UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

x                                   QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2007

OR

o                                      TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from                     to                    

Commission File Number: 00-30747

FIRST COMMUNITY BANCORP

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

(619) 233-5588

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x  No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “Accelerated Filer and Large Accelerated Filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (check one): Large Accelerated Filer x Accelerated Filer o  Non-accelerated Filer o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o  No x

As of May 1, 2007 there were 28,846,895 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding, excluding 878,813 shares of unvested restricted stock.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

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PART I—FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1.                Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

 

See “Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.”

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UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS

(1)                Less than $0.01 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2006.

See “Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.”

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UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

 

See “Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.”

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UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

 

See “Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.”

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UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

See “Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.”

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NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
MARCH 31, 2007

NOTE 1—BASIS OF PRESENTATION

We are a bank holding company registered under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended. Our principal business is to serve as a holding company for our banking subsidiary. As of March 31, 2007, our sole banking subsidiary was Pacific Western Bank, which we refer to as Pacific Western or the Bank. When we say “we”, “our” or the “Company”, we mean the Company on a consolidated basis with the Bank. When we refer to “First Community” or to the holding company, we are referring to the parent company on a stand-alone basis.

We have completed 18 acquisitions since May 2000 including the merger whereby the former Rancho Santa Fe National Bank and First Community Bank of the Desert became wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company in a pooling-of-interests transaction. All other acquisitions have been accounted for using the purchase method of accounting and, accordingly, their operating results have been included in the consolidated financial statements from their respective dates of acquisition. Please see Notes 2 and 3 for more information about our acquisitions.

(a)   Basis of Presentation

The accounting and reporting policies of the Company are in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.

Our financial statements reflect all adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary to present a fair statement of the results for the interim periods presented. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles have been condensed or omitted pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The interim operating results are not necessarily indicative of operating results for the full year.

(b)   Use of Estimates

Management of the Company has made a number of estimates and assumptions relating to the reporting of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period to prepare these consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Material estimates subject to change in the near term include, among other items, the allowance for credit losses, the carrying values of intangible assets and the realization of deferred tax assets.

(c)   Reclassifications

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year’s presentation.

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NOTE 2—ACQUISITIONS

During 2006 we completed the following three acquisitions using the purchase method of accounting, and accordingly, the operating results of the acquired entities have been included in the consolidated financial statements from their respective dates of acquisition:

 

Cedars Bank

On January 4, 2006, we acquired Cedars Bank, or Cedars, based in Los Angeles, California. We paid approximately $120.0 million in cash for all of the outstanding shares of common stock and options of Cedars. At the time of the merger, Cedars was merged into Pacific Western. We made this acquisition to expand our presence in Los Angeles, California. In January 2006, we issued 1,891,086 shares of common stock for net proceeds of $109.5 million. We used these proceeds to augment our regulatory capital in support of the Cedars acquisition.

Foothill Independent Bancorp

On May 9, 2006, we acquired Foothill Independent Bancorp, or Foothill, based in Glendora, California. We issued approximately 3,947,000 shares of our common stock to the Foothill shareholders and caused Foothill to pay $10.2 million in cash for all outstanding options to purchase Foothill common

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NOTE 2—ACQUISITIONS (Continued)

stock. The aggregate deal value was approximately $242.5 million. At the time of the acquisition, Foothill was merged with and into the Company and Foothill’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Foothill Independent Bank, was merged with and into Pacific Western. We made this acquisition to expand our presence in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties of California.

Community Bancorp Inc.

On October 26, 2006, we acquired Community Bancorp Inc., or Community Bancorp, based in Escondido, California. We issued 4,677,908 shares of our common stock to the Community Bancorp shareholders and caused Community Bancorp to pay $6.1 million in cash for all outstanding options to purchase Community Bancorp common stock. At the time of the acquisition, Community Bancorp was merged with and into the Company and Community National Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Community Bancorp, was merged with and into First National. We made this acquisition to expand our presence in the San Diego and Riverside Counties of California.

Merger Related Liabilities.

All of the acquisitions consummated after December 31, 2000 were completed using the purchase method of accounting. Accordingly, we recorded the estimated merger-related charges associated with each acquisition as a liability at closing when allocating the related purchase price.

