Our People - Loan Officers

Rose Wageman, Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer
MLO #466594

Rose has worked with the Salk family for over thirty years, beginning her banking career as a management trainee with River Oaks Bank in Calumet City, IL. In 1991 Rose joined First Eagle Bank. Today, Rose has overall responsibility for retail and lending operations, including commercial lending, consumer lending, compliance, credit administration, and interfacing with regulators. In 2012 she was elected to the Board of Directors. In addition, Rose is on the Board of Directors for Deborah’s Place. Deborah’s Place is the oldest and largest provider of housing for women experiencing homelessness in Chicago.

Zachary Braun, Senior Vice President
MLO #466595

Zachary began his banking career with First Eagle Bank in 2002 as a Credit Analyst and is currently a Senior Vice President.  Zachary delivers to bank customers an expertise in all aspects of commercial lending with a focus on real estate finance.  Prior to joining the bank, Zachary was a Commercial Real Estate Broker handling leasing and sales assignments on the behalf of clients.

Zachary obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from DePaul University with a dual concentration in Finance and Real Estate Investment & Finance and has been a board member of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs since 2012.

Faruk Daudbasic, Senior Vice President
MLO #466593

Faruk began his career at First Eagle Bank as an intern while he was a student at Northeastern Illinois University. Upon graduation in 2005, he became a full time Credit Analyst and was soon promoted to a Lending Officer. Today Faruk is a Senior Vice President, and is responsible for a large commercial loan portfolio.

Additionally Faruk serves as First Eagle Bank's liaison to its community development activities and has become a well recognized and respected member of the community development world. He has been instrumental in spearheading First Eagle Bank's CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution) efforts. Faruk is also on the Board of Directors for Neighborhood Lending Services, and affiliate of NHS Chicago.

Faruk obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from Roosevelt University in Finance and Real Estate and is an adjunct faculty member at Northeastern Illinois University, teaching Real Estate Finance. Faruk is also a licensed Real Estate Broker. 

Richard Heathfield, Senior Vice President
MLO #1690365

Rich has been in banking since 1985 when he started his career with NBD Bank in the Detroit area.  For the last 20 years, Rich has specialized in commercial real estate lending at a variety of banks including large national, regional and community banks, managing and growing his customer base and portfolios in excess of $150 million.  Rich has been a lender in the Chicago market for the last 15 years and has continuously delivered excellent customer service and solutions to his large portfolio of customers and prospects.  Rich enjoys working with entrepreneurial type commercial real estate investors and matching their lending needs to fit within the banks’ lending framework.

Rich obtained a Masters of Finance in Business Administration from the University of Detroit.  He is active with Misericordia, Heart of Mercy and his church, Old Saint Patrick’s and the Francis Xavier Warde School and its diverse community of faith-based mission in the City of Chicago.

Gene Khalimsky, Vice President, Commercial Lending
MLO #680730

Gene began his banking career in 1996 with Bank of America. Since that time he has become well versed in all aspects of banking including branch management, consumer relations, personal banking, and commercial lending. He has worked for national banks, served as Vice President of a Chicago De Novo Bank and also managed a large commercial loan portfolio of multifamily, C&I and SBA loans for Wintrust. Gene joined First Eagle Bank in 2013.  Passionate about his career, Gene takes great pride in delivering top-notch customer service; he truly enjoys his working relationships with clients and the First Eagle family.

Gene holds a Bachelors Degree of Science in Finance/International Business from Elmhurst College.  He is a Loyola Children’s Advisory board member and chair for CureSearch for Children’s Cancer. Gene is also fluent in Russian and proficient in Ukrainian.