Exhibit 99.1

PRESS RELEASE

PacWest Bancorp

(Nasdaq: PACW)

PACWEST BANCORP ANNOUNCES RESULTS

FOR THE FIRST QUARTER 2018

Highlights

·                  Net Earnings of $118.3 Million, or $0.93 Per Diluted Share

·                  Tax Equivalent Net Interest Margin of 5.11%

·                  Nonaccrual Loans and Leases Reduced by $52.1 million, or 33% in Q1’18

·                  Classified Loans and Leases Reduced by $70.4 million, or 25% in Q1’18

·                  Core Deposits at 87% of Total Deposits

·                  New Loan and Lease Production of $788.5 Million

Los Angeles, California . . . PacWest Bancorp (Nasdaq: PACW) today announced net earnings for the first quarter of 2018 of $118.3 million, or $0.93 per diluted share, compared to net earnings for the fourth quarter of 2017 of $84.0 million, or $0.66 per diluted share.  The increase in net earnings from the prior quarter was primarily due to lower noninterest expense, lower income tax expense, higher noninterest income, and a lower provision for credit losses, offset partially by lower net interest income.

Noninterest expense for the first quarter of 2018 was lower due mainly to a decrease in acquisition, integration and reorganization costs of $16.1 million related to the CUB acquisition and integration completed in the fourth quarter of 2017.  Income tax expense for the first quarter of 2018 was lower mainly due to the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which reduced our effective tax rate to 27.7% in the first quarter of 2018 from 40.2% in the fourth quarter of 2017.  Noninterest income for the first quarter of 2018 increased by $11.8 million mainly due to a $9.6 million increase in the gain on sale of securities.  In the first quarter of 2018 we sold certain securities for a net gain of $6.3 million, whereas in the fourth quarter of 2017, we made a tax-related decision to sell certain securities resulting in a net loss of $3.3 million.  Net interest income declined by $6.5 million due mostly to two fewer days in the current quarter and a lower average loan and lease balance.

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Matt Wagner, President and CEO, commented, “Our performance in the first quarter was highlighted by significant earnings growth, solid margin expansion, and notable decreases in nonaccrual and classified loans and leases. Our de-risking activities have resulted in lower credit costs, improved credit quality metrics and a reduced reliance on higher-cost deposits and borrowings. Our first quarter results produced a return on assets of 1.99% and a return on tangible equity of 21.08%.”

Mr. Wagner continued, “Our first quarter tax equivalent NIM increased 14 basis points to 5.11%, benefitting from the repricing of variable-rate loans, higher loan fee income and higher recapture of nonaccrual interest.  Our strong first quarter results make us optimistic that 2018 will be another positive year for the Company.”

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

(1) Non-GAAP measure.

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INCOME STATEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

Net Interest Income

Net interest income decreased by $6.5 million to $256.5 million for the first quarter of 2018 compared to $263.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2017 due mainly to two fewer days in the first quarter and a lower average loan and lease balance.  The loan and lease yield was 6.11% for the first quarter of 2018 compared to 5.89% for the fourth quarter of 2017. The increase in the loan and lease yield was principally due to the repricing of variable-rate loans, higher loan fee income, and higher recapture of nonaccrual interest.

The tax equivalent NIM was 5.11% for the first quarter of 2018 compared to 4.97% for the fourth quarter of 2017.  The increase in the NIM was due mainly to the higher loan yield resulting from the repricing of variable-rate loans and higher loan fee income, which was partially offset by a decrease of six basis points resulting from a smaller tax equivalent adjustment due to the lower statutory federal tax rate.

The cost of average total deposits increased to 0.31% for the first quarter of 2018 from 0.30% for the fourth quarter of 2017.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income increased by $11.8 million to $38.6 million for the first quarter of 2018 compared to $26.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2017 due mainly to a $9.6 million increase in the gain on sale of securities and a $2.6 million increase in the gain on sale of loans.  During the first quarter of 2018, we sold $299.9 million of securities for a gain of $6.3 million.  These securities were sold primarily for reinvestment in higher quality liquid assets, yield and credit risk purposes. During the fourth quarter of 2017, we made a tax-related decision to sell $172.6 million of securities and recognized a loss of $3.3 million to take advantage of the higher statutory federal tax rate in 2017.   In addition, the gain on sale of loans increased by $2.6 million to $4.6 million for the first quarter of 2018 from $2.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2017. The first quarter of 2018 includes a $2.4 million gain resulting from the sale of our largest nonaccrual loan above our carrying value and $1.3 million related to the settlement of our December 31, 2017 loans held for sale of $481.1 million.

