Judge sides with PCBC in shareholder lawsuit
A federal judge in Los Angeles dismissed a shareholder lawsuit against Pacific Capital Bancorp that alleged the parent of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust hid bad loans from shareholders before announcing a $362.6 million loss last summer. In a Jan. 28 decision, Judge Gary Klausner said the shareholder who brought the case, William Jurkowitz, didn’t Read More →
Pacific Capital taps veteran as interim finance chief
[Editor’s Note: After this story was posted, Pacific Capital announced that its earnings call will be delayed until Feb. 1.] Pacific Capital Bancorp named longtime insider Donald Lafler interim chief financial officer on Jan. 26. Pacific Capital, the struggling corporate parent of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust and a likely buyout target, has been under Read More →
Amgen earnings hold steady
Thousand Oaks-based biotech giant Amgen reported only a slight increase in profits in the fourth quarter, but said one new drug in its pipeline looks promising. Amgen’s net income inched up 1 percent to $931 million in the fourth quarter, compared to $925 million in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue for the quarter Read More →
Los Padres Bank shores up capital levels
After months of struggling with capital ratios, Harrington West Financial Group, parent company of Solvang-based Los Padres Bank, has escaped a regulatory action that can precede a seizure and returned to “adequately capitalized,” the bank said Jan. 25. The bank remains under a longer-term cease and desist order to raise capital ratios. Harrington West had Read More →
Former CEOs debate future of the auto industry
Former Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Donald Petersen and auto quality guru Dave Power, founder and former CEO of J.D. Power and Associates, debated the future of the car business at California Lutheran University on Jan. 21. “The disease of, ‘how I am going to make my mark?’ is a devilish thing,” Petersen said. Read More →
Court wants Distenfield to pay legal bills
After a daylong trial Jan. 20, a bankruptcy court in Santa Barbara let stand an earlier ruling that Ira Distenfield aimed to deceive Los Angeles attorney Richard Lubetzky by concealing a stock sale and not paying $115,000 in legal fees related to the sale of We the People. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robin L. Riblet Read More →
County Commerce reports strong growth in 2009
On Jan. 20, Ventura-based County Commerce Bank released its year-end financial statement, which showed substantial growth in 2009. The bank’s net income was roughly $1 million for 2009, up from $901,000 in 2008. Capital increased 8.49 percent to $13.2 million in 2009 from $12.2 in 2008. During the 12-month period ending Dec. 31, 2009, assets Read More →
