Bill Walbrecher
President and Chief Operating Officer
Operation HOPE, Inc.

William Walbrecher (Bill) is an accomplished Fortune 500 bank CEO who achieves extraordinary results in the world of business and finance at the highest levels. He has been a superstar as the CEO of three companies, in the banking and securities investment industry and as a professional consultant to financial institutions. 

Prior to joining Operation HOPE in October of 2006 as the President and Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Walbrecher served as the Chairman and CEO of Intellect Holding Corporation, a consulting firm that specialized in asset/liability management, strategic business programs, marketing, quality programs and process improvements for companies that provided a competitive advantage and a well protected pathway to sustained profitability.  His expertise is new ventures, emerging growth companies and turnarounds on strategies to prepare the platform for future growth, profitability, and enhanced value.  Mr. Walbrecher has consistently increased market cap 30 percent in companies within three years with his strategies and is exceptional at presenting leading edge programs that focus on quality and value based leadership.

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As a Strategic Consultant working with CEOs, senior management teams and boards of directors, Mr. Walbrecher has been the successful architect of implementing full scale operational and financial turnarounds in the banking, financial services and the global asset management industries.

At Golden State Bank, Mr. Walbrecher entered into a stock purchase agreement with the shareholders to acquire 94.9 percent of the outstanding shares of the bank.  The agreement was approved by the regulators, The Office of Thrift Supervision.  As the Chairman and CEO, he increased mortgage loan sales volume by over 25 percent the first year, and streamlined bank operations through process improvements with emphasis on customer service and quality programs. 

As the President and CEO of Fidelity Federal Bank with $6.8 billion in assets, Mr. Walbrecher increased the bank’s market cap by over 33 percent in his first two years as the CEO.  In addition, he raised $70 million of subordinated debt during a period in time that was difficult at best for banks to raise capital.  He attained debt rating upgrades for Fidelity by both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s ranking Fidelity among the top 25 banking companies in the country.  Mr. Walbrecher was the Chairman of FidFed Investments, a brokerage unit that made over $1 million in net profits his first year as Chairman.  Prior to becoming the Chairman, FidFed Investments had never earned a profit in four years of operation.  Mr. Walbrecher also developed and led the mortgage loan correspondent and securitization conduit channels.  As a result, Fidelity’s loan originations increased from $2 billion to well over $5 billion per year in both the retail and wholesale loan channels in Southern California.  Under Walbrecher’s watch, Fidelity achieved record company profits each succeeding year he was the CEO.

At First Nationwide’s $35 billion asset bank, Mr. Walbrecher led the Retail Banking Company as he became the first thrift executive to manage a multi-state operation, with over 450 branches in 15 states.  During that period, he melded 17 bank acquisitions in 14 states totaling over $28 billion in assets, acquired from the Resolution Trust Corporation, into the banking company resulting in a tenfold increase in the bank’s profits.  Mr. Walbrecher was also the Chairman of First Nationwide’s Investment Brokerage Group, FN Investments, a highly profitability firm and Chairman of First Nationwide's $400 million asset, FN Credit Card Services company.

Mr. Walbrecher has been featured in Forbes as a man on the move and was called the Red Adair of the banking industry. Mr. Walbrecher is also know for banking innovations, such as promoting national marketing of retail products, making ATMs omnipresent throughout the United States, and offering full service banking in JC Penney and Kmart stores.

Mr. Walbrecher was a White House Presidential Executive, the first bank industry executive ever nominated to the highest honor The White House bestows on outstanding individuals from the private sector.

In June 2009, Mr. Walbrecher was the recipient of the special first ever Chairman’s HOPE Award presented at the opening reception of the Global Financial Literacy Summit in Washington, D.C.  “Never in the history of Operation HOPE has a president and/or chief operating officer been so recognized for his standout performance.  Bill Walbrecher deserved this and more, for his outstanding leadership” said founder, chairman and CEO John Hope Bryant.

Mr. Walbrecher also serves as an Advisory Board Member of the World Economic Forum.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEMBERSHIPS

Advisory Board Member of the Housing for All Project
The World Economic Forum 

President and Chief Operating Officer and de facto CFO
Operation HOPE, Inc.
Member of Board Committee for Solutions for Economic Recovery                                                                 

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Intellect Holding Corporation
Director and Chairman of Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Golden State Bank
Chairman of Asset/Liability Committee, Chairman of Loan Committee, Member of Audit Committee, Member of Executive Committee and Member of Corporate Governance Committee

Director
First Professional Bank
Chairman of Asset/Liability Committee, Chairman of Loan Committee, Member of Audit Committee, Member of Compensation Committee, Member of Executive Committee and Member of Corporate Governance Committee

Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
Citadel Holding Corporation

Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
Fidelity Federal Bank
Chairman of FidFid Investments, Member of Audit Committee, Member of Nominating Committee, Member of Executive Committee, Member of Loan Committee, Member of Asset/Liability Committee and Member of Corporate Governance Committee

Presidential Executive
THE WHITE HOUSE, Washington, DC

Head of the Consumer Bank
First Nationwide Bank
Chairman of First Nationwide Investments and Chairman of First Nationwide Credit Card
Company

 

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