City National Bank hired David Hasenbalg as a national food and beverage manager.

Hasenbalg has more than 20 years of experience in financial services and the food and beverage industries. Prior to joining City National, he served as managing director of GE Capital’s Food & Beverage Group and previously spent nearly a decade in management at the E&J Gallo Winery.

“David is an expert serving the financial needs of the nation’s food and beverage industries and we are pleased to have him join City National,” said Robert Iritani, executive vice president of City National’s Specialty Banking division and regional executive for Orange County. “City National has a long history of meeting the specialized banking needs of entrepreneurs, technology companies and legal firms. We’re excited about adding the food and beverage industries to our areas of expertise.”

Hasenbalg will build a team that will specialize in serving food processors, food distributors and grocery retailers and have expertise in sales, credit, sales management, operations and capital markets nationwide.

The global food and agricultural industry for 2015 was about a $7.8 trillion market, according to Plunkett Research estimates, or about 10% of the world’s GDP. In the U.S., food accounts for approximately 13% of a typical household’s spending, ranking third behind housing and transportation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“City National is known for providing the kind of dedication and deep domain expertise that is exactly what companies look for in a long-term banking relationship,” said Hasenbalg, who will work primarily out of the Irvine, CA, office. “I am very pleased to be joining CNB.”

With $42.8 billion in assets, City National Bank provides banking, investment and trust services through 74 offices, including 16 full-service regional centers, in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, Nevada, New York City, Nashville and Atlanta. It is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada.