2009 November, 7th

Liliana Dumitru-Steffens

120 US banks failed this year, the United Commercial Bank (UCB), of San Francisco, CA being the last on the list. The bank, serving Chinese communities and American companies doing business in Greater China, was closed this Friday, November 6, by the California Department of Financial Institutions. The bank has a branch in Hong Kong and a subsidiary in Shanghai. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) said United Commercial Bank had $11.2 billion in assets and $7.5 billion in deposits. All deposit accounts, excluding certain brokered deposits, have been transferred to East West Bank, Pasadena, CA, which now welcomes Customers of United Commercial Bank with the following message:

Your accounts are safe! Your accounts are now East West Bank accounts. All your deposit accounts are covered under the FDIC Insurance program and now the prudent management of East West Bank.

It’s obviously very important for East West Bank to convey the right message to its new customers, giving them peace of mind. When banks close their customers usually panic, afraid that their life-long savings are lost. This is not the case now, and East West Bank has taken the right approach to keep its customers informed. Former UCB clients still have access to all of their accounts, through their normal channels – branches, ATMs and online. The accounts are now simply part of East West Bank. UCB branches that are now East West Bank branches are open and keep their normal hours and staff. The transition to East West Bank will soon give UCB customers access to 137 branches across the country, including 68 additional locations in California, an expanded ATM network and more financial product and services.

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About the Author

Liliana Dumitru-Steffens is public relations consultant for Pamil Visions PR. She writes for Everything PR since January 2009. Previously she worked for My-tronic GmbH and Unilever Romania. Email Liliana at lsteffens [at] pamil-visions [dot] net.

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