In Brief: Southern Calif. Bank Buys Citibank Branches

SGV Bancorp, West Covina, Calif., has reached an agreement to buy two Citibank branches in Southern California with $57 million of deposits.

Barrett Andersen, president and chief executive officer of SGV Bancorp, said the transaction would increase the thrift's deposit base by $18%, to $374.6 million.

The branches are located in La Verne and Covina. The La Verne site will be folded into a nearby SGV branch, Mr. Andersen said.

SGV is the $461 million-asset parent of First Federal Savings and Loan Association, which operates eight branches in the East Gabriel Valley of Southern California.

Citibank, a subsidiary of New York-based Citigroup Inc., said it is selling the branches because they were isolated from the rest of its Southern California network and difficult to service.

The transaction is expected to close in June.

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