The following table presents details of noninterest income for the periods indicated:

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Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense decreased by $15.5 million to $127.4 million for the first quarter of 2018 compared to $142.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2017 due mostly to a decrease in acquisition, integration and reorganization costs of $16.1 million related to the CUB acquisition.  Other professional services decreased by $1.3 million due mostly to lower legal fees and internal audit costs.  Compensation expense decreased by $1.0 million as the fourth quarter of 2017 included a charge of $2.9 million for separation costs in connection with exiting the origination operations related to general, technology, and healthcare cash flow loans partially offset by an increase in stock compensation expense and a seasonal increase in payroll tax expense.  Intangible asset amortization increased by $1.3 million as a result of a full quarter of expense for the intangible assets related to the CUB acquisition. Other expense increased by $1.1 million due primarily to an increase in Community Reinvestment Act-related and corporate donations.

The following table presents details of noninterest expense for the periods indicated:

Income Taxes

The overall effective income tax rate was 27.7% for the first quarter of 2018 and 40.2% for the fourth quarter of 2017. The effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2018 was lower due to the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which reduced the federal statutory corporate tax rate to 21% in the first quarter of 2018 from 35% in the fourth quarter of 2017. The effective tax rate for the full year 2018 is estimated to be approximately 28%.

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BALANCE SHEET HIGHLIGHTS

Loans and Leases

Loans and leases held for investment, net of deferred fees, decreased by $517.5 million in the first quarter of 2018 to $16.5 billion at March 31, 2018.  The net decrease was driven mainly by payoffs of $974.5 million, paydowns of $936.0 million, and sales of $130.6 million, offset partially by new production of $788.5 million and disbursements of $747.4 million.

The following table presents a roll forward of loans and leases held for investment, net of deferred fees, for the periods indicated:

(1) Includes direct financing leases but excludes equipment leased to others under operating leases.

(2) Sales for the three months ended March 31, 2018 exclude loans held for sale of $481.1 million at December 31, 2017.

(3) The weighted average rate on new production presents contractual rates and does not include amortized fees. Amortized fees added approximately 30 basis points to loan yields in 2017.

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The following table presents the composition of loans and leases held for investment, net of deferred fees, as of the dates indicated:

(1) Excludes loans held for sale carried at lower of cost or fair value at December 31, 2017.

Deposits and Client Investment Funds

The following table presents the composition of our deposit portfolio as of the dates indicated:

At March 31, 2018, core deposits totaled $15.7 billion, or 87% of total deposits, including $8.2 billion of noninterest-bearing demand deposits, or 46% of total deposits.  The proceeds from the cash flow loan sale in the fourth quarter of 2017 allowed us to improve our funding mix by reducing our balances of non-core non-maturity deposits and time deposits.

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In addition to deposit products, we also offer alternative non-depository cash investment options for select clients; these alternatives include investments managed by Square 1 Asset Management, Inc. (“S1AM”), our registered investment advisor subsidiary, and third-party sweep products.  Total off-balance sheet client investment funds at March 31, 2018 were $2.1 billion, of which $1.6 billion was managed by S1AM.

PROVISION AND ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES

A provision for credit losses of $4.0 million was recorded in the first quarter of 2018 compared to $6.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2017.  The lower provision for the first quarter of 2018 was due mainly to lower period-end loan and lease balances and recoveries of $7.2 million. The allowance for credit losses to loans and leases held for investment coverage ratio increased to 1.01% at March 31, 2018 from 0.95% at December 31, 2017.

The following tables show roll forwards of the allowance for credit losses for the periods indicated:

Gross charge-offs for the first quarter of 2018 were $12.2 million and included $6.8 million for other commercial loans and $2.3 million for venture capital loans, while gross charge-offs for the fourth quarter of 2017 were $24.7 million and included $20.1 million for venture capital loans. Recoveries in the first quarter of 2018 were $7.2 million and included $4.6 million for venture capital loans, the largest of which was a $4.0 million recovery on a venture capital loan partially charged off in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The annualized ratio of net charge-offs to average loans was 0.12% for the first quarter of 2018 and 0.52% for the fourth quarter of 2017.

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CREDIT QUALITY

The following table presents loan and lease credit quality metrics as of the dates indicated:

(1) Amounts and ratios related to March 31, 2018 are for total loans and leases.

Amounts and ratios related to December 31, 2017 are for Non-PCI loans and leases.

