Chinese-American banks are at the fore of recent dealmaking. (Wall Street West).Despite a weak mergers and acquisitions climate, local banks serving the Chinese-American market have seen a rash of recent buying and selling. Smaller banks are being sold to larger institutions because of capital restraints or to bring liquidity to bank founders who are near retirement. Early this month, UCBH Holdings Inc. of San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden agreed to buy First Continental Bank of Rosemead for roughly $50 million in stock. UCBH, parent of United Commercial Bank, has $4.8 billion in assets and 11 branches in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , including four from its purchase of Bank of Canton Bank of Canton is the first Chinese-owned bank in Hong Kong. At the time, all the other banks in Hong Kong were foreign, primarily British, including the locally-incorporated but British-run Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. last year. Privately held First Continental has $334 million in assets and four branches. First Continental Chairman Alan Thian will stay on at UCBH, directing Southern California operations. The deal is expected to close during the third quarter and will increase UCBH's pershare earnings by 1.5 percent, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. UCBH Chairman Thomas Wu. East-West Bancorp Inc., another lender focused on the Chinese-American market, acquired turnaround play Pacific Business Bank, which focuses on commercial real estate lending, for an undisclosed price. Dominic Ng, East-West's chairman and chief executive, said the acquisition would add 4 cents to 6 cents a share to the company's 2003 earnings per share of $2.25 to $2.30. UCBH and East-West are considered the most ambitious growers among California's ethnic Chinese banks, but other Asian institutions are branching out as well. Chinatrust Bank of Torrance recently bought the charter of Express Bank of Alvin, Texas Alvin is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, United States, within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown Metropolitan Area. The city sits in Texas's 14th Congressional District, currently represented by Congressman Ron Paul. As of the 2000 U.S. , and plans to move in to the Houston market to serve Chinese-Americans. In addition, California Chohung Bank of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. acquired its two New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of branches that were separately owned and changed its name to CHB America Bank, a unit of Chohung Bank of Seoul. In another recent transaction, TriCo Bank-shares of Chico, with assets of $1.3 billion, bought North State National Bank, also of Chico, for $33 million in cash and stock. |
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