California

Hanmi Financial Corp. in Los Angeles remained in the black for the third consecutive quarter, posting an $8 million profit in the quarter that ended June 30, compared to a net loss of $29 million in last year's second quarter.

With loan demand still weak in most of its markets, Westamerica Bancorporation in San Rafael, Calif., said Tuesday that its second-quarter profit fell by nearly 10% from the same period last year, to $21.3 million.

Floating loans to movie producers and rock stars may not be the banking industry's cure-all. But for a pair of banks, the entertainment business has provided a well-timed safe harbor.

The Los Angeles company is now telling investors it may scale back its ambitions and raise only what it needs to complete its acquisition of rival Center Financial Corp.

Eagle Bancorp Inc. in Bethesda, Md., said last week that it has received a $56.6 million investment from Treasury and that it will use about $23.2 million of that to repay the remaining balance on a loan it received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Driven by improved asset quality and a widening net interest margin, PacWest Bancorp in Los Angeles reported a profit of $12.8 million in the second quarter, nearly five times what it earned in the same period last year.

Directors at Nara Bancorp Inc. and Center Financial Corp. will have a few more months to deliberate over the planned merger of the two companies.

Linda Nahra, the president and chief executive at Community West Bancshares in Goleta, Calif., has notified the company that she is stepping down at the end of the month to pursue another business opportunity.

Merger-and-acquisition activity may be slow in most regions of the country, but it is picking up steam in California.

First PacTrust Bancorp in Chula Vista, Calif., said late Tuesday that it expects to raise about $31.5 million from selling common stock.

Cash-strapped Santa Lucia Bancorp in Atascadero, Calif., has called off its plan to raise capital through a stock offering because it has found a buyer instead.

Hanmi Financial Corp.'s on-again, off-again relationship with South Korean banking giant Woori Finance Holdings Co. is back on again.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., has received regulatory approval to buy Cascade Financial Corp. in Everett, Wash.

First PacTrust Bancorp Inc. in Chula Vista, Calif., is looking to raise up to $30 million in fresh capital that it could use to support its growth.

Provident Financial Holdings Inc. in Riverside, Calif., is back in good standing with its regulator.

A California community bank will be among first financial institutions to participate in the government's $30 billion small-business loan program.

Shares of Hanmi Financial Corp. fell sharply Monday on news that the Los Angeles company is planning to raise roughly $75 million by selling shares of its common stock.

Hanmi Financial Corp. and Woori Finance Holdings Co. have called off a long-delayed deal where Woori would have invested $210 million in Hanmi.

The $294.1 million-asset bank said Wednesday that James Jones, an executive vice president at the private-equity firm Carpenter & Co., is now leading its board.

Loan production offices lost popularity among community bankers during the financial crisis. A need for growth, amid intense competition, could bring them back in force.