March 06, 2009

This week's rescue of a down-and-out Beverly Hills bank by a suburban Chicago firm signals that company's vision of becoming a bigger lending force, especially to commercial borrowers and small businesses.More such deals could be struck as the government says it wants more private involvement in shoring up the banking industry.

"Every option is on the table now in terms of bringing fresh capital into the banking industry, and this is another example of how outside money or private equity or non-public money can come in and provide a lifeline to some of these distressed banking institutions across the United States," said Terry McEvoy, a senior analyst for Oppenheimer & Co.In the case of the First Bank of Beverly Hills, with only one office and $1.49 billion in assets, the rescuer is Orchard First Source Asset Management LLC, a Rolling Meadows financial firm.