ShoreBank Pacific bought by California bank

OneCalifornia Bank, an Oakland, Calif.-based thrift, is buying ShoreBank Pacific, a Washington-state subsidiary of Chicago holding company ShoreBank Corp.

Terms of the cash-for-stock deal were not disclosed.

The purchase, which requires approval from regulators and ShoreBank Corp.'s shareholders, will result in a yet-to-be-named institution with combined assets of about $300 million, the companies said Saturday.

The announcement came a day after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took control of ShoreBank Pacific's ailing sister company, ShoreBank of Chicago.

"Typically when the FDIC closes one bank in a holding company, they close all the banks in the holding company," said David Williams, CEO of ShoreBank Pacific. But in this case, he said, the Pacific Northwest community bank had a suitor and could stand on its own.

The Ilwaco, Pacific County-based bank, with offices in Seattle and Portland, had $190 million in assets and $175 million in liabilities through June. The bank's 2,500 depositors are from all 50 states and eight foreign countries, Williams said.

ShoreBank Pacific was founded in 1997 with a focus on community banking and on businesses in sustainable agriculture, specialty fish and renewable energy. It became a certified community-development financial institution (CDFI) in 2009 and sought to raise capital to buy out its parent company.

The state-chartered bank found a partner with a similar mission: OneCalifornia Bank, also a CDFI, that focuses on lending to small businesses, nonprofits and community facilities. Its sole shareholder is the OneCalifornia Foundation, Williams said.

The thrift was founded in 2007 by Tom Steyer and Kat Taylor of San Francisco.

Williams said he hopes the deal will close before the end of the year.

Sanjay Bhatt: 206-464-3103 or sbhatt@seattletimes.com