Exhibit 99.1

PRESS RELEASE

PacWest Bancorp

(NASDAQ: PACW)

PACWEST BANCORP ANNOUNCES RESULTS

FOR THE FIRST QUARTER 2016

Highlights

·                  Net Earnings of $90.5 Million, or $0.74 Per Diluted Share

·                  New Loan and Lease Production of $842.1 Million for the Quarter

·                  Core Deposits Increased $399 Million during the Quarter and Represented 71% of Total Deposits

·                  Core Tax Equivalent Net Interest Margin of 5.10%

Los Angeles, California . . . PacWest Bancorp (Nasdaq: PACW) today announced net earnings for the first quarter of 2016 of $90.5 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, compared to net earnings for the fourth quarter of 2015 of $71.8 million, or $0.60 per diluted share.  The $0.14 increase in diluted earnings per share was due mostly to higher accretion on acquired loans and leases ($0.06 per share), higher noninterest income from higher gain on securities and lower dividends and gains on equity investments ($0.02 per share), and lower acquisition, integration and reorganization costs ($0.09 per share), and a higher provision for credit losses ($0.03 per share) as compared to the fourth quarter of 2015.

Matt Wagner, President and CEO, commented, “We continued to deliver outstanding performance in the first quarter and demonstrate our earning power despite competitive and market challenges. Our strong first quarter results produced a return on assets of 1.72%, a return on tangible equity of 16.45% and a quarter over quarter 23% increase in diluted earnings per share. We are also pleased with the continued transformation of our deposit portfolio as core deposits were 71% of total deposits compared to 52% a year ago. With flat net loan growth for the first quarter due to the sale of Pacific Western Equipment Finance unit leases, we expect mid to upper single digit loan growth for the year.”

Patrick Rusnak, Executive Vice President and CFO stated, “Our first quarter core tax equivalent net interest margin (NIM) remained steady at 5.10% and the NIM excluding all purchase accounting items increased 5 basis points to 4.93%. The first quarter NIM was helped by the combination of the 25 basis point rate hike in December and higher-yielding assets were a higher percentage of average interest-earning assets.”

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Mr. Rusnak continued, “We continue to control operating expenses as shown by our efficiency ratio, which declined to 38.5% in the first quarter. We are pleased with our solid start to 2016 and believe our talented teams will continue to deliver strong results.”

Mr. Wagner continued, “Now that we have completed the integration of the Square 1 Bank employees and business units, we are focused on two important corporate initiatives for 2016. We will be converting our core processing systems beginning in the second quarter. Also, later this year, we will submit our first DFAST capital stress test to our regulators.”

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

(1) Non-GAAP measure.

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INCOME STATEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

Net Interest Income

Net interest income increased by $15.4 million to $244.6 million for the first quarter of 2016 compared to $229.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2015 due to higher accretion on acquired loans and a higher average loan and lease balance offset by a lower average investment securities balance. Total accretion on acquired loans was $27.9 million in the first quarter of 2016 (77 basis points on the loan and lease yield) compared to $16.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 (46 basis points on the loan and lease yield). The increase in accretion was due primarily to higher accelerated accretion from payoffs on acquired loans, including $12.1 million from the payoff of a nonaccrual purchased credit impaired (“PCI”) loan. The loan and lease yield for the first quarter of 2016 was 6.57% compared to 6.21% for the fourth quarter of 2015.  The increase in the loan and lease yield was due to the higher accretion on acquired loans offset by the yield on new originations being lower than the current portfolio yield. Excluding accelerated accretion, the core loan and lease yield was 6.03% in the first quarter compared to 6.05% in the fourth quarter.

The tax equivalent net interest margin (“NIM”) for the first quarter of 2016 was 5.53% compared to 5.22% for the fourth quarter of 2015.  The increase in the NIM was due to higher accretion on acquired loans and a higher percentage of average higher-yielding assets in the mix. Accretion on acquired loans contributed 62 basis points to the NIM in the first quarter of 2016 and 36 basis points to the NIM in the fourth quarter of 2015. Excluding accelerated accretion, the core NIM was 5.10% for both the first and fourth quarters.

