First California to Acquire Orange County Bank

First California Bank has agreed to acquire South Coast Bancorp Inc. for about $36 million in cash. The acquisition, which is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, would increase First California’s assets to over $450 million and bring the number of its banking offices to 10. It would also add commercial banking services to its community bank offerings. Irvine-based South Coast Bancorp operates South Coast Commercial Bank with full service offices in Irvine and Anaheim and loan production offices in Los Angeles and San Diego. First California, a community bank based in Camarillo, has six full service locations in Camarillo, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Ventura and Westlake Village. As of Dec. 31, the bank had assets of $283.7 million.