For each acquisition, we developed an integration plan for the Company that addressed, among other things, requirements for staffing, systems platforms, branch locations and other facilities. The established plans are evaluated regularly during the integration process and modified as required. Merger and integration expenses are summarized in the following primary categories: (i) severance and employee-related charges; (ii) system conversion and integration costs, including contract termination charges; (iii) asset write-downs, lease termination costs for abandoned space and other facilities-related costs; and (iv) other charges. Other charges include investment banking fees, legal fees, other professional fees relating to due diligence activities and shareholder expenses associated with preparation of securities filings, as appropriate. These costs were included in the allocation of the purchase price at the acquisition date based on our formal integration plans.

The following table presents the activity in the merger-related liability account for the quarter ended March 31, 2007:

 

Unaudited Pro Forma Information for Purchase Acquisitions

The following table presents our unaudited pro forma results of operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2006 as if the Cedars, Foothill, and Community Bancorp acquisitions described above had been completed at the beginning of 2006. The unaudited pro forma results of operations include: (1) the historical accounts of the Company, Cedars, Foothill, and Community Bancorp; and (2) pro forma adjustments, as may be required, including the amortization of intangibles with definite lives and the

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NOTE 2—ACQUISITIONS (Continued)

amortization or accretion of any premiums or discounts arising from fair value adjustments for assets acquired and liabilities assumed. The unaudited pro forma information is intended for informational purposes only and is not necessarily indicative of our future operating results or operating results that would have occurred had these acquisitions been completed at the beginning of 2006. No assumptions have been applied to the pro forma results of operations regarding possible revenue enhancements, expense efficiencies or asset dispositions.

 

NOTE 3—GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Goodwill and intangible assets arise from purchase business combinations. Goodwill and other intangible assets deemed to have indefinite lives generated from purchase business combinations are not subject to amortization and are instead tested for impairment no less than annually. Our annual impairment tests of goodwill have resulted in no impact on our results of operations and financial condition.

The goodwill recorded has been assigned to our one reporting segment, banking, and none of the goodwill is deductible for income tax purposes. The following table presents the changes in goodwill for the quarter ended March 31, 2007:

 

Intangible assets with definite lives are amortized over their respective estimated useful lives to their estimated residual values and reviewed for impairment annually. The amortization expense represents the estimated decline in the value of the underlying deposits or loan customers acquired. The estimated aggregate amortization expense related to the intangible assets is expected to be $8.8 million for 2007. It is also estimated to range from $4.9 million to $7.7 million for each of the next five years and is expected to total $31.6 million over this time horizon. During the first quarter of 2007, we recorded a $342,000 customer relationship intangible with an estimated life of 18 months related to a $27.2 million asset-based loan portfolio purchased.

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NOTE 3—GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS (Continued)

The following table presents the changes in the gross amounts of core deposit and customer relationship intangibles and the related accumulated amortization for the quarters ended March 31, 2007 and 2006:

 

NOTE 4—INVESTMENT SECURITIES

The amortized cost, gross unrealized gains and losses and fair value of securities available-for-sale as of March 31, 2007 are as follows:

 

The contractual maturity distribution based on amortized cost and fair value as of March 31, 2007, is shown below. Mortgage-backed securities have contractual terms to maturity, but require periodic payments to reduce principal. In addition, expected maturities may differ from contractual maturities because issuers may have the right to call or prepay obligations with or without call or prepayment penalties.

 

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NOTE 4—INVESTMENT SECURITIES (Continued)

The following table presents the fair value and unrealized losses on securities that were temporarily impaired as of March 31, 2007:

 

All individual securities that have been in a continuous unrealized loss position for 12 months or longer at March 31, 2007 were securities that have been issued by U.S. agencies, municipalities and government-sponsored entities and have a AAA credit rating as determined by various rating agencies. These securities have fluctuated in value since their purchase dates because of changes in market interest rates. We concluded that the continuous unrealized loss position for the past 12 months on our securities is a result of the level of market interest rates and not a result of the underlying issuers’ ability to repay and are, therefore, temporarily impaired. In addition, we have the ability to hold these securities until their fair value recovers to their cost. Accordingly, we have not recognized the temporary impairment in our consolidated statement of earnings.

