Wilshire State Bank in Los Angeles is set to enter New Jersey this spring. The unit of Wilshire Bancorp Inc. said Monday that it had agreed to buy a branch in Fort Lee from Royal Bank America, a unit of Royal Bancshares of Pennsylvania Inc. in Narberth, Pa. It would be the $1.9 billion-asset Wilshire's first branch in that state, but its third in the New York area and its 20th nationwide.
The deal includes about $6 million of deposits.
"The New Jersey/New York market remains a critical piece of our expansion strategy, due to its high level of small-business activity and diverse population," Soo Bong Min, Wilshire's president and chief executive officer, said in a press release.
Wilshire entered the New York market in May when it bought the $58.7 million-asset Liberty Bank of New York for $15.7 million in cash and stock.
