First Banks to Buy L.A. Business Bank

St. Louis-based First Banks Inc. said Monday that it had agreed to buy International Bank of California, a small-business lender with six branches in Los Angeles County and one in San Francisco. Terms of the deal weren’t announced.

Family-owned First Banks has acquired 20 California banks since 1995, making it “among the most active acquirers if not the most active,” said Irvine investment banker Ed Carpenter, a consultant to the bank.

It has 31 branches in Southern California and 17 in Northern California.

International Bank’s majority owner is Manila-based Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co.

The purchase will fill a gap for First Banks in the San Gabriel Valley, where International has branches in Alhambra, Arcadia and Rowland Heights, said First Banks Chief Operating Officer Terrance M. McCarthy.

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E. Scott Reckard