NOTE 5—NET EARNINGS PER SHARE

The following is a summary of the calculation of basic and diluted net earnings per share for the quarters ended March 31, 2007 and 2006:

(1)          Less than $0.01 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2006.

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NOTE 5—NET EARNINGS PER SHARE (Continued)

In calculating the common stock equivalents for purposes of diluted earnings per share, we selected the transition method provided by FASB Staff Position FAS123(R)-3, Transition Election Related to Accounting for the Tax Effects of Share-Based Payment Awards. Diluted earnings per share does not include all potentially dilutive shares that may result from outstanding stock options and restricted stock awards that may eventually vest. The number of common shares underlying stock options and shares of restricted stock which were outstanding but not included in the calculation of diluted net earnings per share were 829,851 and 607,363 for the quarters ended March 31, 2007 and 2006.

NOTE 6—STOCK COMPENSATION

Accounting Change

We adopted SFAS No. 123 (revised 2004), Share Based Payment (“SFAS 123R”) on January 1, 2006. SFAS 123R applies to all stock-based compensation transactions in which an entity acquires employee or director services by either issuing stock or other equity instruments, such as stock options, restricted and performance stock, and/or stock appreciation rights, or incurring liabilities that are based on an entity’s stock price, and requires entities that engage in these transactions to recognize compensation expense based on the fair value of the stock or other equity instrument either issued, modified, or settled. We adopted SFAS 123R using the modified prospective approach. Under this approach, compensation expense is recognized for (1) new share-based payment awards (e.g., stock options and restricted stock), (2) awards that are modified, repurchased, or cancelled after December 31, 2005, and (3) the remaining portion of the requisite service under previously granted unvested stock awards as of December 31, 2005.

As permitted under formerly effective accounting rules, we did not consider estimated forfeitures of stock awards during the amortization period and recognized the effect of forfeitures as they occurred. As required by SFAS 123R we recognized the cumulative effect of estimated forfeitures for unvested restricted stock awards as of December 31, 2005, by increasing our first quarter 2006 earning by $242,000. The after tax effect of this adjustment was to increase net earnings by $142,000, or less than $0.01 per diluted share. SFAS 123R also requires us to use estimated forfeitures in recognizing stock compensation expense beginning January 1, 2006, and to true-up such expense when forfeitures occur. Amortization expense for all restricted stock awards is estimated to be $8.6 million for 2007 and includes an estimate for forfeitures. As of March 31, 2007, unrecognized stock-based compensation expense was $22.1 million. When we made restricted stock awards prior to January 1, 2006, we established an unearned equity compensation contra account within our shareholders’ equity equal to the market value of our common stock underlying the award on the award date. SFAS 123R required us to eliminate the unearned equity compensation account on January 1, 2006, by reclassifying it to common stock. Such reclassification had no effect on the amount of the Company’s shareholders’ equity.

Time-based and Performance-based Restricted Stock.

At March 31, 2007, there were outstanding 378,147 shares of unvested time-based restricted common stock and 520,000 shares of unvested performance-based restricted common stock. The awarded shares of time-based restricted common stock vest over a service period of three to four years from the date of grant. The awarded shares of performance-based restricted common stock vest in full on the date the Compensation, Nominating and Governance (“CNG”) Committee of the Board of Directors, as Administrator of the Company’s 2003 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), determines that the Company achieved certain financial goals established by the CNG Committee and set forth in the grant documents. During the first quarter of 2007, the CNG Committee determined that certain financial goals were met and vested 57,500 shares of the performance-based restricted common stock awarded in 2003. The 315,000 shares of unvested performance-based restricted stock awarded in 2006 expire in 2013 and are currently

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NOTE 6—STOCK COMPENSATION (Continued)

expected to vest in the first quarter of 2013. The 205,000 shares of unvested performance-based restricted stock awarded in 2007 expire in 2017 and are currently expected to vest in the first quarter of 2017. All restricted common stock vests immediately upon a change in control of the Company as defined in the Plan. Performance-based restricted stock is forfeited if financial goals are not met during their term. Restricted stock amortization totaled $2.1 million for the first quarter of 2007 compared to $1.6 million for first quarter of 2006.

