next home is, 1st Century, now MidFirst, was really the bank that was closest to anything as far as alignment with what our clients expect,” Napel, the bank’s Senior Vice President, Senior Managing Director, told the Business Times.

MidFirst California purchased the building at 1100 Santa Barbara St. about a year ago, allowing the team to further expand. Napel said they will look to add more people in the near future and grow into the second story of the building.

“The bank really sees the value of this community, and we’ve already grown so much,” Napel said.

Napel said the bank has grown over 30% in balances overall and loans grew over 70% in 2025.

In regards to opening other Central Coast locations, DiNapoli said it is dependent on “finding the talent that aligns with our culture.”

“The way I see it, the opportunity we have with Karin and her team in Santa Barbara is deep and will keep us busy for many, many years, but we’re always open to new talent, new opportunities in markets more north,” he said.

“We like authentic bankers in the community that really know their market and really know their clients. That’s the best way to do this.”

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