PacTrust Bank, the subsidiary of First PacTrust Bancorp (Nasdaq:BANC), today officially opened the doors to its first branch in Los Angeles County, located at 1880 Century Park East in Century City.

First PacTrust Bancorp President and CEO Gregory Mitchell will be joined by company executives and officials from the Century City Chamber of Commerce to participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new branch location starting at 5:30 p.m.

"We are thrilled to unveil our new Century City branch as we continue to grow our brand across Southern California," said Mitchell. "PacTrust will serve small businesses, entrepreneurs and growing families based upon our core principles of service, choice, value and trust."

Click here to view video of Gregory Mitchell discussing 2012 community banking trends.

PacTrust offers personal and business banking customers a variety of interest-bearing checking accounts and savings plans, loans, credit lines, as well as investment products such as CDs and IRAs. The bank has extended its offer of paying customers $60 to open a totally free checking account, which features a PacTrust branded MasterMoney® Debit Card, overdraft protection and free direct deposit.

The Century City branch is offering customers a special 13-month CD with a 1.15% APY (annual percentage yield), as well as a market rate account with a 1% APY. In addition to having access to the Century City branch's 24-hour access ATM and night deposit box, PacTrust customers can do business at more than 6,700 locations throughout the United States as part of the CU Services Network and 28,000 fee-free ATM locations through the CO-OP ATM Network. Other customer services include online banking, banking by phone and online bill payment solutions.

PacTrust is expected to introduce a second Los Angeles County branch this year in Santa Monica, located at 2631 Wilshire Blvd.

About First PacTrust Bancorp

First PacTrust Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: BANC) is a member of the Russell 2000 Index. The company's wholly owned subsidiary, Pacific Trust Bank, was founded in 1941. It is regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and has its deposits insured by the FDIC. PacTrust Bank operates retail banking offices throughout Southern California focusing on residential, commercial real estate and small business lending. PacTrust Bank provides customers with the convenience of banking at more than 6,700 branch locations throughout the United States as part of the CU Services Network and 28,000 fee-free ATM locations through the CO-OP ATM Network. For more information on any of First PacTrust's services, visit: http://www.firstpactrustbancorp.com.

First PacTrust Bancorp, Inc.
Gregory A. Mitchell, President and CEO
Phone: (619) 691-1519 x-4474