The Company’s 2003 Stock Incentive Plan permits stock based compensation awards to officers, directors, key employees and consultants. The Plan authorizes grants of stock-based compensation instruments to purchase or issue up to 3,500,000 shares of authorized but unissued Company common stock, subject to adjustments provided by the Plan. As of April 20, 2007, there were 707,896 shares available for grant under the Plan.

NOTE 7—BORROWINGS AND SUBORDINATED DEBENTURES

Borrowings.

At March 31, 2007, we had outstanding $265.0 million of term advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (the “FHLB”). The weighted average cost of these term advances was 4.88%. Of the $265.0 million outstanding, $20.0 million is scheduled to mature in May 2007 and $45.0 million will mature in December 2008.  The remaining $200 million is composed of two $100 million fixed-rate two year term advances, each with an option to be called by the FHLB on the first year anniversary dates of November and December 2007. If market interest rates are higher than the advances’ stated rates at that time, the advances will be called by the FHLB and the Bank will be required to repay the FHLB.  If market interest rates are lower at their one year anniversary date, then the advances will not be called by the FHLB.  If the advances are not called by the FHLB they will mature in November and December 2008. We may repay the advances with a prepayment penalty at any time. If the advances are called by the FHLB, there is no prepayment penalty. Our aggregate remaining secured borrowing capacity from the FHLB was $740.1 million. Additionally, the Bank maintains unsecured lines of credit of $95.0 million with correspondent banks for the purchase of overnight funds. These lines are subject to availability of funds.

The Company has a revolving credit line with U.S. Bank, N.A. for $70.0 million. The line matures on August 2, 2007 and is secured by a pledge of all of the outstanding capital stock of Pacific Western. The credit agreement requires the Company to maintain certain financial and capital ratios, among other covenants and conditions. Such covenants include minimum net worth ratios, maximum debt ratios, a minimum return on average assets, minimum and maximum credit quality ratios, and dividend payment limitations. As of March 31, 2007, we, and where applicable, Pacific Western, were in compliance with all covenants covering the agreement. We pay a quarterly fee of 25 basis points on the unused amounts. There were no amounts outstanding at March 31, 2007.

Subordinated Debentures.

The Company had an aggregate of $149.1 million subordinated debentures outstanding at March 31, 2007. The subordinated debentures were issued in nine separate series. Each issuance has a maturity of thirty years from its date of issue. The subordinated debentures were issued to trusts established by us or entities we have acquired, which in turn issued trust preferred securities, which total $141.0 million at March 31, 2007. These trust preferred securities are presently considered Tier 1 capital for regulatory purposes. With the exception of Trust I and Trust CI, the subordinated debentures are callable at par, only by the issuer, five years from the date of issuance, subject to certain exceptions. We are permitted to call the debentures in the first five years if the prepayment election relates to one of the following three events: (i) a change in the tax treatment of the debentures stemming from a change in the IRS laws; (ii) a change in the regulatory treatment of the underlying trust preferred securities as Tier 1 capital; and (iii) a requirement to register the underlying trust as a registered investment company. However, redemption in

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NOTE 7—BORROWINGS AND SUBORDINATED DEBENTURES (Continued)

the first five years is subject to a prepayment penalty. Trust I and Trust CI may not be called for 10 years from the date of issuance unless one of the three events described above has occurred and then a prepayment penalty applies. In addition, there is a prepayment penalty if either of these debentures is called 10 to 20 years from the date of their issuance and they may be called at par after 20 years. The proceeds of the subordinated debentures were used primarily to fund several of our acquisitions and to augment regulatory capital. The following table summarizes the terms of each issuance of the subordinated debentures outstanding March 31, 2007:

(1)                As described above, certain issuances may be called earlier without penalty upon the occurrence of certain events.

(2)                As of April 26, 2007; excludes debt issuance costs.

(3)                Acquired in the Foothill acquisition.

(4)                Acquired in the Community Bancorp acquisition.

(5)                Interest rate is fixed until 9/15/2010 and then is variable at a rate of 3-month LIBOR + 1.69%.

(6)                This amount represents the fair value adjustment to the four trusts that we acquired during 2006.

