The parent company of Bank of Orange County on Thursday said it’s buying Carlsbad-based Southwest Community Bancorp for $175 million.
Sacramento-based Placer Sierra Bancshares, whose Southern California division is Bank of Orange County in Anaheim, expects to close the stock deal by June.
The buy is set to give the combined banks $2.7 billion in assets. It also is set to add nine branches to Sierra’s 40 in California, as well as a Small Business Administration lending operation. The branches will stretch from the Sacramento area to San Diego.
The bank plans to open more branches and make acquisitions that increase its footprint in Southern California, said Marshall V. Laitsch, president of the Bank of Orange County, in a recent interview.
