May 1, 2001
SEATTLE -- A longtime player in the local banking industry has announced plans to form a new banking and integrated financial services corporation.
Jesse Tam, formerly the top officer of Northwest International Bank, has assembled a team of organizers and filed for a charter for the venture, called Regal Financial Bank. Previously, Tam also had a 15 year career with SeaFirst.
Tam expects to set up preliminary offices in the new Millennium Tower, with eventual plans for a ground floor office in the new IDX Tower at Fourth Avenue and Madison Street.
In addition to Tam, other organizers of Regal Financial Bank include Jack Alhadeff, president of the JDA Group; Larry Blackett, vice president at Kidder Matthews & Senger; and Omar Lee, president of the Great Wall Development Co. and the Great Wall Mall.
The organizers have already raised $500,000 to finance initial operations. Tam expects to raise between $8 million and $10 million from initial investors in the bank.
