The most troubled bank in L.A.

Meet Western Commercial Bank of Woodland Hills, with its high default rates, low asset levels, and recent regulatory warning to raise at least $10 million by next month or find a buyer. Backstory from the Business Journal:

By the end of 2007, with $75 million in loans and assets north of $90 million, the bank had become profitable. But it had come at a cost: To fund the rapidly growing loan portfolio, Western Commercial relied heavily on brokered deposits, which can be volatile and risky because they are generated by outside brokers who funnel deposit money seeking the best returns. "They didn't know their borrowers. They didn't know their depositors. They were looking for profitability instead of slow growth," said Gary Findley, a bank consultant and attorney in Anaheim who was hired to represent the bank when it was being organized. "When you go down that path of doing business with people that you really don't know and you're going outside of your market or outside of your comfort zone, sometimes you make mistakes."