As previously mentioned, the subordinated debentures were issued to trusts established by us, or entities we acquired, which in turn issued $141 million of trust preferred securities. These securities are currently included in our Tier I capital for purposes of determining the Company’s Tier I and total risk-based capital ratios. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, which is the holding company’s banking regulator, has promulgated a modification of the capital regulations affecting trust preferred securities. Under this modification, beginning March 31, 2009, the Company will be required to use a more restrictive formula to determine the amount of trust preferred securities that can be included in regulatory Tier I capital. At that time, the Company will be allowed to include in Tier I capital an amount of trust preferred securities equal to no more than 25% of the sum of all core capital elements, which is generally defined as shareholders’ equity less certain intangibles, including goodwill, core deposit intangibles and customer relationship intangibles, net of any related deferred income tax liability. The regulations currently in effect through December 31, 2008, limit the amount of trust preferred securities that can be included in Tier I capital to 25% of the sum of core capital elements without a deduction for permitted intangibles. We have determined that our Tier I capital ratios would remain above the well-capitalized level had the modification of the capital regulations been in effect at March 31, 2007. We expect that our Tier I capital ratios will be at or above the existing well-capitalized levels on March 31, 2009, the first date on which the modified capital regulations must be applied.

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NOTE 8—COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCES

Lending Commitments.

Pacific Western is a party to financial instruments with off-balance-sheet risk in the normal course of business to meet the financing needs of their customers. Such financial instruments include commitments to extend credit, standby letters of credit and financial guarantees. Those instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit risk in excess of the amount recognized in the consolidated balance sheets. The contract or notional amounts of such instruments reflect the extent of involvement the Company has in particular classes of financial instruments.

Commitments to extend credit amounting to $1.2 billion were outstanding as of both March 31, 2007 and December 31, 2006. Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a customer as long as there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee. Since many of the commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements.

Standby letters of credit and financial guarantees amounting to $75.4 million and $67.9 million were outstanding as of March 31, 2007 and December 31, 2006. Standby letters of credit and financial guarantees are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. Those guarantees are primarily issued to support private borrowing arrangements. Most guarantees expire within one year from the date of issuance. The Company generally requires collateral or other security to support financial instruments with credit risk. Management does not anticipate that any material loss will result from the outstanding commitments to extend credit, standby letters of credit or financial guarantees.

The Company has investments in several small business investment companies and in low income housing project partnerships which provide the Company income tax credits. As of March 31, 2007 the Company had commitments to contribute capital to these entities totaling $1.0 million.

Legal Matters.

On June 8, 2004, the Company was served with an amended complaint naming First Community and Pacific Western as defendants in a class action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court pending as Gilbert et. al v. Cohn et al, Case No. BC310846 (the “Gilbert Litigation”). A former officer of First Charter Bank, N.A. (“First Charter”), which the Company acquired in October 2001, was also named as a defendant. That former officer left First Charter in May of 1997 and later became a principal of Four Star Financial Services, LLC (“Four Star”), an affiliate of 900 Capital Services, Inc. (“900 Capital”).

On April 18, 2005, the plaintiffs filed the second amended class action complaint. The second amended complaint alleged that the former officer of First Charter improperly induced several First Charter customers to invest in 900 Capital or affiliates of 900 Capital and further alleges that Four Star, 900 Capital and some of their affiliated entities perpetuated their fraud upon investors through various accounts at First Charter, First Community and Pacific Western with those banks’ purported knowing participation in and/or willful ignorance of the scheme. The key allegations in the second amended complaint dated back to the mid-1990s and the second amended complaint alleged several counts for relief including aiding and abetting, conspiracy, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, relief pursuant to the California Business and Professions Code, negligence and relief under the California Securities Act stemming from an alleged fraudulent scheme and sale of securities issued by 900 Capital and Four Star. In disclosures provided to the parties, plaintiffs have asserted that the named plaintiffs have suffered losses well in excess of $3.85 million, and plaintiffs have asserted that “losses to the class total many tens of millions of dollars.” On June 15, 2005, we filed a demurrer to the second amended complaint, and on

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NOTE 8—COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCES (Continued)

August 22, 2005, the Court sustained our demurrer as to each of the counts therein, granting plaintiffs leave to amend on four of the six counts, and dismissing the other counts outright.

