SECOND AMENDMENT TO LOAN AGREEMENT

Exhibit 10.98

SECOND AMENDMENT TO LOAN AGREEMENT

THIS SECOND AMENDMENT TO LOAN AGREEMENT (this “Second Amendment Agreement” or “Second Amendment”) is entered into as of February 27, 2015 (the “Amendment Date”), between First Foundation Inc., a California corporation (“Borrower”) and NEXBANK SSB (“Lender”).

R E C I T A L S

A. Borrower and Lender are parties to that certain Loan Agreement dated as of April 19, 2013 pursuant to which Borrower obtained a term loan from Lender in the aggregate principal amount of $7,500,000 (the “Original Loan Amount”), which was evidenced by the concurrent execution and delivery to Lender by Borrower of a Promissory Note in the Original Loan Amount (the “Original Note”).

B. On March 25, 2014, Borrower and Lender entered into that certain First Amendment to Loan Agreement pursuant to which (i) the then remaining Original Loan Amount was increased by $15,000,000, bringing the outstanding principal amount thereof to $21,875,000 (the “First Amended Loan” or the “First Amended Loan Amount”), and (ii) certain of the terms and provisions of the Original Loan Agreement were amended or amended and restated (the Original Loan Agreement, as amended or amended and restated by the First Amendment to Loan Agreement is the “First Amended Loan Agreement”). Concurrently therewith Borrower executed and delivered to Lender an Amended and Restated Promissory Note in the principal amount of $21,875,000 in favor of Lender (the “First Amended and Restated Note”), which thereupon superseded the Original Note and, as a result, such Original Note thereupon ceased to be of any further force or effect.

C. As of the date hereof, the First Amended Loan Amount is $19,687,500.

D. Borrower has requested that the outstanding principal balance of the First Amended Loan Amount be increased by $10,312,500 (the “Additional Loan Amount”), as a result of which the outstanding principal balance of the Loan as of the Second Amendment Effective Date (as hereinafter defined) shall be $30,000,000 (the “Second Amended Loan” or the “Second Amended Loan Amount”).

E. In connection with that increase in the remaining principal amount of the First Amended Loan, Borrower and Lender are entering into this Second Amendment to amend, or amend and restate, certain of the terms and provisions of the First Amendment Agreement, in the manner and to the extent set forth hereinafter, and Borrower has agreed to issue to Lender, on the Second Amendment Effective Date, to Lender a Second Amended and Restated Promissory Note (the “Second Amended and Restated Note”) to evidence Borrower’s obligation to pay the principal amount of the Second Amended Loan to Lender.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of these premises, the respective promises and agreements of each party to the other contained herein, and other valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree, as follows:

(a) The “Recitals” in the First Amended Loan Agreement are hereby amended and restated in their entirety to incorporate into the Loan Agreement the Recitals to this Second Amendment :

(b) Section 2.1 of the First Amended Loan Agreement is hereby further amended or amended and restated as and to the extent set forth below in this Section 1:

(i) The terms defined in the Recitals incorporated into this Agreement by reference to the Second Amendment are made an integral part of the Loan Agreement.

Second Amendment

(ii) Unless the context indicates otherwise, the terms “Loan Agreement” and or “Agreement” shall mean the Original Loan Agreement as and to the extent heretofore amended, or amended and restated, by the First Amended Loan Agreement and as and to the extent further amended, or amended and restated, by this Second Amendment Agreement.

(iii) The definitions of the terms “LIBOR,” “Maturity Date,” “Note” and “Note Rate” are hereby amended and restated to read in their entirety as follows:

LIBOR: With respect to any LIBOR Reset Period, the rate of interest at which deposits in U.S. dollars are offered to major banks in the London interbank market for a ninety (90) day period on the day that is two (2) days prior to the commencement of such LIBOR Reset Period, based on information presented by any interest rate reporting service of recognized standing selected by Lender, or if Lender determines that no interest rate reporting service has presented such information, the rate of interest at which deposits in U. S. dollars are offered to major banks in the London interbank market for a ninety (90) day period on the day that is two (2) days prior to the commencement of such LIBOR Reset Period by any bank reasonably selected by Lender. Under the terms of this Agreement, the applicable “LIBOR” rate is used by Lender as a reference rate. The use of ninety (90) day LIBOR as a reference rate does not mean the Borrower will actually pay interest on the Loan pursuant to a ninety (90) day contract or any other interest rate contract. Instead, the effective interest rate under this Agreement will adjust at the beginning of each LIBOR Reset Period

Maturity Date: May 1, 2022.