The cost of total deposits decreased to 0.23% in the first quarter of 2016 from 0.24% in the fourth quarter of 2015 due to the increased average balance of noninterest-bearing deposits and a lower level of higher-cost time deposits.

The tax equivalent NIM and loan and lease yield are impacted by volatility in accelerated accretion of acquisition discounts due to the prepayment of acquired loans and leases. The effects of this item are shown in the following table for the periods indicated:

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The impact on the tax equivalent net interest income and NIM from all purchase accounting items is set forth in the table below for the periods indicated:

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income increased by $6.5 million to $34.5 million for the first quarter of 2016 compared to $28.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2015 due mostly to higher gains on sales of securities of $8.1 million and lower FDIC loss sharing expense of $1.9 million, offset by lower dividends and gains on equity investments of $4.6 million. The gain on securities resulted from the sale of $335 million of securities in the first quarter due to ongoing portfolio management activities. The lower FDIC loss sharing expense is due to a fewer number and decreased balance of covered assets combined with fewer asset resolutions this quarter compared to the previous quarter. Dividends and gains from equity investments decreased as this item fluctuates from period to period based upon dividends received and number of sales of equity investments. Other income in the first quarter included a loan syndication fee ($0.9 million), a death benefit received on a BOLI policy ($0.6 million) and a loss on the sale of the Pacific Western Equipment Finance (“PWEF”) leasing unit ($0.7 million); there are no similar items in the other periods presented.

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

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense decreased by $11.6 million to $110.7 million for the first quarter of 2016 compared to $122.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2015.  The decrease was due mostly to lower acquisition, integration and reorganization costs of $17.4 million offset by lower foreclosed assets income and higher compensation expense. Foreclosed assets income is lower by $2.6 million due to lower gains on foreclosed asset sales compared to the prior quarter. Compensation expense increased $2.1 million due to higher payroll taxes from the timing of the annual employment tax cycle and higher stock-based compensation due to awards granted in the first quarter offset partially by lower commission and incentive expense.

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

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Income Taxes

Our overall effective income tax rate was 39.0% in the first quarter of 2016 and 40.7% for the fourth quarter of 2015.  The first quarter effective tax rate approximates the expected effective tax rate for calendar year 2016.

BALANCE SHEET HIGHLIGHTS

Loans and Leases

Average total loans and leases for the first quarter of 2016 increased by $440 million compared to the fourth quarter while period-end total loans and leases increased by $5.3 million in the first quarter to $14.5 billion at March 31, 2016.  The loan and lease production of $842 million was largely offset by repayment activity and the sale of the PWEF leases.

The following table presents a roll forward of the loan and lease portfolio for the periods indicated:

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

(2) Includes principal repayments on existing loans, changes in revolving lines of credit (repayments and draws), loan participation sales and other changes within the loan portfolio.

(3) Includes $15.1 million of PWEF leases sold to third parties during the three months ended March 31, 2016.

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The following table presents the composition of our loan and lease portfolio as of the dates indicated:

Loan growth in the first quarter came primarily from the cash flow, construction and venture capital portfolios. These same portfolios also accounted for most of the growth in our unfunded commitments during the quarter.

Credit Exposure Affected by Low Oil Prices

At March 31, 2016, PacWest had 19 outstanding loan and lease relationships totaling $127.7 million to borrowers involved in the oil and gas services industry, down from $137.3 million at December 31, 2015.  The collateral for this credit exposure includes primarily equipment, such as drilling equipment and transportation vehicles.  The reserves related to this credit exposure total approximately 15%. At March 31, 2016, three relationships totaling $45.5 million were on nonaccrual status and were classified, down from $47.1 million at December 31, 2015.   The largest of these relationships had an aggregate outstanding balance of $39.9 million at March 31, 2016.

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Deposits and Client Investment Funds

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

At March 31, 2016, core deposits totaled $11.0 billion, or 71% of total deposits, including $6.1 billion of noninterest-bearing demand deposits, or 40% of total deposits.

In addition to deposit products, we also offer alternative non-depository cash investment options for select clients, including investments managed by Square 1 Asset Management, Inc. (“S1AM”) our registered investment advisor subsidiary and third-party sweep products.  Total client investment funds at March 31, 2016 were $1.6 billion, of which $1.3 billion was managed by S1AM.  Approximately $184 million of client investment funds were shifted into on-balance sheet deposit products during the first quarter of 2016.

