First Foundation Inc.: directors' dealings · United States · SEC (Form 4)

About First Foundation Inc.

First Foundation Inc. (NYSE: FFWM) is a U.S.-listed financial services company traded on the New York Stock Exchange in the United States. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, First Foundation serves individuals, businesses, and organizations through an integrated platform that combines banking, wealth management, and trust services. For French-speaking investors in Europe, the company can be viewed as a hybrid regional financial institution: part bank, part asset and wealth manager, with a business model designed to diversify earnings beyond pure net interest income. The group’s origins date back to 1990, when its wealth management activities were first established in Orange County, California. First Foundation was formally created in 2008 to build a broader platform around those advisory roots. Over time, the company expanded its offering to include banking, trust, estate planning, consulting, and insurance-related services, with an emphasis on long-term client relationships and a team-based advisory approach. First Foundation’s operating model is built around two main pillars: banking and wealth management. On the banking side, it offers deposit products, personal and business banking services, and lending solutions aimed at small to mid-sized businesses and professional firms. On the wealth side, the company provides investment advisory services, wealth management, and trust solutions. This mix is strategically important because it creates a meaningful fee-based revenue stream that can help reduce reliance on lending spreads alone. Geographically, First Foundation operates primarily in the western and southern United States, with offices and operations in California, Nevada, Florida, Texas, and Hawaii. That footprint remains regional, but it spans multiple attractive economic markets. The company’s corporate headquarters is now listed in Irving, Texas, reflecting the center of gravity of the organization. From a competitive standpoint, FFWM competes with regional banks, independent wealth managers, and larger national financial institutions. Its differentiation lies in the combination of banking and private wealth capabilities under one roof, which can deepen client relationships and improve cross-selling opportunities. In practice, this integrated structure is intended to support recurring fee income and more stable client retention. Recent developments are especially important for investors. In 2025, First Foundation announced a merger agreement with FirstSun Capital Bancorp. In 2026, the transaction advanced after the OCC approved the merger of the respective bank subsidiaries, and completion was expected in early Q2 2026, subject to additional regulatory approvals and shareholder votes. This is a major strategic event that could reshape FFWM’s future profile in terms of scale, governance, and risk/reward dynamics. As a result, the stock’s investment case is tied not only to stand-alone performance, but also to transaction execution and the eventual post-merger structure.