Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces an investigation on behalf of PacWest Bancorp (“PacWest” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: PACW, PACWP) investors concerning the Company’s possible violations of federal securities laws.

On May 3, 2023, Bloomberg published an article reporting that PacWest was “weighing strategic options including a sale” and that “[t]he sector has been under pressure as rising interest rates lowered the value of their longer-term investments while increasing the cost of funding and spurring depositors to move cash into higher-yielding money market funds.” Forbes also reported that “[h]igher interest rates intensify the spread of the latest bank failure virus that drives deposits out of vulnerable banks, tanks their stock prices, and ultimately prompts an FDIC-enabled rescue[,]” and “the big loss an acquirer would incur to mark down the value of some PacWest loans makes it unlikely a buyer will emerge for the entire bank.” On this news, PacWest’s stock price fell $2.84, or 44.2%, to close at $3.59 per share on May 4, 2023, thereby injuring investors.

Then, on May 11, 2023, PacWest disclosed that it had lost a significant percentage of its deposits following the publications of the Bloomberg and Forbes reports. On this news, PacWest’s stock price fell $1.38, or 22.8%, to close at $4.68 per share on May 11, 2023.

Then, on July 25, 2023, an announcement was made that PacWest had entered into an agreement to be purchased by Banc of California, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, PacWest shareholders would receive 0.6569 of a share of Banc of California common stock for each share of PacWest common stock.

If you purchased PacWest securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com, or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com.

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