FCAL First Trust California Municipal High Income

First California Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCAL), the holding company of First California Bank, today announced, in response to PacWest Bancorp's unsolicited and highly conditional offer to acquire First California Financial Group for shares of PacWest common stock, First California stated that its Board of Directors promptly reviewed the proposal and sought further clarifying information from PacWest concerning the terms and value of the proposal and related matters. However, PacWest failed to provide satisfactory answers to those questions and refused to enter into a nondisclosure agreement that did not contain an exclusivity provision. The First California Board did not believe that it was in the best interests of stockholders to grant exclusivity to PacWest in the absence of satisfactory clarification of the terms and value of its proposal and taking into account the other strategic alternatives that First California may pursue, including discussions with third parties.

About First California First California Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCAL) is the holding company of First California Bank. Founded in 1979 and with nearly $2 billion in assets, First California serves the comprehensive financial needs of small- and middle-sized businesses and high net worth individuals throughout Southern California. Led by an experienced team of bankers, First California is committed to providing the best client service available in its markets, offering a full line of quality commercial banking products through 19 full-service branch offices in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.

For further Information: At the Company: Ron Santarosa 805-322-9333 At PondelWilkinson: Robert Jaffe/Roger Pondel 310-279-5969 Corporate Headquarters Address: 3027 Townsgate Road, Suite 300 Westlake Village, CA 91361