New York-based Flagstar Financial Inc. recently expanded its Specialized Industry Group, an operational structure includes an entertainment-oriented focus group based in Los Angeles.
This expansion – which brings Flagstar’s industry-specific verticals within the specialized group to 12 – is being helmed by L.A.-based Adam Feit, who joined the bank last year and holds an extensive resume in the local financial sector. Within the group, the new entertainment vertical is being run out of the L.A. operations, which include Beverly Hills and El Segundo outposts.
The entertainment vertical is being led by Crockett Woodruff, who has a background in entertainment and banking and has been involved in the industry for over 20 years.
“We have to serve the needs of the communities in which we operate,” he said. “The entertainment industry contributes new billions to the local economy and supports a significant number of jobs. We’re there to cover it and we see lots of opportunity in this space.”
Feit explained that this entertainment-focused expansion here was in large part driven by Woodruff and his team, who “live and breathe” entertainment banking.
“You look at California, it’s one of the largest markets in the world by GDP, “Feit added, “so one way we were able to differentiate here is just in terms of industry experience.”
Flagstar is one of the largest banks in the country, with 400 locations across the United States. With this expansion, they push their reach along the West Coast by focusing on markets popular in the area such as entertainment and tech.
Feit joined Flagstar about a year ago, after spending more than seven years with then-MUFG Union Bank and then U.S. Bank, following a merger. Before that, he was with Bank of American Merrill Lynch.
Rich Raffetto, senior executive vice president and head of commercial and private banking for Flagstar, indicated that the expansion was as much about bringing in talent as it was growing its market share.
“We collectively decided that specialized industries was going to be a way for us to hire some really talented mid-career bankers who knew a lot about particular industries,” he said.
Parallel to this expansion, Flagstar also is beefing up its private client financial center at the Beverly Hills branch, where it has recruited dozens of new bankers and tapped Mark Pittsey to lead.
Woodruff said Flagstar is committed to navigating the changing ways people are consuming content now, adding their new and existing expertise can help clients execute their ideas in the industry. He echoed Raffetto’s approach of growing market by poaching talent.
“We don’t have the market shares of people that have been in this city for the same amount of time, so everything we’re doing is blue sky and new, starting effectively from zero,” Woodruff added. “I think there’s lots of opportunity out there.”