On August 12, 2005, the Company was notified by Progressive Casualty Insurance Company (“Progressive”), its primary insurance carrier with respect to the Gilbert Litigation that Progressive had determined that, based upon the allegations in the second amended complaint filed in the Gilbert Litigation, there was no coverage with respect to the Gilbert Litigation under the Company’s insurance policy with Progressive. Progressive also notified the Company that it was withdrawing its agreement to fund defense costs for the Gilbert Litigation and reserving its right to seek reimbursement from the Company for any defense costs advanced pursuant to the insurance policy. Through December 31, 2005, Progressive had advanced to the Company approximately $690,000 of defense costs with respect to the Gilbert Litigation.

On August 12, 2005, Progressive filed an action in federal district court for declaratory relief, currently pending as Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, etc., v. First Community Bancorp, etc., et al., Case No. 05-5900 SVW (MAWx) (the “Progressive Litigation”), seeking a declaratory judgment with respect to the parties’ rights and obligations under Progressive’s policy with the Company. On October 11, 2005, the Company filed in federal court a motion to dismiss or stay the Progressive Litigation.

In November 2005, along with certain other defendants, we reached an agreement in principle with respect to the Gilbert Litigation. That agreement is reflected in a written Stipulation of Settlement dated February 9, 2007, which has been executed by all the parties to that settlement. The settlement is subject to approval by the Los Angeles Superior Court and a certain level of participation in the settlement by class members. Assuming all conditions to final consummation of the settlement are met, the Company’s contribution to the settlement will be $775,000, which was accrued in 2005.

While we believe that this settlement, if finalized, will end our exposure to the underlying claims by participating class members, we cannot be certain that all conditions to the settlement will be satisfied or that we will not be subject to further claims by parties related to the same claims who did not participate in the settlement.

In connection with the Gilbert Litigation settlement, we also reached a settlement with Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. in the Progressive Litigation. The settlement with Progressive, which includes an additional contribution by Progressive under the Company’s policy toward the settlement of the Gilbert Litigation and a dismissal by Progressive of any claims against First Community for reimbursement, is contingent upon the consummation of the Gilbert Litigation settlement.

In the ordinary course of our business, we are party to various other legal actions, which we believe are incidental to the operation of our business. Although the ultimate outcome and amount of liability, if any, with respect to these other legal actions to which we are currently a party cannot presently be ascertained with certainty, in the opinion of management, based upon information currently available to us, any resulting liability is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

NOTE 9—INCOME TAXES

We adopted the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes-an interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109 (“FIN 48”), on January 1, 2007. FIN 48 clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements in accordance with FASB Statement No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes. FIN 48 prescribes a threshold and a measurement process for recognizing in the financial statements a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. FIN 48 also provides guidance on

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NOTE 9—INCOME TAXES (Continued)

derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure and transition. We have determined that there are no significant uncertain tax positions requiring recognition in our financial statements.

Our evaluation was performed for those tax years which remain open to audit.  Open tax years subject to examination are 2003 through 2006 for federal purposes and 2002 through 2006 for state purposes. The IRS is currently examining Foothill’s income tax returns for tax years 2003 and 2004.

We may from time to time be assessed interest or penalties by taxing authorities, although any such assessments historically have been minimal and immaterial to our financial results. In the event we are assessed for interest and/or penalties, such amount will be classified in the financial statements as income tax expense.

NOTE 10—RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, Fair Value Measurements (“SFAS 157”). SFAS 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. Fair value is defined as a market-based measurement and should be determined based on assumptions that a market participant would use when pricing an asset or liability. The market participant’s assumptions should include assumptions about risk as well as the effect of a restriction on the sale or use of an asset. Additionally, this statement establishes a fair value hierarchy that provides the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets and the lowest priority to unobservable data. This statement is effective for us on January 1, 2008. We are presently reviewing the standard to determine what effect, if any, it will have on our financial condition and results of operations.

The FASB issued SFAS No. 159, The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, in February 2007. This Statement permits companies to choose to measure many financial instruments and certain other items at fair value. Once a company chooses to report an item at fair value, changes in fair value would be reported in earnings at each reporting date. SFAS No. 159 is effective for us on January 1, 2008. We are presently evaluating this Statement and have not yet decided whether we will or will not elect the fair value option for eligible items at the date of adoption.

NOTE 9—DIVIDEND APPROVAL

On May 2, 2007, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.32 per common share payable on May 31, 2007 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 16, 2007.

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