Cupertino, CA-headquartered financial advisory firm Opes Advisors, said yesterday it has started a planned expansion into the Puget Sound area with a new branch in Kirkland. Additional branches will open later this year.

Cupertino, CA-headquartered financial advisory firm Opes Advisors, said yesterday it has started a planned expansion into the Puget Sound area with a new branch in Kirkland. Additional branches will open later this year.

Robert Lipston, with 27 years of lending experience, is directing business development as the regional director of the Pacific Northwest region for Opes, it said in a statement. Donovan Douvia is the manager of the first new branch in Kirkland. , Lipston was recently named as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Mortgage Executives in America by Mortgage Executive Magazine.  He serves as a board member and education committee chair of the Seattle Mortgage Bankers Association.

The opening of other branches in 2014 will see the firm employ almost 100 people, it said.

"We have been planning this expansion into Washington for some time and are very excited that Robert decided to join Opes. There are many similarities between the real estate market in the Puget Sound area and California. Our experience with creating tailored financing solutions combined with Robert and Donovan's local relationships and market expertise make us well positioned to be a valued partner for Realtors and homebuyers,” Susan McHan, Opes Advisors chief executive and Mortgage Bank President. Prior to Opes Advisors, she co-founded and served as President for Elliot Ames, a high-end mortgage bank and investment services company in the Bay Area.

The firm, which was founded in 2004, says it is the 26th largest mortgage bank in the US.