Sanwa Bank Is the Largest Locally

* James Flanigan and The Times continue to perpetuate the myth that City National “is now the largest bank headquartered in this region, after the departure of the home offices of bigger institutions” [“A Big Advantage for Not-So-Big Banks,” May 26].

Sorry, but no matter how you slice it, Sanwa Bank California, which is headquartered in that 50-story building known as Sanwa Bank Plaza at the intersection of Wilshire and Figueroa in downtown Los Angeles, is indisputably the largest bank headquartered in this region, with nearly $9 billion in assets.

Your annual rankings of California banks, the official rankings from the state Department of Financial Institutions and the lists of various business publications all show Sanwa Bank California to be the largest bank headquartered in Los Angeles.

No, we are not a small foreign offshoot of our parent bank, one of the largest banks in the world, but an independent, state-chartered, FDIC-insured, full-service, U.S.-regulated bank with 107 branches stretching from San Diego to San Francisco.

KEITH H. KARPE

Vice president

Corporate communications

Sanwa Bank California

Los Angeles