US regional bank FS Bancorp to buy Pacific West in $36.4 million deal

Feb 25 (Reuters) - U.S. regional bank FS Bancorp FSBW.O will buy peer Pacific West Bancorp PWBK.PK in a deal valued at $36.4 million, the banks said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

U.S. regional banks have been ramping up mergers with several deals last year, fuelled by expectations of a lighter regulatory approach under the Trump administration and by the quest for bigger balance sheets to better compete with larger lenders amid economic and operational pressures.

The combined entity will have about $3.6 billion in assets, $3 billion in loans, and $3 billion in deposits, the companies said.

Both banks operate in the Pacific Northwest, with branches in Oregon and Washington states.