Banc of California completed its previously announced merger with PacWest Bancorp pursuant to which PacWest has merged into Banc of California and, as of today, Banc of California has merged into Pacific Western Bank. The combined bank will operate under the Banc of California name and brand. Concurrent with the completion of the merger, Banc of California also completed its $400 million equity raise from affiliates of funds managed by Warburg Pincus and certain investment vehicles sponsored, managed and/or advised by Centerbridge Partners and its affiliates.
“Today begins a new chapter for Banc of California,” Jared Wolff, CEO and president of Banc of California, said. “By combining the best of two well-respected banks, we have created one of the nation’s premier relationship-focused business banks. We look forward to sharing our expanded capabilities with clients and all the communities we serve. California has experienced a void of business banks that we intend to fill, and we look forward to helping our clients grow and delivering for our clients, communities and shareholders.”
In connection with the merger, Banc of California and Pacific Western Bank have sold approximately $1.9 billion in assets as part of a previously disclosed balance sheet repositioning strategy, which includes additional asset sales expected to be completed through the end of Q1/23 As of the merger closing date, Pacific Western Bank has sold approximately $1.5 billion of its securities portfolio, which included agency commercial mortgage-backed securities, agency collateralized mortgage obligations (CMO), treasury bonds, municipal bonds and corporate bonds. As of the merger closing date, Banc of California has sold approximately $447.4 million of its securities portfolio, which included agency mortgage-backed securities, CMOs and municipal bonds. In addition, the previously announced forward sale of Banc of California’s $1.8 billion single-family residential mortgage portfolio (SFR portfolio) is expected to close shortly. The proceeds from the securities sales and the SFR portfolio sale, as well as proceeds from additional balance sheet repositioning sales to come, are expected to be utilized primarily for the repayment of the combined bank’s wholesale borrowings and higher cost funding.
The combined bank is headquartered in Los Angeles and operates more than 70 branches in California, as well as branches in North Carolina and Colorado.
