Opus Bank to Buy Four California Branches from Zions

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., has agreed to buy four branches from Zions Bancorp.'s (ZION) California subsidiary.

Opus will acquire $138 million of deposits in addition to the four branches from California Bank & Trust in San Diego, the banks said Wednesday. Opus will pay a premium of 3.2% to the average deposit premium, it said. No loans will be transferred in the deal.

The companies expect to complete the transaction in the third quarter, pending regulatory approval. Three of the branches are in Los Angeles County and one is in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Of the deposits that Opus plans to acquire, 86% are core transaction deposit accounts, of which 40% are non-interest bearing checking accounts with a total cost of deposits of .09%. Thirty-six percent are business deposits, the bank said.

Opus plans to open six branches in Arizona, California and Washington, while also closing eight, it said in January. It had 57 branches in Washington and California and none in Arizona as of Dec. 31, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

In September, it acquired 10 Southern California branches and $125 million of deposits from PacWest Bancorp (PACW).