For the three months ended on 30 September 2012, its net interest income was $61.2m, or 4.38% of average interest earning assets, compared to $55.8m, or 4.08%, for the same period a year ago.

Noninterest income stood at $20.1m, with an increase of 54.6%, compared to $13m for the same period a year ago.

For the nine months the company earned $73.9m, or $2.24 per diluted share, against $58.2m, or $1.77 per diluted share, for the same respective period a year ago.

The firm achieved a return on average assets of 2.2% and 1.7%, and a return on average equity of 15.7% and 12.2% for the three and nine months ended on 30 September 2012, respectively.

Pacific Capital Bancorp and its wholly owned banking subsidiary, Santa Barbara Bank & Trust manages 45 branches and $5.8bn in assets and offers banking services in the US.