On June 28, Mission Community Bancorp announced plans to acquire Santa Lucia Bank, which has been suffering from dismal capital levels and drew a federal regulatory order last December that required it to shore up its leaky financial ship.
Mission Community Bank’s books are in good shape and were enhanced in 2009 by a $25 million investment by the Carpenter Fund Manager, a private equity group.
If Santa Lucia stockholders approve the merger and all the other details are worked out—regulatory approval and repurchase of Santa Lucia’s Troubled Asset Relief Program preferred stock, for example— the deal may be consummated by the end of fall.
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 7, 2011.