In Brief: United Security to Sell A Wash. Bank's Name

United Security Bancorp., Spokane, Wash., has agreed to sell its Bank of the West name in Washington State to a subsidiary of Honolulu-based BancWest Corp. for an undisclosed sum.

The $15 billion-asset BancWest, which operates as Bank of the West at 137 sites throughout California, Oregon, and Idaho, is currently known as Pacific One in Washington, where it has nine branches.

The name change is supposed to take full effect by Jan. 1.

United Security, a $495 million-asset multibank holding company with 32 offices in Washington and Idaho, uses the Bank of the West name at four branches it acquired last year in a deal for Bank of the West in Walla Walla, Wash.

Richard C. Emery, president and chief executive officer at United Security, said the company sold the name to avoid confusion. United Security said it will rename its Bank of the West subsidiary by next month.

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