<SEC-DOCUMENT>0001140361-23-048771.txt : 20231127
<SEC-HEADER>0001140361-23-048771.hdr.sgml : 20231127
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20231018202132
<PRIVATE-TO-PUBLIC>
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0001140361-23-048771
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	CORRESP
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
FILED AS OF DATE:		20231018

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			BANC OF CALIFORNIA, INC.
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0001169770
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	NATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANKS [6021]
		IRS NUMBER:				043639825
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			MD
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		CORRESP

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		3 MACARTHUR PLACE
		CITY:			SANTA ANA
		STATE:			CA
		ZIP:			92707
		BUSINESS PHONE:		949-236-5211

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		3 MACARTHUR PLACE
		CITY:			SANTA ANA
		STATE:			CA
		ZIP:			92707

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	FIRST PACTRUST BANCORP INC
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	20020322
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>CORRESP
<SEQUENCE>1
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            <div style="text-align: center; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"><font style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">&#160;</font><font style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-variant: small-caps;">Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher &amp; Flom llp</font></div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">ONE MANHATTAN WEST</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">NEW YORK, NY 10001</div>
            <div>
              <hr style="height: 2px; width: 15%; color: #000000; background-color: #000000; text-align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;" align="center" noshade="noshade"></div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">TEL: (212) 735-3000</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">FAX: (212) 735-2000</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">www.skadden.com</div>
            <div>&#160;</div>
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          <td style="width: 67%; vertical-align: bottom;">
            <div>October 18, 2023</div>
            <div>&#160;</div>
            <div style="font-weight: bold;"><u>VIA EDGAR</u></div>
            <div>&#160;</div>
            <div>U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission</div>
            <div>Division of Corporation Finance</div>
            <div>Office of Finance</div>
            <div>100 F Street, NE</div>
            <div>Washington, DC 20549<br>
            </div>
          </td>
          <td style="width: 33%; vertical-align: top;">
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">FIRM/AFFILIATE OFFICES</div>
            <div style="font-size: 8pt;">
              <hr style="height: 2px; width: 15%; color: #000000; background-color: #000000; text-align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;" align="center" noshade="noshade"></div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">BOSTON</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">CHICAGO</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">HOUSTON</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">LOS ANGELES</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">PALO ALTO</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">WASHINGTON, D.C.</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">WILMINGTON</div>
            <div style="font-size: 8pt;">
              <hr style="height: 2px; width: 15%; color: #000000; background-color: #000000; text-align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;" align="center" noshade="noshade"></div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">BEIJING</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">BRUSSELS</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">FRANKFURT</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">HONG KONG</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">LONDON</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">MUNICH</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">PARIS</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">S&#195;O PAULO</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">SEOUL</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">SHANGHAI</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">SINGAPORE</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">TOKYO</div>
            <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 8pt;">TORONTO</div>
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            <div>Attention:</div>
          </td>
          <td style="width: 94%; vertical-align: top;">
            <div>James Lopez</div>
          </td>
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          <td style="width: 6%; vertical-align: top;">&#160;</td>
          <td style="width: 94%; vertical-align: top;">
            <div>Robert Arzonetti</div>
          </td>
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          <td style="width: 6%; vertical-align: top;">&#160;</td>
          <td style="width: 94%; vertical-align: top;">
            <div>Robert Klein</div>
          </td>
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          <td style="width: 6%; vertical-align: top;">&#160;</td>
          <td style="width: 94%; vertical-align: top;">
            <div>Cara Lubit</div>
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            <div style="font-weight: bold;">Re:</div>
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          <td style="width: 94%; vertical-align: top;">
            <div style="font-weight: bold;">Banc of California, Inc.</div>
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          <td style="width: 6%; vertical-align: top;">&#160;</td>
          <td style="width: 94%; vertical-align: top;">
            <div style="font-weight: bold;">Amendment No. 2 to Registration Statement on Form S-4/A</div>
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          <td style="width: 6%; vertical-align: top;">&#160;</td>
          <td style="width: 94%; vertical-align: top;">
            <div style="font-weight: bold;">Filed October 16, 2023</div>
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          <td style="width: 6%; vertical-align: top;">&#160;</td>
          <td style="width: 94%; vertical-align: top;">
            <div style="font-weight: bold;">File No. 333-274245</div>
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    <div style="text-indent: -18pt; margin-left: 18pt;">Ladies and Gentlemen:</div>
    <div><br>
    </div>
