Westminster-based First Vietnamese American Bank said on Wednesday it got regulatory approval to raise its fund-raising target.
The bank, based in Little Saigon, earned regulatory approval to raise $15 million after getting pledges for up to $34 million from investors. The bank initially said it wanted to raise $11 million.
The bank is set to offer financial services to businesses,predominately Vietnamese-owned,in Little Saigon, which spans Westminster, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove and Santa Ana.
First Vietnamese is set to join other ethnic banks in the area, though it stands to be the first one to solely focus on OC’s large Vietnamese community.
Little Saigon is home to an estimated 200,000 Vietnamese and their offspring. The area is home to the largest number of ethnic Vietnamese outside Vietnam.
“The creation of First Vietnamese American Bank is an incredible accomplishment for Westminster,” said Hieu Nguyen, the bank’s founding chief executive. “Immigrants, such as the nearly 300,000 Vietnamese-Americans in Southern California, have made vital economic and cultural contributions to the city of Westminster and our region. We are proud of the effort to bring the nation’s first Vietnamese owned and managed bank to Southern California’s Little Saigon.”
The bank is set to open in April. Construction on its building is under way.