Note or Second Amended and Restated Note: That certain Amended and Restated Promissory Note, dated and executed by Borrower as of February 27, 2015 in the aggregate principal amount of $30,000,000 made payable to the order of Lender, evidencing the Second Amended Loan.”

Note Rate: A rate per annum equal to the sum of (a) LIBOR for the then-current LIBOR Reset Period plus (b) 375 basis points (3.75%).

(iii) The definitions of “LIBOR Business Day” and “Original Note” are hereby deleted in their entirety.

(c) Section 4.1(a) of the Loan Agreement is hereby amended and restated to read in its entirety as follows:

“(a) The maximum aggregate principal amount of the Loan shall not exceed THIRTY MILLION DOLLARS ($30,000,000) (the “Loan Amount”). No principal amount repaid may be reborrowed.”

(d) Section 5.2, titled “Required Principal and Interest Payments,” is hereby amended and restated in its entirety to read as follows:

“Commencing on April 1, 2015 and continuing on each Payment Date thereafter, until the Loan and all accrued interest thereon has been paid in full, installments of principal in the amount of $250,000 plus accrued interest thereon shall be due and payable on each Payment Date (unless the principal balance is less than such required installment amount, and in such case, the remaining principal balance of the Note shall be due and payable on the Payment Date). The outstanding principal balance of the Loan and any and all accrued but unpaid interest hereon shall be due and payable in full on the Maturity Date or if such Payment Date has been accelerated to an earlier date in accordance with this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, then on such earlier

date. All payments (whether of principal or of interest) shall be deemed credited to Borrower’s account only if received by 2:00 p.m. Dallas time on a Business Day; otherwise, such payment shall be deemed received on the next Business Day.”

(It is hereby agreed that execution of this Second Amendment by Lender shall evidence conclusively that all of the foregoing conditions have been fulfilled).

(i) any of those representations and warranties speak to a different specific date or may have otherwise been made inaccurate by the mere passage of time; or (ii) the facts or circumstances on which any of those representations and warranties were based have been changed by transactions or events not prohibited by the Loan Documents; or (iii) Borrower discloses to Lender otherwise in the Borrower Disclosure Schedules as updated by Borrower, delivered to Lender at least two (2) Business Days prior to the Second Amendment Effective Date and approved of by Lender, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed; (b) no Default or Event of Default exists under the Loan Documents as amended by and after giving effect to this Second Amendment; (c) this Second Amendment has been duly authorized and approved by all necessary corporate action of Borrower and requires the consent of no other Person, and is binding and enforceable against Borrower in accordance with its terms, except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, arrangement, moratorium or similar laws, now or hereafter in effect, relating to or limiting the rights of creditors’ and general equitable principles, regardless of whether the issue of enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law; and (d) the execution, delivery and performance by Borrower of this Second Amendment does not and, to the knowledge of Borrower, will not, by the passage of time, the giving of notice, or both: (i) require any governmental approval which Borrower is required to obtain, other than such as have been obtained and are in full force and effect; (ii) violate any applicable law to which Borrower is subject; (iii) conflict with, result in a breach of, or constitute a default under the Constituent Documents of Borrower; (iv) conflict with, result in a breach of, or constitute a default under any indenture, agreement, or other instrument to which Borrower is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound; or (v) result in or require the creation or imposition of any Lien (other than a Permitted Lien) upon any property now owned or hereafter acquired by Borrower (the failure of which, in the case of clauses (i), (ii), (iv) and (v) of this Section 5(b), would have, either individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Change on Borrower and its Subsidiaries considered as a whole).

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank; Signature Pages Follow.]

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Amendment in multiple counterparts to be effective as of date first set forth above.

Signature Page to Second Amendment to Loan Agreement

(First Foundation, Inc.)

Signature Page to Second Amendment to Loan Agreement

(First Foundation, Inc.)