    <div style="text-indent: 36pt;">On behalf of Banc of California, Inc. (&#8220;<u>BANC</u>&#8221; or the &#8220;<u>Company</u>&#8221;), set forth below are the Company&#8217;s responses to the comments of the Staff (the &#8220;<u>Staff</u>&#8221;) of the Division of Corporation Finance of the
      Securities and Exchange Commission (the &#8220;<u>Commission</u>&#8221;) communicated orally on a conference call on October 18, 2023 relating to the Company&#8217;s Registration Statement on Form S-4 originally filed on August 28, 2023, as amended and filed on
      September 29, 2023 and further amended and filed on October 16, 2023 (the &#8220;<u>Registration Statement</u>&#8221;). Following the submission of this letter, the Company is expecting to file an amended Registration Statement with the Commission through its
      EDGAR system, reflecting the revisions described in this letter as well as certain other updated information.</div>
    <div><br>
    </div>
    <div style="text-indent: 36pt;">The Company has provided its response immediately after each numbered comment. Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein have the meanings assigned to such terms in the Registration Statement.</div>
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            <div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">1.</div>
          </td>
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            <div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Revise your disclosure to describe why the exchange ratio was agreed upon based on each party&#8217;s VWAP measured relative to the LOI date rather than the date on which the merger agreement was
              executed.</div>
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    <div><u>Response</u>: The Company respectfully advises the Staff that the Company will amend the disclosure set forth on Page 80 of the Registration Statement to add the following sentence at the end of the paragraph that begins with &#8220;On July 16,
      2023,&#8221;:&#160; &#8220;In reaching that agreement, BANC and PACW considered and discussed whether to calculate the exchange ratio based on the volume weighted-average trading prices of BANC common stock and PACW common stock over a five-day period measured
      relative to the execution of the merger agreement rather than the date of the LOI, but ultimately agreed that the volume weighted-average trading price of BANC common stock and PACW common stock measured over a five-day period relative to the LOI
      date was a more appropriate measurement period because of the volatility in the trading price of PACW common stock during the period between the LOI date and the date on which the merger agreement was executed.&#8221;</div>
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            <div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">2.</div>
          </td>
          <td style="width: 96.15%; vertical-align: top;">
            <div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Please revise your disclosure on Page N-2 of the Registration Statement to clarify any changes that BANC will make to the combined company&#8217;s liquidity management framework.</div>
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    <div><u>Response</u>: The Company respectfully advises the Staff that the Company will amend the disclosure set forth on Page N-2 of the Registration Statement to delete the sentence reproduced in the first bullet point below and replace that deleted
      sentence with the sentences set forth in the second bullet point below:</div>
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          <td style="width: 18pt; vertical-align: top;">&#8226;</td>
          <td style="width: auto; vertical-align: top;">
            <div>The combined company is expected to manage liquidity in a similar fashion as BANC&#8217;s current management framework, maintaining duration limits as a function of primary liquidity, along with other critical &#8220;Liquidity,&#8221; &#8220;Funding,&#8221; and
              &#8220;Investment&#8221; tolerances.</div>
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          <td style="width: 18pt; vertical-align: top;">&#8226;</td>
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            <div>The combined company is expected to manage liquidity in a similar fashion as BANC&#8217;s current management framework, but will adopt new liquidity management policies that address the fact that the combined company will be a larger institution
              with new product lines, including deposits in business lines not existing at the Company today.&#160; In doing so, the combined company will assess the new characteristics associated with the combined company when establishing oversight of key
              metrics, along with other critical &#8220;Liquidity,&#8221; &#8220;Funding,&#8221; and &#8220;Investment&#8221; tolerances.</div>
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    <div style="text-align: center;">*********</div>
    <div><br>
    </div>
    <div style="text-indent: 36pt;">Any comments or questions regarding the foregoing should be directed to the undersigned at (212) 735-3554. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in connection with this matter.</div>
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          <td style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top;">&#160;</td>
          <td style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top;">
            <div>Sincerely,</div>
            <div>&#160;</div>
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          <td style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top;">&#160;</td>
          <td style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);">
            <div>/s/ Sven Mickisch</div>
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          <td style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top;">&#160;</td>
          <td style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top;">
            <div>Sven Mickisch</div>
            <div>Partner</div>
            <div>&#160;</div>
          </td>
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          <td style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top;">&#160;</td>
          <td style="width: 50%; vertical-align: top;">
            <div>SKADDEN, ARPS, SLATE, MEAGHER &amp; FLOM LLP</div>
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          <td style="width: 6%; vertical-align: top;">
            <div>CC:</div>
          </td>
          <td style="width: 94%; vertical-align: top;">
            <div>Jared Wolff, Banc of California, Inc.</div>
            <div>Ido Dotan, Banc of California, Inc.</div>
            <div>Matthew Nemeroff, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher &amp; Flom LLP</div>
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