Regional bank PacWest Bancorp received a $1.4B financing facility from Atlas SP Partners.
PacWest pursued the extra liquidity after customers withdrew 20% of
their deposits since the start of 2023, forcing the bank to sell some
assets at a loss.
- Apollo Global
Management-owned investment firm Atlas SP Partners provided the
financing after PacWest pulled out of a separate effort to raise
capital.
- PacWest previously tried to shore up its liquidity with loans from the Federal Home Loan Bank System and the Federal Reserve’s discount window.
- Like other banks, the value of PacWest's long-term fixed-income investments was reduced by rising interest rates.
- PacWest has recently sold some assets at a loss to boost its liquidity.
- As
of March 20, the bank had over $11.4B in cash on hand, more than enough
to cover the $9.5B of uninsured deposits owned by its customers.
Zoom Out:
- Sudden spikes in customer withdrawals forced U.S. federal regulators to take control of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank earlier this month.
