City National Bank is shopping for 240,000 square feet of office space downtown or in Burbank where it can consolidate its back office banking operations.

The bank, which has 49 branches primarily in Southern California, has spent the last six months looking at several locations that can provide enough space to house the bank’s cash vaults, check processing operations and main frame computers now scattered over five different locations. About 600 employees would work in the center.

The Beverly Hills-based bank is being represented by Lynn Williams of Cushman & Wakefield Inc., sources said, and is expected to make a decision by the end of the year. Any deal is estimated to be worth $75 million to $100 million.

“It is something that makes good sense in light of the company’s continued growth,” said City National Bank spokesman Cary Walker.

Analysts, however, wager that the bank wants to consolidate its banking operations center because of future expansion plans.

Last year, City National Corp., the parent company of City National Bank, moved into Northern California when it purchased Pacific Bank of San Francisco in a $145 million deal.

“The bank is growing and consolidating its banking operations is reflective of that,” said Lehman Brothers analyst Brock Vandervliet. “I think in the future they may try to pull in additional asset management operations. I think acquisitions are more likely on that side rather than the traditional banking operations.”

The bank also wants to be sure it has a steady and cheap supply of electricity to withstand any power shortage the area may face in the future. Los Angeles and Burbank each has their own municipal power supply, which is one of the reasons they were chosen.

City National Bank, which first opened its doors for business in 1954, has had a niche market consisting of small to midsized businesses, entrepreneurs and professionals in Southern California.

The company has made several other acquisitions. Last year City National completed acquisition of Reed, Conner & Birdwell Inc., a Los Angeles investment management firm with $1.1 billion in total client assets. In 1999, the bank acquired American Pacific State Bank in Sherman Oaks, and in 1998 it acquired the North American Trust Co.

Associate Editor Michael Stremfel contributed to this report.