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PROVISION AND ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES

A provision for credit losses of $20.1 million was recorded in the first quarter of 2016 compared to $13.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2015.  The first quarter provision related almost entirely to Non-PCI loans and leases and increased due in part to additions to our oil and gas portfolio reserves. The allowance for Non-PCI credit losses to Non-PCI loans and leases coverage ratio increased to 0.96% at March 31, 2016 from 0.85% at December 31, 2015.

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

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All acquired loans are recorded initially at their estimated fair value including an estimate of credit losses. The table below presents two alternative views of credit risk coverage ratios for Non-PCI loans reflecting adjustments for acquired loans and associated purchase accounting discounts:

(1)  Allowance attributed to $5.5 billion and $6.0 billion of acquired Non-PCI loans at March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, based on the allowance calculation that includes an amount for credit deterioration on acquired loans and leases since their acquisition dates.

(2)  Unamortized net discount relates to $5.5 billion and $6.0 billion of acquired Non-PCI loans at March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, and is assigned specifically to those loans only.  Such discount represents the acquisition date fair value adjustment based on market, liquidity, interest rate risk and credit risk and is being accreted to interest income over the remaining life of the respective loans using the interest method.  Use of the interest method results in steadily declining amounts being taken into income in each reporting period.  The remaining discount of $78.8 million at  March 31, 2016, is expected to be substantially accreted to income by the end of 2018.

Non-PCI loans and leases at March 31, 2016 included $8.9 billion of originated loans and leases that were not obtained through acquisitions. The related allowance for loan and lease losses totaled $90.5 million, or 1.02% of the outstanding balance.

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CREDIT QUALITY

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

(1) The March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 amounts include $16.2 million and $85.2 million of acquired loans and leases with no allowance due to the effects of fair value accounting.

The following table presents Non-PCI 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)         Includes nonaccrual leases and loans to companies involved in the oil and gas industries of $45.5 million and $47.1 million at March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively.

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

(1) Represents legacy CapitalSource borrowing relationships placed on nonaccrual status as of the acquisition date.

ABOUT PACWEST BANCORP

PacWest Bancorp (“PacWest”) is a bank holding company with $21 billion in assets with one wholly-owned banking subsidiary, Pacific Western Bank (“Pacific Western”). The Bank has 80 full-service branches located throughout the state of California and one branch in Durham, North Carolina. Pacific Western provides commercial banking services, including real estate, construction, and commercial loans, and comprehensive deposit and treasury management services to small and medium-sized businesses.  Pacific Western offers additional products and services under the brands of its business groups, CapitalSource and Square 1 Bank. CapitalSource provides cash flow, asset-based, equipment and real estate loans and treasury management services to established middle market businesses on a national basis.  Square 1 Bank 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 certain plans, strategies, goals, and projections and including statements about our expectations regarding our loan and lease portfolio growth, profitability, and effective tax rates. 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. Actual results could differ materially from those contained or implied by such forward-looking statements for a variety of factors, including without limitation:

·                  changes in economic or competitive market conditions could negatively impact investment or lending opportunities or product pricing and services;

·                  credit quality deterioration or pronounced and sustained reduction in market values or other economic factors which adversely affect our borrowers’ ability to repay loans and leases;

·                  higher than anticipated delinquencies, charge-offs, and loan losses;

·                  compression of spreads on newly originated loans and leases;

·                  the impact of asset/liability repricing risk and liquidity risk on net interest margin and the value of investments;

·                  higher than anticipated increases in operating expenses;

·                  increased costs to manage and sell foreclosed assets;

·                  reduced demand for our services due to strategic or regulatory reasons;

·                  our inability to grow deposits or access wholesale funding sources;

·                  legislative or regulatory requirements or changes could negatively impact our business including an increase to capital requirements;

·                  loan repayments higher than expected;

·                  changes in tax laws or regulations affecting our business;

·                  our inability to generate sufficient earnings;

·                  tax planning or disallowance of tax benefits by tax authorities;

·                  changes in tax filing jurisdictions or entity classifications; and

·                  other risk factors described in documents filed by PacWest with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

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