U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) announced today that, effective immediately,
its lead bank, U.S. Bank National Association, has acquired the banking
operations of two separate California financial institutions from the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The two acquired institutions are
Downey Savings & Loan Association, F.A., the primary subsidiary of
Downey Financial Corp. (NYSE: DSL), headquartered in Newport Beach,
Calif. and PFF Bank & Trust, a subsidiary of PFF Bancorp Inc. (OTC
Bulletin Board: PFFB), headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Under the terms of these transactions, U.S. Bank will receive
approximately $12.8 billion of assets and assume approximately $11.3
billion of liabilities, including $9.7 billion of deposits, of Downey
Savings & Loan and will receive approximately $3.7 billion in assets and
assume approximately $3.5 billion of liabilities, including $2.4 billion
of deposits, of PFF Bank & Trust. As part of the transactions, U.S. Bank
has agreed to assume the first $1.5 billion and $0.1 billion of expected
losses on the assets of Downey Savings & Loan and PFF Bank & Trust,
respectively. Any losses in excess of these amounts will be subject to a
loss sharing agreement with the FDIC. U.S. Bank will not acquire any
assets or liabilities of the banks’ parent holding companies, Downey
Financial Corp. or PFF Bancorp Inc. These acquisitions are expected to
meet or exceed the company’s internal financial hurdles for internal
rate of return and earnings per share accretion.
"The timing of this transaction could not be better, as we have just
completed the highly successful integration of our Mellon 1st
Business Bank acquisition in Los Angeles and Orange County. With the
addition of the Downey Savings & Loan and PFF Bank & Trust branch
locations, we continue to widen our distribution network in our growing
California and Arizona markets,” commented Joseph M. Otting, vice
chairman of commercial banking and U.S. Bancorp’s Western U.S. senior
executive. "Once the conversions and integrations are completed, both
current and new customers of U.S. Bank will have the increased
convenience of 561 branches in California and 75 branches in Arizona to
serve their banking needs. This also presents a great opportunity for us
to deepen customer relationships by offering U.S. Bank’s extensive mix
of products and services to our new customers.”
As part of these transactions, U.S. Bank will modify the terms of
certain acquired residential mortgage loans in accordance with the FDIC
Mortgage Loan Modification Program. The objectives of this program are
to improve affordability, increase the probability of performance, and
allow borrowers to remain in their homes.
"The strategic acquisition of the banking operations of Downey Savings &
Loan and PFF Bank & Trust will strengthen our geographic footprint in
the Western region of our franchise with the addition of approximately
500,000 new loan and deposit customers,” noted Richard K. Davis,
chairman, president and chief executive officer of U.S. Bancorp. "We
believe that acquisitions like these are an efficient means of
leveraging U.S. Bank’s strong capital base and investing in our company.
These are very positive transactions for our shareholders and are
consistent with our growth strategy, especially in key California
markets. Importantly, this transaction will also allow us to work
closely with approximately 35,000 homeowners through the FDIC loan
modification program in an effort to provide solutions for these
potentially troubled borrowers to stay in their homes.”
The Downey Savings & Loan and PFF Bank & Trust branch locations will
continue to operate under their current names and will be re-branded as
U.S. Bank branches in the near future. Downey Savings & Loan and PFF
Bank & Trust customers should continue to conduct their banking as they
have in the past. U.S. Bank will soon be providing additional
information to Downey Savings & Loan and PFF Bank & Trust customers
about this transaction. Downey Savings & Loan and PFF Bank & Trust
customers should know that their deposits are now backed by the
financial strength and security of U.S. Bank.
With the addition of approximately $12 billion (9 percent) to the
company’s deposit base, these transactions will more than double U.S.
Bank’s deposit share and number of branches in important Southern
California markets such as the Los Angeles/Long Beach/Santa Ana area.
Also, this acquisition will allow U.S. Bank to enter into new markets in
Central California and Arizona.
The 175 Downey Savings & Loan branches that are part of this transaction
include 170 in California and five in Arizona. These branches include
locations in the following markets: Southern California (Los Angeles,
Riverside, San Diego and Oxnard) with 59 traditional branches and 78
in-store branches; the Bay Area (San Jose, San Francisco, Sacramento,
Santa Rosa and Napa) with 20 traditional branches and four in-store
branches; Central California (San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and
Bakersfield) with two traditional branches and seven in-store branches;
and Arizona (Lake Havasu, Kingman and Prescott) with four traditional
branches and one in-store branch.
