Charter Savings Bank in Huntington Beach said...

Charter Savings Bank in Huntington Beach said it has reached an agreement to acquire financially troubled Merit Savings Bank, the only savings and loan catering to the Japanese-American community in Southern California, for $1 million in cash. The acquisition would give the one-office Charter $410 million in assets and branches in Japanese-American communities in downtown Los Angeles, Fullerton, Torrance and Monterey Park. The acquisition must be approved by regulators and shareholders.