OneUnited Bank, a minority-owned institution in Boston, will close two branches in California, or about a quarter of its total branch network.
The $649 million-asset bank plans to close branches in Los Angeles and Pasadena, leaving it with two branches in California, in Los Angeles and Compton. OneUnited also has three branches in the Boston area and one in Miami.
OneUnited is closing the branches for financial reasons and because it wants to expand its online presence, Robert Patrick Cooper, general counsel, said in an interview. OneUnited has developed a mobile banking app that includes an online chat service with customer-service representatives.
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Roughly 20 banks still have capital from the crisis-era program. Most are way behind on dividend payments and have limited options to raise capital to repay the Treasury Department.
August 20 -
The $9 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that it will incur about $5 million in additional expenses during the first half of this year to cover the cost of closing the offices.
January 27 -
Broadway Financial in Los Angeles has been released from an enforcement action administered by the Federal Reserve.
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"It's really part of strategy that's consistent with a new era of banking," Cooper said. "To grow, we're going to have to engage our customers in the online community."
The proposed closings require approval from the Massachusetts Division of Banks.
OneUnited is one of 13 banks that remain in the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program. It issued about $12.1 million in preferred stock to the Treasury in December 2008, and all the shares remained outstanding as of April 11. OneUnited had a total of about $5.2 million in missed Tarp dividend payments as of March 31.
