Heritage Oaks Bank recently announced Jason Castle as its new senior vice president/controller.

Castle is responsible for managing the accounting and finance functions of the Bank and its holding company. He will be headquartered at the administration office in Paso Robles.

"We’re very pleased to have someone of Jason’s caliber join our team,” says Margaret Torres, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Heritage Oaks Bank. “His varied professional experience adds a valued depth of resource to the Bank. Just as important as his skills are to the job, he also fits into our corporate culture and core values within the organization."

Prior to joining Heritage Oaks Bank, Castle began his career in public accounting where he served for five years; most recently with a "Big 4" accounting firm. 

"I am very excited to join the team at Heritage Oaks Bank," Castle said. "The Bank has many obvious strengths such as its commitment to service excellence, extensive local branch network, support of the local community, and strong capitalization levels, however, I have quickly come to realize that the Bank’s biggest asset is its people. I look forward to continuing the progress the Bank has achieved and helping to maintain the Bank’s status as the Central Coast’s finest community bank."

He has spent the last six years as controller of various banks including an $8 billion regional California bank that was part of a $700 billion international bank (Rabobank) and a $200 million De Novo institution. Castle has been involved in a number of strategic transactions during his banking career including the organization and opening of a De Novo financial institution.

Along with his strong business experience, Castle is a licensed certified public accountant (CPA) in the state of California.

He received his bachelor’s of science degree from California State University in Bakersfield, graduated from the Pacific Coast Banking School Management program at the University of Washington, and recently completed Level I of the Chartered Financial Analyst Program (CFA).

In addition to being a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and California CPA Society, Castle volunteers at various fundraising events for his children’s cooperative pre-school.