BANKING/FINANCE : Regulators Demand More Data From Pacific National

Pacific National Bank has high hopes for its growth plan, but federal regulators are moving cautiously before approving the first phase of the Newport Beach bank’s plans.

In April, the bank’s parent company, PNB Financial Group, asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve a $16.9-million offering to current shareholders for more than 2.4 million new shares of PNB stock. About $8 million of that was coming from PNB’s chairman, Santa Ana lawyer Terry M. Giles, and three European banks he has lined up.

But the SEC wanted more information, so PNB filed an amended offering Tuesday responding to such agency questions as whether the bank met tougher standards for capital, its final reserve against losses.

“With the failure of so many savings and loans and the requirements for more capital in financial institutions, the SEC is simply concerned about full disclosure,” said Alton Burkhalter, a Santa Ana lawyer for PNB.

He said the bank exceeds capital requirements, and he anticipates that the SEC will act soon to allow the offering to become effective.

Once it is effective, Giles and his investor group will put in about $8 million, and other shareholders will be allowed to invest amounts equal to their percentage ownership.

Nearly all the proceeds will go to the bank, which now has more than $10 million in capital. The money will be used for acquiring other financial institutions and for boosting the amount of money the bank can lend to one borrower, said Donald Solsby, the bank’s president.

PNB is not wedded to raising the entire $16.9 million in new capital, Solsby said. An additional offering to the general public would be made early next year, he said.

Regardless of the stock offering’s outcome, PNB will continue with its plan to open a financial services subsidiary in a special international zone in Dublin, Ireland, to make loans and provide investment services to U.S. companies doing business in Europe.

That subsidiary, which needs less than $1 million in capital to open, is awaiting final approval from the Federal Reserve Board, which is expected to decide by Aug. 20, Solsby said.