Asian bank approved

First Asian Bank, which believes it will be the first bank for Asian-Americans in Southern Nevada, has received regulatory approval needed to open for business, CEO William Chu says.

The new community bank expects to open its headquarters in late May at 2610 S. Jones Blvd. The second location, at 3911 Spring Mountain Road in the Chinatown District, will open five weeks later. The bank raised $13 million in capital and will not need more equity for a few years, Chu said.

The bank will focus on serving the 250,000 Asian-Americans living in Clark County.

The Asian-American population is growing rapidly with the influx in residents both from the Pacific Rim and other cities in the United States, Chu said.

First Asian will serve small businesses with less than $20 million in annual sales as well as doctors, lawyers and accountants.

First Asian will understand Asian cultures, Chu said. "Perhaps speaking the language will be the best financial service we can provide to them," Chu said.

The staff will include employees fluent in Chinese, Thai, Korean, Japanese and Philipino, he said.

The bank also will offer its services to non-Asians and will provide financial products for importing from or exporting to the Pacific Rim, he said. Chu mentioned that a hotel supplier, for example, intends to seek a letter of credit from First Asian for use in importing products from China.

Other products will include Small Business Administration guaranty loans, wire transfers to foreign countries and a courier service that will pick up deposits from business locations around the Las Vegas valley.

Dee Mallas is chairwoman. Other board members of First Asian are Hae Un Lee, Dr. R.D. Prabhu, Robert Iwamoto, Patricia Johnson-Barber, Nick Mallas, James Yu and John Zeigler.

The bank will employ 22 when it opens. It hired two former managers at Valley Bank, which was acquired by Community Bancorp. Dick Holtzclaw is executive vice president and chief financial officer. Mark Affeldt is chief credit officer.