The 38 PFF Bank & Trust branches that are part of the transaction
include branches in eastern Los Angeles, northern Orange, San Bernardino
and Riverside counties. These PFF Bank & Trust branches are located in
the following Inland Empire communities: Adelanto, Alta Loma, Apple
Valley, Beaumont, Cathedral City, Chino, Claremont, Corona Hills,
Diamond Bar, Fontana, Foothills Crossing, Glendora, Hesperia, Indian
Hill, Indio, La Quinta, La Verne, Mira Loma, Montclair, Moreno Valley,
Ontario, Palm Desert, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Dimas,
San Jacinto, Terra Vista, Tustin, Twentynine Palms, Upland, Yorba,
Yucaipa and Yucca Valley.
If customers of Downey Savings & Loan have any questions regarding their
accounts involved in this transaction, they should continue to use the
same channels as they have in the past, by contacting their local
branch, visiting downeysavings.com or calling 1-800-9-DOWNEY.
If customers of PFF Bank & Trust have any questions regarding their
accounts involved in this transaction, they should continue to use the
same channels as they have in the past, by contacting their local
branch, visiting pffbank.com or calling 1-888-342-5733.
Prior to this announcement, U.S. Bank had 353 branch offices in
California – 216 traditional branches and 137 in-store branches. In
Arizona, U.S. Bank currently operates 70 branch offices – 18 traditional
branches and 52 in-store branches.
Additional information regarding this transaction will be included in a
brief presentation to be posted shortly on the U.S. Bank website. To
access the presentation, please go to www.usbank.com
and click on "About U.S. Bancorp” and then "Investor/Shareholder
Information.” The link to the slides can be found on both the "Press
Releases” and "Webcasts and Presentations” pages.
U.S. Bancorp was advised in this transaction by Morgan Stanley & Co.
Incorporated, Dorsey & Whitney LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.
U.S. Bancorp, with $247 billion in assets, is the parent company of U.S.
Bank, the 6th largest commercial bank in the United States as of
September 30, 2008. The company operates 2,556 banking offices and 4,903
ATMs, and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage,
insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to
consumers, businesses and institutions. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at www.usbank.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
The following information appears in accordance with the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
This presentation contains forward-looking statements about U.S.
Bancorp. Statements that are not historical or current facts, including
statements about beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking
statements. These statements often include the words "may,” "could,”
"would,” "should,” "believes,” "expects,” "anticipates,” "estimates,”
"intends,” "plans,” "targets,” "potentially,” "probably,” "projects,”
"outlook” or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements
cover, among other things, anticipated future revenue and expenses and
the future plans and prospects of U.S. Bancorp. Forward-looking
statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and important
factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those
anticipated, including continued deterioration in general business and
economic conditions and in the financial markets; changes in interest
rates; deterioration in the credit quality of our loan portfolios or in
the value of the collateral securing those loans; deterioration in the
value of securities held in our investment securities portfolio; legal
and regulatory developments; increased competition from both banks and
non-banks; changes in customer behavior and preferences; effects of
mergers and acquisitions and related integration; effects of critical
accounting policies and judgments; and management’s ability to
effectively manage credit risk, market risk, operational risk, legal
risk, and regulatory and compliance risk. A continuation of the recent
turbulence in significant portions of the global financial markets,
particularly if it worsens, could impact our performance, both directly
by affecting our revenues and the value of our assets and liabilities,
and indirectly by affecting our counterparties and the economy
generally. Dramatic declines in the housing market in the past year have
resulted in significant write-downs of asset values by financial
institutions. Concerns about the stability of the financial markets
generally have reduced the availability of funding to certain financial
institutions, leading to a tightening of credit, reduction of business
activity, and increased market volatility. There can be no assurance
that the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the actions taken
by the U.S. Treasury Department there under, or any other governmental
program, will help to stabilize the U.S. financial system or alleviate
the industry or economic factors that may adversely impact our business.
In addition, our business and financial performance could be impacted as
the financial industry restructures in the current environment, by
changes in the creditworthiness and performance of our counterparties,
by changes in the competitive landscape, and by increased regulation or
other adverse effects of recently enacted legislation and FDIC actions.
Finally, there can be no assurance that we will realize the anticipated
benefits related to the acquisition of Downey Savings and Loan
Association or PFF Bank and Trust.
For discussion of these and other risks that may cause actual results to
differ from expectations, refer to U.S. Bancorp’s Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, on file with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, including the sections entitled "Risk Factors”
and "Corporate Risk Profile,” and all subsequent filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or
15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date they are made, and U.S. Bancorp undertakes no
obligation to update them in light of new information or future events.
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