California

First Foundation in Irvine, Calif., has agreed to buy a pair of branches from Pacific Western Bank in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Wells Fargo, the lender grappling with a scandal involving unauthorized customer accounts, had its outlook lowered to negative from stable by Fitch Ratings.

U.S. Bancorp has agreed to settle a lawsuit that claimed it neglected to maintain foreclosed properties in Southern California after the 2008 financial crisis.

A federal judge has silenced — at least temporarily — a whistleblower who brought charges of misconduct at the parent company of Bank of Internet USA in San Diego.

Kim Kaselionis saw a lot of small-business-loan applications die on her desk when she was a bank chief, so she started a crowdfunding firm to nurse along startups till they were bankable. That's where Fresno First comes in.

CU Bancorp in Los Angeles has agreed to a consent order to address deficiencies in its Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering compliance program.

Bank of Southern California in San Diego has agreed to sell $7 million of its common stock to the asset management firm Castle Creek Capital.

The parent company of the consumer lender LendUp has been fined more than $6.3 million by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the California Department of Business Oversight for overcharging borrowers and violating payday and installment lending laws.

The $8.3 billion-asset CVB said Thursday that it would pay $57.5 million in cash and stock for the $416 million-asset parent of Valley Business Bank.

MUFG Union Bank has named a head of private wealth management for its northern California and Pacific Northwest region.