Pacific West Bancorp in Portland, Ore., is the latest bank to take steps to avoid brand confusion.
The parent of the $282 million-asset Pacific West Bank used a post on its website to address any confusion with PacWest Bancorp, a Los Angeles company that has been the subject of speculation since two high-profile bank failures in March.
Pacific West Bancorp “is not in any way related to a similarly named PacWest Bancorp … that has been in the news recently regarding financial difficulties,” the company said in a blue banner across its homepage.
“We understand that there may be some confusion due to the similarity between our names, but we want to assure you that our bank is financially stable and operating normally.”
An orange banner near the bottom of the page reiterates that the bank “has no association with PacWest Bancorp or Pacific Western Bank.”
“We want to emphasize that we are a completely separate entity, and our financial position remains strong,” Jason Wessling, Pacific West’s president, said in a press release.
This is the second time a bank has taken added steps to clear up confusion.
Republic First Bancorp in Philadelphia recently put customers on notice that it wasn’t First Republic Bank in San Francisco.