Bancorp President Announces Resignation

William E. McAleer, who founded the Oxnard-based Ventura County National Bank in 1982, has resigned from his position as chairman and chief executive officer of the bank.

McAleer also left his post as president and chief executive officer of Ventura County National Bancorp, which owns the bank, the company announced Tuesday.

McAleer, 54, said that strained relations between management and some members of the board led to his resignation.

“In the past few years, California’s economy has taken some dramatic turns for the worse, and that’s created regulatory pressures on banks, which translates to strain between management and some board members,” he said.

“The bank is functioning well,” said McAleer, who opened it with $3 million in capital and watched it grow to $30 million. “It is not a desire of mine to leave anything that isn’t working well.”

The day before the resignation was announced, Bancorp reported that it had revised its earnings for the first quarter to reflect a loss of $1.6 million, because it added $3.3 million to its loan loss reserves.

The company also announced it would arrange for an independent review of the circumstances that led to the addition of more funds to the reserves, which are used to cover loan losses at Ventura County National Bank and Bancorp’s other bank in La Palma.

McAleer said the announcement was not related to his decision to resign his positions and his seats on the boards of directors.

While Bancorp conducts a search for a new chief executive officer, the company and the bank will be managed by a committee from both boards of directors.

Bancorp also announced the appointment of Peter Banks to the position of chief financial officer. He had been controller.