Commissioner Virginia Varela is the Head of Community Banking for SoFi Bank, N.A. She was the President and CEO of Golden Pacific Bank, a nationally chartered community bank headquartered in Sacramento for eight years until it was acquired by SoFi Technologies in February 2022, making it one of the largest approved fintech bank purchases in the nation. Before that, Virginia held executive and Board positions at three California community banks, including CEO/President/Director at the Bank of Rio Vista, President/Director at San Luis Trust Bank, and COO at Bank of the Orient.

Virginia first entered the banking industry as a bank examiner in 1984. Her experience includes various senior examiner and supervisory roles at the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, Federal Home Bank of San Francisco, Office of Thrift Supervision/Office of Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She is a Federal Reserve Bank Commissioned Senior Examiner, and a Treasury Department designated Certified Safety and Soundness Thrift Regulator and Federal Compliance Regulator. 

Since 2010, Virginia has served on the Board of the California Bankers Association/Western Bankers Association and, from 2017 to the present, chairs the Federal Government Relations Committee. Virginia was a Director with the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco from 2019 to 2023 and chaired the Affordable Housing and Community Investment committee. In 2017, Virginia helped to start the Mercy Pedalers nonprofit, which focuses on direct outreach to persons experiencing homelessness on the streets. She is the President of the Board of this organization.