County Bank parent company names new CEO, touts experience: Richard Cupp comes from 1st Century...

Jul. 30--Capital Corp of the West, the Merced-based parent company of County Bank, has hired a new president and CEO. Richard Cupp, who most recently served as president and CEO of the newly chartered 1st Century Bank in Los Angeles, will begin Thursday at Capital Corp, the only publicly traded company with headquarters in Merced County. Cupp, who has worked in the financial services industry for more than four decades, replaces outgoing CEO Thomas Hawker. After 17 years with County Bank, Hawker announced in January that he would retire as soon as a successor was named. The decision over its next CEO was an especially pivotal one for Capital Corp, which posted its first-ever loss late last year. County Bank officials said Cupp, 68, is well suited to deal with the challenges now faced by the banking industry, which has been... [read full story]