Irvine lender Plaza Bank has closed its acquisition of Manhattan Bancorp, the El Segundo parent of Bank of Manhattan.

The deal was first announced in January. Both banks had assets of about $500 million and were controlled by bank-focused private equity firm Carpenter & Co. in Irvine.

In buying Manhattan, Plaza nearly doubled its assets to $1 billion and picked up a network of six Los Angeles County branches. Plaza previously had branches only in Irvine and Las Vegas.

Port Fees to Rise Aug. 1

PierPass Inc., the not-for-profit firm that administers the traffic-managing PierPass program at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, will be raising rates starting Aug. 1.

PierPass charges fees for cargo moving through the ports at peak hours, an incentive for cargo haulers to work at night when roads are clear. Starting in August, the PierPass traffic mitigation fee for each 20-foot container will rise to $69.17, up from $66.50.

The rate increased in line with recent dockworkers’ wage increases set by the new labor contract recently negotiated by terminal operators and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.