Finance
Orange-based First Security Business Bank was acquired by San Diego Private Bank on undisclosed terms. First Security, which was founded in 1988, ranked No. 21 on the Business Journal’s November list of banks with headquarters in Orange County. It’s expected to close its sole office in Orange. Coronado-based San Diego Private Bank had $343.4 million in assets as of Sept. 30, $277.4 million in net loans and $283 million in deposits.
A Pacific Investment Management Co. money manager was fired after being fined for improper trades. Rahul Seksaria was prohibited from using CME Group markets until after March 19 and ordered to repay $2,675 and pay a $65,000 fine, according to news reports. He left Pimco on Dec. 19; two funds he operated were liquidated on Nov. 14.
Wells Fargo named Ben Alvarado president of its Southern California region in a restructuring. He will continue to be based in the bank’s Irvine office and will oversee operations in Orange, Imperial and San Diego counties, where the bank has 232 retail locations and more than 3,600 employees. He previously was region president for the OC and Inland Empire markets, overseeing 121 retail locations and 1,900 employees. Wells Fargo also named David DiCristofaro president for the Greater Los Angeles region. DiCristofaro and Alvarado succeed John Sotoodeh, who led the combined markets, which were previously called the Southern California Region.
Hospitality
Irvine-based Pacific Hospitality Group proposed a 134-room expansion to its Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa, according to a news report. The company submitted designs to the local planning commission for a hotel called Meritage Commons. The project would include wine tasting rooms, a spa, and several swimming pools. The resort currently has 322 rooms.
Insurance
Pacific Life Insurance Co. assumed $200 billion worth of individual life reinsurance risk from Reinsurance Group of America Inc. Newport Beach-based Pacific Life, part of Pacific Mutual Holding Co., is one of the largest insurance companies in the U.S. and the largest private company based in Orange County. It had about $7.5 billion in revenue and $541 million in net income in 2013. Pacific Life assumed the block of life reinsurance on undisclosed terms through its retrocession arm, which provides reinsurance for reinsurers. Chesterfield, Mo.-based Reinsurance Group said it estimates the transaction will free up “approximately $200 million of capital.”
Media
Freedom Communications Inc. stopped publishing the Long Beach Register on Dec. 28. The company shut down the Los Angeles Register in September, and other publications in November. It said it would cover Long Beach in its flagship Orange County Register newspaper and online, and that ending publication would let it focus resources on the flagship and the Press-Enterprise in Riverside. Freedom launched the Long Beach and Los Angeles papers last year.
An Orange County Superior Court jury awarded Vietnamese-language newspaper $4.5 million in damages in a defamation suit against a rival newspaper. Nguoi Viet Daily News sued The Little Saigon News in 2012 after the latter published a column accusing Nguoi of having communist ties. Both newspapers are based in Orange County’s Little Saigon district.
Other
Armada Skis Inc. is moving its headquarters from Costa Mesa to Park City, according to the Utah governor’s Office of Economic Development. It employs about 60 people who design, market and distribute alpine ski equipment, apparel and accessories to more than 40 countries. “The combination of Utah’s business environment and abundance of world-class skiing make Summit County the ideal home for Armada’s future,” said Chief Executive Erik Snyder. The privately held company was founded in 2002.
The cost of an audit looking into how much money was spent on Great Park has reached $1.3 million, the Orange County Register reported. The Great Park project cost more than $200 million. Irvine City Council recently voted 4-1 to appropriate an additional $240,000 to firms doing the audit.
