Pacific Mercantile Bank hired Jim Roby to lead Small Business Administration lending.

As senior vice president, director of SBA, Roby will work collaboratively with Pacific Mercantile’s relationship managers to incorporate the full suite of SBA lending products into the bank’s offerings and help small businesses navigate the difficult road of obtaining financing.

“We are excited to launch our new SBA lending efforts under Jim Roby’s leadership,” said Tom Vertin, president and CEO of Pacific Mercantile Bank. “Jim has proven expertise in SBA loan production, and we believe he will build our SBA business into a meaningful contributor to our continued growth in the years ahead.”

Roby has more than three decades of experience in SBA lending. Most recently, he served as senior vice president, national sales manager for Spectrum Commercial Lending in Irvine, CA, where he managed all business development officers for production, training and evaluation, including a program to generate income through the referral of SBA loans to other banks. Previously, Roby was senior vice president and managing director of SBA at Gilmore Bank, where he started and managed the bank’s SBA lending department until its sale to Grandpoint Capital. Prior to that, he spent 27 years at Bank of America where he held a number of senior positions in SBA lending.