United Commercial Bank Becomes 120th U.S. Lender Seized in ‘09
Advert
Throughout the year, U.S. banks have fell at the fastest rate since 1992 and earlier today, United Commercial Bank became the 120th bank in the country to fall this year. Bloomberg.com is reporting that United Commercial Bank was based in San Francisco, California and it owned $11.2 billion in assets. However, the bank has been seized by regulators and purchased by Pasadena, California’s East West Bancorp.
As a result of their purchase of UCBH Holdings Inc.’s United Commercial Bank, East West Bancorp bank is now officially the largest bank in the United States to specialize in serving Asian-American citizens. According to Bloomberg.com, United Commercial Bank was the fifth and final U.S. based lender to be seized on Friday alone.
Chief Executive Officer of East West Bancorp, Dominic Ng, gave a statement in response to his bank’s purchase of United Commercial Bank, saying, “This is a transformational event. The transaction strengthens our presence in key markets throughout the United States and Asia.”
Before today’s seizing of UCBH Holdings Inc.’s United Commercial Bank, there were 63 separate branches of the bank located nationwide as well as international operations that were based in China. Not only is East West Bancorp now the nation’s leader in serving Asian-Americans but it is now also California’s second largest independent lender.
