What a turnaround for PacWest Bancorp over the last month.
Its stock closed at $9.15 on Thursday. That was nearly three times higher than it was a little over a month earlier, when it closed at $3.17 on May 4.
You may remember that PacWest got caught up in the anxiety that followed the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and some others. It hit a nadir in early May after the bank company said it was evaluating all options – not exactly comforting words to investors and uninsured depositors who stand to lose if a bank fails.
So why the turnaround for PacWest? One reason is that it arranged to sell $2.4 billion in real estate loans. Although the price represented a $200 million discount, according to a regulatory filing, investors seemed heartened by it. And there has been a general improvement in mood among bank investors, according to several news reports.
PacWest also was the biggest gainer of the week among local stocks. (See page 18.) However, the share price still has plenty to climb to hit the $29 level it touched in early February.
PacWest of Beverly Hills owns Pacific Western Bank, L.A.’s third largest bank.
• • •
R. Scott Jenkins is known in Pasadena as one of the city’s most involved leaders. And even though he will retire at the end of this month as a partner in the Hahn & Hahn law firm, his local service will continue. If anything, it may increase.
Once word got out that he will retire soon, “a lot of local groups asked me to be involved,” Jenkins said.
It all started decades ago when he joined the board of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and went on to serve as president from 1987 to 1989. And then, “as my kids were growing up, I got involved with the schools and got elected to the school board.” He continued getting involved. Among other duties, Jenkins has been on a local hospital board, he’s a church elder and he is concluding his 42nd year with the Pasadena Tournament of Roses. In fact, he is a past president of the tourney board, a life director and for eight years chaired the Rose Bowl game.
Jenkins, who will turn 70 next month, also is a longtime director of the Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Association. “That’s one that still confuses me, how I got involved with that,” Jenkins joked. But it is satisfying service, “because we provide compassionate service during a difficult time, especially during the last three years, during the pandemic.”
Jenkins, obviously, believes nonprofit work is personally rewarding. “And I think it’s helped me in my career. I’ve learned a lot from being involved.” So, he figures, why stop now?
“I’m confident that there’s going to be new opportunities where I can provide value for other groups and organizations.”
The Insider is compiled by Editor-in-Chief Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
