The bank, part of the BNP Paribas group of organizations, has a new top legal officer and corporate secretary. Bank of the West provides private banking and wealth management among its other offerings.

Bank of the West, a subsidiary of Paris-based BNP Paribas, has appointed Hope Mehlman as general counsel and corporate secretary, as well as corporate secretary of BNP Paribas USA.

Bank of the West provides wealth management among its services.

Mehlman will lead Bank of the West's legal activities, regulatory relations and government affairs functions and serve as a member of its executive management committee. She will also serve as a member of the BNP Paribas USA executive management committee.

She takes over from Vanessa Washington who will retire from the bank at the end of the month after 14 noteworthy years of service.

Prior to this new role, Mehlman, worked for 14 years at Regions Financial Corporation. Most recently, she was corporate secretary, chief governance officer and deputy general counsel. Mehlman holds a bachelor of arts degree from Cornell University, a juris doctor degree from Seton Hall University Law School and an LLM from NYU Graduate School of Law.