China Minsheng wants control of U.S. Bank UCBH Holdings

Minsheng, China’s first privately owned bank, is seeking U.S. regulatory approval to boost its holding in San Francisco- based UCBH to at least 50 percent from its current 9.6 percent, according to inside sources.The sources have declined to be identified as the talks are private. Minsheng already has an option to raise its stake to about 20 percent, according to Bloomberg News.Daniel Rosen, principal of the Rhodium Group in New York and a visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, said that Minsheng “has been the vanguard inside China in terms of trying to be more consumer-oriented,” “It doesn’t surprise me they would contemplate doubling down their position in a second-tier niche American bank like UCBH. It would be a good incremental step for them.” Increasing Minsheng’s investment would allow it to learn more about the U.S. banking market and protect its holding in UCBH. Minsheng has plowed $126 million into UCBH since October 2007 and is the bank’s biggest shareholder. UCBH stock has lost 97 percent since then, cutting the bank’s market value to $79 million. The shares advanced 13 percent yesterday.

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