Owner of People’s Bank Files for IPO

PBOC Holdings Inc., owner of People’s Bank of California, filed for an initial public offering of stock estimated at $218.5 million. The Los Angeles-based bank owner didn’t specify the number, price or percentage of its common shares to be sold to new investors. Unspecified current shareholders will sell some of the stock in the IPO, according to the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The value of the offering was estimated only to provide a basis for calculating the SEC registration fee, the filing said. People’s Bank operates 19 branches in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties, with $2.2 billion of total assets at the end of 1997, according to the filing. Sandler O’Neill & Partners will underwrite the sale of shares, which PBOC plans to trade on Nasdaq under the symbol PBOC.