Spokane-based Sterling Financial Corp. has appointed David DePillo, Sterling's chief lending officer, to a newly created role of vice chairman of the corporation and its wholly owned subsidiary, Sterling Bank.

DePillo, who gained extensive financial experience in California, joined Sterling as chief credit officer in October 2010 and became its chief lending officer four months ago. His new role recognizes "the significant contributions that Dave has made as we have repositioned Sterling," says Greg Seibly, president and CEO of Sterling Financial Corp. in a press release.

Sterling's repositioning and what ultimately was a $730 million recapitalization started in the fall of 2009, when Seibly came on board, and after two Sterling executives had left the company. Also that fall, Sterling was placed under regulatory oversight requiring, among other things, that Sterling develop and retain qualified management. That full regulatory oversight was removed last March.

The recapitalization was completed in August 2010. Last February, Sterling announced it had shrunk its full-time equivalent workforce by 6 percent over the prior two months and launched a $3.5 million rebranding that included changing the bank's name to Sterling Bank from Sterling Savings Bank.

Sterling is a much different company today with regained strength, says Ezra Eckhardt, Sterling Bank president and chief operating officer.

That rebound has included a jump in earnings, with second-quarter net income of $320.9 million, up from $7.6 million in the year-earlier period. Eckhardt adds that DePillo has played a major leadership role as the company made changes.

"Dave has been a critical part of the larger transition of the company, and we're fortunate to have found someone with his skills, expertise, and leadership," Eckhardt says. "He's played a large personal role in re-energizing our commercial real estate and commercial banking, and in restructuring our credit processes."

Eckhardt says the title of vice chairman is an extension of his role as chief lending officer.

"His responsibilities are essentially the same," Eckhardt says. "He oversees the commercial real estate team and commercial banking team. He's involved in all of our strategic decisions."

DePillo has more than 25 years of banking, financial management, and investment experience. He previously worked as vice chairman of the board of the Brea, Calif.-based Fremont General Corp., which was sold to Capital Source Bank. He also was vice chairman, president, and chief operating officer of Commercial Capital Bancorp Inc., which was headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and later sold to Seattle-based Washington Mutual Inc.

In the 1990s, DePillo worked as vice president and director of multifamily banking for Home Savings of America, and was president and COO of Home Savings of America's real estate development subsidiaries and its thrift holding company, H.F. Ahmanson & Co.