Pacific Western Bank and Opus Bank Sign Definitive Agreement to Sell 10 Branch Offices to Opus Bank

PacWest Bancorp

and Irvine-based Opus Bank jointly announced today that PacWest's wholly-owned subsidiary, Pacific Western Bank, and Opus Bank have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Pacific Western Bank will sell 10 branches to Opus Bank. The branches to be sold are located in the cities of: Encino, Los Angeles (Westwood), Monrovia and South Pasadena, located in Los Angeles County, California; Chino and Twentynine Palms, located in San Bernardino County, California; La Quinta, located in Riverside County, California; and Carlsbad, El Cajon and La Mesa, located in San Diego County, California. The transaction will result in the transfer of deposits to Opus Bank in exchange for a blended deposit premium of 2.5% applied to the deposit balances transferred at closing. Currently, the deposits of the offices to be sold total approximately $145 million. Although certain other immaterial assets related to the branches will be included in the transaction, no loans will be transferred. The transaction is expected to be completed before the end of the year subject to regulatory approval and other customary terms. Matt Wagner, CEO of PacWest Bancorp, stated, "The sale of these branches is part of our ongoing effort to improve our overall efficiency and profitability. Although the sale of these branches will not result in any material gain, the annual cost savings, representing noninterest expense less noninterest income, have been estimated to be $2.0 million after tax."