California

Banc of California in Irvine has agreed to sell its wholly owned investment adviser subsidiary, The Palisades Group.

BofI Holding in San Diego has bought an equipment finance business from PacWest Bancorp in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Banc of California in Irvine has promoted a back-office executive to become chief administrative officer.

Wells Fargo has agreed to pay the state of California $8.5 million to settle a probe into its failure to tell consumers it was recording their calls.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., has hired Jeffrey Zaks, a CIT Group banker, to lead its new media and entertainment lending group.

The president and chief banking officer at Heritage Oaks Bancorp in Paso Robles, Calif., plans to leave the company next month.

With energy stocks enjoying the biggest rebound since the beginning of the oil rout, short sellers have shifted their sights to regional banks that do business with the industry.

TriCo Bancshares in Chico, Calif., paid a lower deposit premium for its purchase of Bank of America branches after deposit levels at those offices fell.

Umpqua Holdings in Portland, Ore., plans to close 26 branches in Oregon, California, Idaho and Washington state in an effort to cut costs.

Wells Fargo left Chief Executive John Stumpf’s compensation for 2015 unchanged at $19.3 million.