San Luis Obispo facing more bank employee layoffs
December 16, 2012
PacWest’s proposed purchase of First California Bank is slated to result in the closure of one branch in San Luis Obispo and more banking sector job losses.
PacWest Bancorp recently signed an agreement to purchase First California Financial Group for $231 million, beating out a handful of competitors hoping to take over the profitable bank. First California runs 19 branches from San Luis Obispo down to San Diego and boasts $1.98 billion in assets.
The purchase, expected to close before the end of the first quarter of 2013, is awaiting regulatory approval.
One of the reasons the takeover of First California is financially attractive to PacWest, is because several First California Bank branches overlap with PacWest’s 76 branches. Those redundant branches, including the First California Bank in San Luis Obispo, are likely to be closed if PacWest receives regulatory approval to purchase First California Financial Group.
A November takeover of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust by Union Bank resulted in the termination of 468 Central Coast bank employee positions. Of those employees who received layoff notices, 80 percent are scheduled to lose their jobs on April 30.
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