BANKING

Chinese American Banks to Merge: GBC Bancorp, parent of General Bank of Los Angeles, has agreed to acquire First Public Savings Bank of Los Angeles for $38.3 million, expanding General Bank’s branches to 17 from 12 and assets to $1.2 billon from $1 billion. The deal will make GBC the biggest Chinese American-owned bank in Southern California. With the merger, GBC can grow beyond its predominantly Taiwanese immigrant customer base, which speaks the Fujian dialect, to serve First Public’s Cantonese-speaking customers. The merger is expected to be complete this summer, pending regulatory approvals.