San Diego Board of Advisors

Robert M. McGill
Neighborhood Bancorp

Mr. McGill is President and Chief Executive Officer of Neighborhood Bancorp, a bank holding company, founded in 1992 to bring banking services to underserved neighborhoods in San Diego, and to facilitate overall economic development in the city's urban areas. Mr. McGill is also President and CEO of Neighborhood National Bank in San Diego, which was the first community development bank in the nation to be granted a charter under guidelines established by President Clinton to bring more financial services to underserved urban communities. Mr. McGill led the effort to raise the nearly $8 million in capital required to open the Bank, which was granted preliminary approval by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in December 1994. Full approval by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was received in July 1997, and Neighborhood National Bank commenced operations in September 1997. Additional affiliates in formation under the umbrella of the holding company are Neighborhood Opportunities Corporation, charged with increasing San Diego's access to capital through investment, education, and training, and Neighborhood Capital Advisors, its equity arm. As President and CEO, Mr. McGill is responsible for strategic planning and overall management of the day-to-day operations of the holding company and all its subsidiaries.

Prior to founding Neighborhood Bancorp, Mr. McGill headed up an investor group interested in purchasing a Federal Savings Bank from the U.S. Government. When the bid was withdrawn, Mr. McGill joined one of his investor partners to raise debt and equity capital for the firm's residential land development. Among Mr. McGill's responsibilities as Financial Officer were securing a major line of credit with a large commercial bank and creating investor partnership groups, including one with a major Japanese corporation.

From 1981 to 1987, Mr. McGill worked for the Federal Reserve Bank, first as Senior Vice President in San Francisco. In 1984 he was promoted to Officer-in-Charge of the Federal Reserve Bank's Los Angeles office, with responsibility for building and opening the Bank's new facility there. Mr. McGill began his career in banking with Southern California First National Bank [later California First Bank and now Union Bank of California]. Between 1971 and 1981 he rose to become Vice President and Auditor for the statewide institution.

A native San Diegan, Mr. McGill grew up in Linda Vista, one of the city's most economically challenged and ethnically diverse areas. This led to his lifelong commitment to equal opportunity, particularly in the arenas of housing, employment and education. Active in civic affairs, Mr. McGill has served on: the Mayor's Renaissance Commission; Chairs the California Development Bankers Association; Council District 3's Housing Advisory Committee; the Affordable Housing Partnership Program; and the Policy Advisory Board for the Real Estate Institute at the University of San Diego. Mr. McGill is a member of the San Diego Enterprise Community Board and was appointed Chair of the Finance Committee for the City of San Diego's Master Plan revision. Mr. McGill received his BS in Finance from San Diego State University and his MBA from Pepperdine University.