​American Riviera Bank names chief compliance and risk officer

As the bank continues its growth in the Central Coast region, Sykes will bring her deep experience in the areas of compliance and risk management to the team. She will be responsible for enterprise risk management and regulatory affairs for American Riviera Bank and will lead its consumer compliance function and the anti-money laundering/financial crimes unit.

Sykes worked for nearly 10 years as SVP and chief risk officer at Montecito Bank & Trust, where she was responsible for risk management, compliance, regulatory affairs, information privacy, fraud mitigation, and the financial literacy and elder abuse prevention programs. Prior to Montecito Bank & Trust, Sykes worked for Wells Fargo. She joined Santa Barbara Bank & Trust in 1995, where she held several key positions before rising to the position of director of regulatory affairs for its parent company, Pacific Capital Bancorp.