HomeStreet to buy three MUFG Union branches in Calif.

HomeStreet in Seattle has agreed to buy three branches in California from U.S. Bancorp and MUFG Union Bank. 

U.S. Bancorp and MUFG Union said in a press release that the $8.6 billion-asset HomeStreet will buy locations in Big Bear Lake, Hesperia and Yucca Valley. The branches include $490 million of deposits and $22 million of loans. 

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter. The price wasn’t disclosed. 

 U.S. Bancorp, which is looking to buy MUFG Union, is selling the branches under the director of the Justice Department. 

“The addition of these … branches will bring HomeStreet’s total number of branches in southern California to 20,” Mark K. Mason, the company’s chairman, president and CEO, said in the release. 

“This acquisition will increase our customer base by [about] 16,000 customer relationships, and the additional funding will support our strategic growth,” Mason added. “HomeStreet is committed to retaining all current Union Bank employees at the … branches upon the close of the transaction.”