LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Los Angeles-based Cathay General Bancorp said today it will acquire SinoPac Bancorp, a U.S. subsidiary of Bank SinoPac of Taiwan, for $340 million.
SinoPac Bancorp, through its L.A.-based subsidiary Far East National Bank, operates five branches in Los Angeles, one in Orange County, two in San Francisco, and one in Silicon Valley.
Cathay Bank runs 33 branches in California, 12 branches in New York State, three in the Chicago area, three in Washington State, two in Texas, one in Maryland, one in Massachusetts, one in Nevada, one in New Jersey, one in Hong Kong, and a representative office in Shanghai and in Taipei.
“We are very excited about this transaction and the additional scale it adds to our franchise in Los Angeles, our home market, as well as Orange County, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley and the opportunity to deploy a portion of our capital to generate strong returns,” said Cathay Chairman, CEO and President Dunson K. Cheng.
“Cathay Bank and Far East National Bank share similar attributes and business values, and we look forward to servicing customers of Far East National Bank and hope they will enjoy the additional products and services that Cathay Bank has to offer.”
Bank SinoPac President Michael Chang said his company and Cathay worked closely together to complete the transaction.
“We are pleased with the effort both sides have put into this process. We believe this transaction is mutually beneficial for both groups and we look forward to working with Cathay to provide valuable services to our customers in the future,” he said.
The transaction is expected to be completed during the first half of 2017, subject to approval by regulators.
