Changes at San Diego's First Community

March 12, 2008, 1:00 a.m. EDT 1 Min Read

First Community Bancorp in San Diego is planning to reincorporate in Delaware and rename itself PacWest Bancorp.

The $5.2 billion-asset company said Monday that it is changing its domicile from California to Delaware so that it could pay a dividend even if it does not retain earnings in a particular quarter.

As it stands, First Community may not be able to pay a second-quarter dividend, because it may have to record a goodwill impairment charge for the first quarter, which could reduce or eliminate retained earnings.

Under California law, companies can only pay dividends equal to the amount of retained earnings.

First Community said it is changing its name because there is already another company with the First Community name incorporated in Delaware. PacWest is a shortened version of the name of its bank subsidiary, Pacific Western Bank.

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