Pacific Premier sees bump in income, assets in fourth quarter

Pacific Premier Bancorp’s net income rose in 2020 on the back of strong overall performance, causing the company to approve a new $150 million share repurchase program, the bank announced Jan. 26. The bank’s net income increased more than 63% from the previous year, going from $41.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2019 to Read More →
SLO’s Digital West acquired by Wave Broadband

Digital West, an internet service provider based in San Luis Obispo, is joining Wave Broadband in an acquisition announced by the two companies on Jan. 26. Wave Broadband is a larger telecommunications company serving over 450,000 customers, with operations in Oregon, Washington and California. Wave has specific ties to the central coast as well, already Read More →
Bank of the Sierra reports higher loan volume but income drop

Sierra Bancorp announced a slightly-lower net income when it released its fourth quarter 2020 earnings amid high deposit growth and record growth in loans and leases. The parent of Bank of the Sierra, which is based in Porterville but has 11 branches in the Tri-Counties, announced a fourth quarter net income of $9 million, or Read More →
State ups unemployment fraud estimate into tens of billions

At least 10% and perhaps as much as 27% of the unemployment benefits paid by the state of California during the pandemic were fraudulent, according to new report from the California Economic Development Department. The department processed 19.5 million claims and paid $114 billion in benefits between March 2020 and Jan. 16, 2021, according to Read More →
Obituary: PennyMac founder Stanford Kurland

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was updated Jan. 27 to include the fact that Kurland died of complications from COVID-19. Stanford Kurland made a fortune from his first foray into mortgage banking, and his timely exit from Countrywide Financial came just before the housing bubble burst. His second foray made him even richer, but it also Read More →