California

Tamalpais Bancorp said late Tuesday that it was in a negative capital position, with a total risk-based capital ratio of minus-0.11% at Dec. 31.

Despite shrinking assets by a fifth in 2009, Saehan Bancorp in Los Angeles reported that its bank unit was significantly undercapitalized at the end of the fourth quarter.

Bank of Commerce Holdings in Redding, Calif., is looking to join the ranks of companies raising capital for possible acquisitions.

Hanmi Financial Corp. announced Monday that it has hired the investment bank Cappello Capital Corp. to explore strategic alternatives to satisfy regulators.

Talk about a strange brew. Cathay General Bancorp in Los Angeles was hit by an enforcement action in December, tapped the equity markets this week and is now contemplating expansion.

WASHINGTON — For the second Friday in a row, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. relied on new-bank capital to find homes for the operations of failed institutions.

Shares of Nara Bancorp Inc. fell 5.5% early Tuesday, but rebounded to close down 1.24% to $8.73 after the Los Angeles company announced a fourth-quarter loss. It was, however, an 85% narrower loss than posted a year earlier.

The Federal Reserve said Thursday it has taken enforcement action against California's Tamalpais Bancorp in an effort to ensure that it maintains sufficient capital.

California regulators have approved three more mergers of failed state-chartered credit unions.

North Asia Investment Corp., a $50 million special-purpose acquisition company led by a group of South Korean investors, announced Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire Pacific City Financial Corp., a Los Angeles company that caters to Korean-Americans.

A new round of watchdog reports says the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. could have been tougher in regulating three community banks that later closed.

The Federal Reserve announced enforcement actions Friday against North Valley Bancorp in Redding, Calif. Under a written agreement, North Valley cannot, without prior Fed approval, directly or indirectly extend or renew credit to borrowers whose credit is deemed "doubtful" or "substandard," among other credit-related restrictions.

Regulators, with their reputations on the line and anxiety about the future, are forcing some banks to hold on to much of the capital. In recent months, some banks that wanted to fully repay the Troubled Asset Relief Program were allowed to return a fraction.

Following a regulatory exam, Preferred Bank in Los Angeles announced Wednesday that it will restate its third-quarter earnings, bringing its loss for the quarter to as much as $5 a share, according to one analyst's estimate.

Pacific Capital Bancorp Inc. plans to sell its tax division — its most profitable line — after regulators blocked the company from making new tax loans in the coming year.

City National Corp. in Los Angeles expanded its asset size by roughly 5% last weekend in its largest deal to date by acquiring the failed Imperial Capital Bank in La Jolla, Calif.

Seven failed banks holding a combined $14 billion in assets failed Friday in what was yet another busy night for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The Fed on Tuesday released an agreement with 1st Pacific Bancorp of San Diego, and the company's subsidiary, 1st Pacific Bank of California.

Self-Help Federal Credit Union in Oakland has asked California regulators for permission to acquire the struggling El Futuro Credit Union in Porterville.

Wescom Central Credit Union in Pasadena, still struggling with the Southern California recession, said last week that it plans to shutter another eight branches.