Union Bank of California

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Union Bank of California NYSE: [UB] is a U.S. bank. It is part of the Mitsubishi group through parent companies.

Profile & History

The story of Union Bank of California (Union Bank) goes 142 years, to July 5, 1864. That date marks the founding of The Bank of California, the first incorporated commercial bank in the West.

In 1880, Yokohama Specie Bank was created in Japan. In the early 1900s, Kaspare Cohn, a German immigrant with a fabric and clothing business established Kaspare Cohn Commercial & Savings Bank in Los Angeles. In 1918, Kaspare Cohn Commercial & Savings Bank was renamed Union Bank & Trust Company of Los Angeles.

In 1947, Yokohama Specie Bank became The Bank Of Tokyo, Ltd., and in 1953 it established a San Francisco subsidiary called The Bank of Tokyo California (BOTC).

Union Bank Is Born...

Union Bank & Trust Company of Los Angeles shortened its name to Union Bank in 1958. Union Bancorp, a one-bank holding company, was established in 1967 and acquired by Standard Chartered PLC of London in 1979. BOTC acquired Southern California First National Bank of San Diego and renamed it California First in 1975. Although majority-owned by BOTC, it started trading on the Nasdaq exchange.

In 1984, The Bank of California became a wholly owned subsidiary of The Mitsubishi Bank, Ltd., which had been founded by former samurai Yataro Iwasaki in 1880. Union Bancorp was acquired by California First Bank in 1988, retaining the Union Bank name.

Union Bank of California Today

In April 1996, The Mitsubishi Bank, Ltd. and The Bank of Tokyo, Ltd. merged in Japan. In San Francisco, The Bank of California and Union Bank consolidated into UnionBanCal Corporation, a bank holding company, and its primary subsidiary Union Bank of California, N.A.

In 1999, UnionBanCal Corporation became a publicly owned company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:UB), although it is majority-owned by The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. Today, Union Bank is a leader in business lending and ranks among the 25 largest banks in the U.S. with over $40 Billion in deposits and has 321 branch offices throughout California, three in Washington, and one in Oregon. Other domestic offices are located in New York, Dallas and Washington, D.C.

Union Bank was the first major California bank to open a seven-days-a-week supermarket branch in 1990.

Union Banks' most recent acquisitions that significantly increased Unions' branch network were Jackson Federal Bank (2004), Business Bank (2004), Monterey Bay Bank (2002).

Acquisitions

Bank & Thrift Company Deals 10/28/04 Jackson Federal Bank (Thrift), 01/16/04 Business Bancorp (Bank), 07/01/03 Monterey Bay Bancorp, Inc. (Thrift), 10/31/02 Valencia Bank & Trust (Bank), 05/13/02 First Western Bank (Bank), 04/01/96 BanCal Tri-State Corproation (Bank).

Insurance Broker Deals 12/01/03 Knight Insurance Agency, Inc., 03/31/03 Tanner Insurance Brokers, Inc., 12/19/02 John Burnham & Co., 12/05/01 Armstrong/Robitaille Family Insurance, 12/05/01 Armstrong/Robitaille Insurance Services.

Securities & Investments Deals 08/01/04 Business portfolio of CNA Trust Co., 04/29/02 Trust and custody operations (First National Bank)

Other Deals 05/14/99 Trust Business Portfolio (Imperial Bancorp)

External links

Corporate website:
http://www.uboc.com/