Bank of the West announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement with Wachovia Bank N.A., a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, to acquire two Wachovia branches in Northern California - one in Monterey and one in Santa Cruz.
“We are very pleased to welcome the customers and team members of these two branches. Santa Cruz and Monterey are growing markets for our bank, and the addition of these two locations will help us continue to grow and serve our customers better,” said Maria Lazzarini, head of the Northern California Division of Bank of the West’s Regional Banking Group.
“This is a great opportunity for Bank of the West to add two attractive branches in very convenient locations for our customers,” Lazzarini said. “Both branches will use Bank of the West’s newest customer service technology.”
Bank of the West will acquire a branch at 1050 Del Monte Center - its first in the city of Monterey. The Bank has an existing branch on 17 Mile Drive, in Pebble Beach.
In Santa Cruz, Bank of the West will acquire a branch at 1551 Pacific Ave. The Bank’s existing Santa Cruz location, less than half a mile away at 2020 N Pacific Ave., will be consolidated into the new branch.
“This will be a big improvement for us in Santa Cruz. The new branch is in an ideal location for customers who want to walk or drive, and it has plenty of parking,” Lazzarini said. “We are confident our existing customers will find it more convenient to bank with us at the new location.”
Bank of the West has two other locations in the Santa Cruz area - a branch in Capitola and a 24-hour ATM kiosk in Scotts Valley.
No loans will be purchased as part of the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2010, subject to bank regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.
About Bank of the West: Based in San Francisco, $62 billion-asset Bank of the West (www.bankofthewest.com) offers a full range of business, corporate, personal, trust and international banking services and operates more than 700 branch locations and commercial banking offices in 19 Western and Midwestern states. In 2009, for the second consecutive year, Bank of the West was ranked the highest in customer satisfaction among retail banks in the West by J.D. Power and Associates. Bank of the West''s holding company, BancWest Corporation, is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, among the six strongest banks in the world, according to Standard & Poor''s.
Contacts:
Bank of the West
Jim Cole, 415-399-8268
Jim.cole@bankofthewest.com
or
Edelman
Pablo
Rodriguez, 415-486-3267
Pablo.Rodriguez@edelman.com