Dave Brubaker, left, recruited longtime South Coast banker Eloy Ortega to open a Santa Barbara branch of Ojai Community Bank. (Nik Blaskovich / Business Times photo)

OCB Bancorp has taken over the 1,600-square-foot space at 21 E. Carrillo St. in downtown Santa Barbara for its new Santa Barbara Community Bank division.

The location is a new branch for Ojai-based OCB Bancorp, which announced last month that it had tapped veteran banker Eloy Ortega to lead its expansion into the South Coast. OCB Bancorp is also the bank holding company for Ojai Community Bank, Santa Paula Community Bank and Ventura Community Bank.

Ortega, most recently CEO at The Bank of Santa Barbara, serves as market president for the new branch, which is expected to open in coming weeks. The space on Carrillo Street was formerly home to law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, which moved to 1020 State St.