(Reuters) -PacWest Bancorp has agreed to sell its real estate lending division to Roc360 for an undisclosed amount, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.
PacWest is one of the several U.S. regional lenders whose shares were hit by investor concerns over the financial health of the sector following the collapse of three regional banks in the United States since March.
However, PacWest and other regional U.S. banks have rallied in the past two weeks as investors increasingly believe the worst of the crisis is largely over and that many lenders are fundamentally sound.
On Monday, the Los Angeles-based bank said it would sell $2.6 billion worth of its loan portfolio to bolster its finances, a move that helped the stock surge by about 20%.
Roc360 will assume Civic’s business operations, including data, intellectual property, brand and workforce, the source said, adding that it won’t inherit the company’s previously extended loans or loan-servicing operations.
PacWest and Roc360 did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. The Wall Street Journal first reported the deal on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, PacWest had said it was exploring strategic asset sales to sharpen focus on its core business segments as the regional banking sector grapples with its biggest crisis since 2008.
(Reporting by Anirban Sen, Urvi Dugar and Gursimran Kaur; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Subhranshu Sahu)
