John A. Allen

John A. Allen is the Chief Banking Officer for City First Bank. He has an extensive banking background and will oversee commercial sales and banking, credit administration, operations, and retail.

Before joining City First Bank, he was Region Bank President for Wells Fargo. He oversaw the bank’s community banking activities across the Washington, D.C. metro area, including Washington, D.C., Maryland, and the Baltimore market. He led a team of more than 700 employees and managed over 100 branches and 120 ATMs. With more than 30 years of experience in the banking industry, Allen has held several key leadership positions at top financial institutions.

Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Allen served as Executive Vice President and Region President for Pennsylvania West and Maryland at Santander Bank, where he oversaw retail, small business, and middle-market banking operations across the largest geographical region in the U.S., spanning 27 counties. Before that, he was Market President for Prince George’s/Eastern Maryland and Director Group Vice President of Branch Distribution at Capital One Bank (fka Chevy Chase Bank).

Allen began his banking career in 1991 at INB Bank, a community bank in his hometown of Indianapolis. He later worked as a commercial lender at Fifth Third Bank. He played a key role in launching Charter One Bank (now Citizens) into the Indianapolis market, using a de novo strategy. At Union Planters Bank (now Regions Bank), Allen was one of three individuals selected to help establish the bank’s private banking department following a divestiture.

Before moving to D.C. in 2007, Allen was an adjunct instructor for 12 years at a community college in Indiana, teaching various business courses. He also owned a motivational speaking company, where he created a curriculum for Indiana Habitat for Humanity, which became a part of the requirements for individuals to qualify for homeownership.

A strong advocate for community service, Allen serves on the board of directors for Springboard in Baltimore, an organization focused on providing social services to underprivileged communities.

In 2020, Allen graduated from the Leadership Greater Washington program and was honored with the Washington Business Journal’s Minority Leader Award that same year. He was also recognized in the Daily Record’s 2024 Banking and Financial Services Power List.

Allen holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, and resides in Upper Marlboro, MD.