LOS ANGELES, Nov 07, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) -- The San Francisco-based United
Commercial Bank reopen Saturday as branches of East West Bank
after it was shut down by regulators Friday night and immediately
sold to the Pasadena-based East-West Bancorp.
The California Department of Financial Institutions has
approved overnight the purchase of the debt-laden bank which has
16 branches in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
East-West Bancorp entered into a purchase and assumption
agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), which
also included all 63 U.S. branches of United Commercial Bank, its
branch in China's Hong Kong and the subsidiary of United
Commercial Bank headquartered in Shanghai, China.
Depositors will automatically become depositors of East West
Bank and continue to be insured by the FDIC.
The ill-fated bank was the 120th FDIC-insured institution to
fail in the United States and the 14th in California this year,
officials said.
"This is a transformational event for both institutions and
represents an exciting growth opportunity for East West," Dominic
Ng, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of East West,
said in a statement.
Founded in 1973, East West Bank boasts a total of 137 branches
in the United States. It will receive 10.4 billion U.S. dollars in
assets, including 7.7 billion dollars in loans, and assume 9.2
billion dollars in liabilities, including 6.5 billion dollars in
deposits of United Commercial Bank.
This has made East West Bank California's second largest bank
and the nation's largest bank focused on serving the Asian
American community. The transaction will help the bank to become
profitable in 2010 and maintain future business development, Ng
said.
Copyright 2009 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
