Palm Desert National Bank (PDNB) entered into a deal with First California Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCAL – the holding company of First California Bank) in which PDNB will sell its Electronic Banking Solutions division. The EBS division, apparently, is Palm Desert National Bank’s prepaid card division. The deal will allow First California to enter the prepaid debit card market.

Palm Desert National Bank issues a number of national prepaid debit card programs, including:

• nFinanSe Prepaid Discover Card
• nFinanSe Prepaid Debit Visa Card
• PR1MACARD Libre Prepaid MasterCard (non-reloadable)
• PR1MACARD Prepaid MasterCard (All in One Card)
• PR1MACARD Elite Prepaid MasterCard (More Flexibility)
• PR1MACARD Duo Prepaid MasterCard (Share the Advantages)
• RSVP Prepaid Debit MasterCard
• Futura Premier Prepaid MasterCard (Unlimited Usage)
• Futura Oro Prepaid MasterCard (Pay as You Go)
• The BudgetCard Prepaid MasterCard
• TransCash General Purpose Prepaid Debit Visa Card
• VARIA Prepaid MasterCard
• AchieveCard
• CARA Visa MoneyCard
• CardFlex Prepaid MasterCard

It is unclear whether any (or all) of these prepaid card programs will transfer to First California as a result of the sale. According to a press release by First California, First California will acquire Palm Desert National Bank’s EBS product and service offering and related back office operations, as well as the customer base that currently produces approximately $3 million in annual revenues from EBS products and services. First California will also assume approximately $55 million of core deposits related to the EBS division at the close of the transaction.

C.G. Kum, President and CEO of First California Financial Group stated:

This acquisition expands our product offering and enables First California to enter the prepaid debit card market. We believe the prepaid card business provides new revenue streams at attractive margins and complements our growth strategy.

First California expects this transaction to close by the end of the 2011 first quarter.