(2 Excludes loans held for sale carried at lower of cost or fair value at December 31, 2017.

(3) Nonaccrual loans include guaranteed amounts of $13.4 million and $11.6 million at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017.

In prior periods, our credit quality disclosures were only for Non-PCI loans. As our PCI loan portfolio reduced to less than 0.4% of total loans as of the end of 2017, beginning in 2018 the credit quality disclosures reflect our entire loan portfolio.

Nonaccrual loans and leases decreased by $52.1 million in the first quarter primarily due to the sale of our largest nonaccrual loan, a $44.6 million healthcare real estate loan. Classified loans and leases decreased by $70.3 million in the first quarter primarily due to the sale of the $44.6 million nonaccrual loan, the sale of a $9.8 million cash flow loan, and an $18.2 million decrease in classified venture capital loans.

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The following table presents nonaccrual loans and leases and accruing loans and leases past due between 30 and 89 days by portfolio segment and class as of the dates indicated:

(1) Amounts and ratios related to March 31, 2018 are for total loans and leases. 

Amounts and ratios related to December 31, 2017 are for Non-PCI loans and leases.

(2) Excludes loans held for sale carried at lower of cost or fair value at December 31, 2017.

The following table presents nonperforming assets as of the dates indicated:

(1) Excludes loans held for sale carried at lower of cost or fair value at December 31, 2017.

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STOCK REPURCHASE PROGRAM

During the first quarter of 2018, the Company amended its existing stock repurchase program to increase the authorized repurchase amount from $150 million to $350 million and extend the program maturity to February 28, 2019.  During the first quarter of 2018, we repurchased 2,285,855 shares at an average price of $52.41 and a total cost of $119.8 million.

ABOUT PACWEST BANCORP

PacWest Bancorp (“PacWest”) is a bank holding company with approximately $24 billion in assets with one wholly-owned banking subsidiary, Pacific Western Bank (the “Bank”). The Bank has 75 full-service branches located throughout the state of California and one branch in Durham, North Carolina. We provide commercial banking services, including real estate, construction, and commercial loans, and comprehensive deposit and treasury management services to small and medium-sized businesses.  We offer additional products and services through our CapitalSource and Square 1 Bank divisions. Our CapitalSource Division provides asset-based, equipment, real estate, and security cash flow loans and treasury management services to established middle market businesses on a national basis.  Our Square 1 Bank Division offers a comprehensive suite of financial services focused on entrepreneurial businesses and their venture capital and private equity investors, with offices located in key innovation hubs across the United States.  For more information about PacWest Bancorp, visit www.pacwestbancorp.com, or to learn more about Pacific Western Bank, visit www.pacificwesternbank.com.

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FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release contains certain “forward-looking statements” about the Company and its subsidiaries within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including forward-looking statements relating to the Company’s current business plans and expectations regarding future operating results and metrics and including statements about our expectations regarding our future effective tax rate. All statements contained in this release that are not clearly historical in nature are forward-looking, and the words “anticipate,” “assume,” “intend,” “believe,” “forecast,” “expect,” “estimate,” “plan,” “continue,” “will,” “should,” “look forward” and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements (including statements regarding future financial and operating results and future transactions and their results) involve risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from anticipated results, performance or achievements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, our ability to compete effectively against other financial institutions in our banking markets; the impact of changes in interest rates or levels of market activity, especially on our loan and investment portfolios; deterioration, weaker than expected improvement, or other changes in the state of the economy or the markets in which we conduct business (including the state of real estate markets, debt markets and stock markets); changes in credit quality and the effect of credit quality on our provision for loan and lease losses and allowance for loan and leases losses; our ability to attract deposits and other sources of funding or liquidity; our capital requirements and our ability to generate capital internally or raise capital on favorable terms; the costs and effects of legal, compliance and regulatory actions, changes and developments, including the impact of adverse judgments or settlements in litigation, the initiation and resolution of regulatory or other governmental inquiries or investigations, and/or the results of regulatory examinations or reviews; the Company’s ability to complete future acquisitions and to successfully integrate such acquired entities or achieve expected beneficial synergies and/or operating efficiencies, in each case within expected timeframes or at all; the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on our future effective tax rate and our success at managing the risks involved in the foregoing items and all other factors set forth in the Company’s public reports, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, and particularly the discussion of risk factors within that document.

All forward-looking statements included in this release are based on information available at the time of the release. We are under no obligation to (and expressly disclaim any such obligation to) update or alter our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by law.

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PACWEST BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

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PACWEST BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EARNINGS