California

Debtholders battling with community banks over recapitalization plans have clearly scored a victory — but will it be a win-win?

Two recent deals in Southern California serve as a billboard announcing that the mergers and acquisitions market there is shifting to open-bank deals.

The opportunities to make bets on failed Nevada banks are dwindling, drawing out-of-state buyers into the market before the game closes.

Wilshire Bancorp Inc. in Los Angeles on Tuesday reported a $4.6 million second-quarter loss after selling off $48 million of nonperforming and delinquent loans.

Hanmi Financial Corp. announced Tuesday that its net loss more than tripled, to $29.3 million, in the second quarter from a year earlier.

Nara Bancorp Inc. of Los Angeles reported that its loss more than doubled in the second quarter as a result of significant chargeoffs.

Capital Bank reported a net second-quarter loss of $594,000, which was an improvement of 43% compared with a year earlier.

Profits grew faster than credit problems among the first batch of community banks to post second-quarter results — another tentative sign the sector is recovering.

Malaga Financial Corp. in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., reported record earnings Thursday for the second quarter and first six months of 2010.

The $95 million-asset Grandpoint Capital Inc. in Los Angeles said Wednesday that it had signed an agreement to acquire the $336 million-asset First Commerce Bancorp in Encino, Calif.

Bankers in this climate recognize that in order to get capital, they often have to give a little something first. Still, offering a 9% annual interest rate for a decade is a cost only a handful of bankers are willing to bear.

SoCal Bancorp. said it no longer owns a majority stake in Professional Business Bank after a $12.6 million capital infusion from a private-equity group.

Wilshire Bancorp Inc. in Los Angeles offered a glimpse of its second-quarter results Thursday, saying it expects to record a net loss of up to $5 million.

The largest Korean-American and Chinese-American banks, clustered in Southern California, are successfully raising capital, surprising competitors with last-minute infusions even while some operate under regulatory orders.

As a way to identify more with San Diegans, First Business Bank is changing its name to Bank of Southern California and opening a fourth branch in July.

Despite a $500 million recapitalization plan, Pacific Capital Bank in Santa Barbara, Calif., is being ordered to boost capital.

A month after holders of trust-preferred securities scoffed at a heavily discounted exchange, Pacific Capital Bancorp in Santa Barbara, Calif., has agreed to raise its offer.

The $200 million-asset bank announced Thursday that it will be rebranded American Perspective Bank after a settlement with an unidentified company in a trademark infringement case. That company agreed to shoulder a significant portion of costs associated with the California bank's name change as part of the settlement.

More banking companies are stacking up missed payments on their preferred shares held by the federal government, according to a Treasury Department report released Friday.

Bank of Internet USA in San Diego is offering a loan portfolio program that few banks of its size are willing to hold: jumbo and super-jumbo mortgages.