California

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.

The San Diego County Credit Union is licensing new software that allows it to make same-day payments available through the same service as traditional Web bill payment, as well as create a simple link to myriad other automated payments to make user navigation and access easier.

Two San Francisco credit unions have applied to state regulators to acquire the ailing 1st Choice Federal Credit Union and Pacifica-Coastside Credit Union.

Two weeks after striking a deal to buy Capitol Bancorp's Seattle unit, AmericanWest is moving into the California market with a deal for Capitol's Sunrise Bank in San Diego.

City National Corp. of Los Angeles is expanding to Nashville, Tenn., to expand its entertainment division.

Kay M. Hoveland has notified the board of the $900 million-asset Kaiser that she plans to retire as the CEO of the thrift and president and CEO of its holding company, Kaiser Federal Financial Group Inc. Hoveland also plans to resign from the bank's board.

With many competitors eschewing the interest-rate-sensitive housing market, First PacTrust took the opposite tack, agreeing to pay $17 million for Gateway Bancorp.

The only CEO in the history of Kaiser Federal Bank in Covina, Calif., is stepping down at the end of this month.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s push into California is a blessing or a curse, depending whom you ask, but it is definitely having a competitive impact.

Upstart Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., is embarking on an ambitious branch expansion plan to go along with is acquisition of a Seattle-area bank.

Two weeks after announcing plans to open its first retail branch in Los Angeles County, First PacTrust Bancorp Inc. in Chula Vista, Calif., has struck its deal to buy a bank there.