BANC OF CALIFORNIA, INC.

Major Shareholding Notification • Oct 27, 2023

SC 13G 1 eps11015_banc.htm Field: Rule-Page

Field: /Rule-Page

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 13G

Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

**(Amendment No. ) ***

Banc of California, Inc. (BANC)
(Name of Issuer)
Common Stock
(Title of Class of Securities)
05990K 10 6
(CUSIP Number)
10/25/2023
(Date of Event Which Requires Filing of this Statement)

Check the appropriate box to designate the rule pursuant to which this Schedule is filed:

☐	Rule 13d-1(b)
☑	Rule 13d-1(c)
☐	Rule 13d-1(d)

• The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting person’s initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information which would alter the disclosures provided in a prior cover page.

The information required in the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be “filed” for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes).

Field: Rule-Page

Field: /Rule-Page Field: Page; Sequence: 1

Field: /Page

CUSIP No . 05990K 10 6 Page 2 of 11

1	NAME OF REPORTING PERSONS I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSONS (ENTITIES ONLY)		FJ Capital Management LLC
2	CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP		(a) ☑ (b) ☐
3	SEC USE ONLY
4	CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION		Delaware
NUMBER OF SHARES	5	SOLE VOTING POWER
BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY	6	SHARED VOTING POWER	2,860,653 (1)
EACH REPORTING	7	SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
PERSON WITH:	8	SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER	2,860,653 (1)
9	AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON		2,860,653 (1)
10	CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW 9 EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES		☐
11	PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW 9		5.02%
12	TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON		IA

Field: Rule-Page

Field: /Rule-Page

(1) Consists of 2,318,377 shares of common stock of the Issuer held by Financial Opportunity Fund LLC, 100,068 shares of common stock of the Issuer held by Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC, and 4,380 shares of common stock of the Issuer held by Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC Series 2 - FinTech, of which FJ Capital Management LLC is the managing member, and 437,828 shares of common stock of the Issuer held by managed accounts that FJ Capital Management LLC manages; as such, the Reporting Person may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of reported shares but as to which the Reporting Person disclaims beneficial ownership.

Field: Page; Sequence: 2

Field: /Page

CUSIP No . 05990K 10 6 Page 3 of 11

1	NAME OF REPORTING PERSONS I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSONS (ENTITIES ONLY)		Financial Opportunity Fund LLC
2	CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP		(a) ☑ (b) ☐
3	SEC USE ONLY
4	CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION		Delaware
NUMBER OF SHARES	5	SOLE VOTING POWER
BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY	6	SHARED VOTING POWER	2,318,377 (1)
EACH REPORTING	7	SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
PERSON WITH:	8	SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER	2,318,377 (1)
9	AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON		2,318,377 (1)
10	CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW 9 EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES		☐
11	PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW 9		4.07%
12	TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON		OO

Field: Rule-Page

Field: /Rule-Page

(1) Consists of 2,318,377 shares of common stock of the Issuer held by Financial Opportunity Fund LLC.

Field: Page; Sequence: 3

Field: /Page

CUSIP No . 05990K 10 6 Page 4 of 11

1	NAME OF REPORTING PERSONS I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSONS (ENTITIES ONLY)		Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC
2	CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP		(a) ☑ (b) ☐
3	SEC USE ONLY
4	CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION		Delaware
NUMBER OF SHARES	5	SOLE VOTING POWER
BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY	6	SHARED VOTING POWER	100,068 (1)
EACH REPORTING	7	SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
PERSON WITH:	8	SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER	100,068 (1)
9	AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON		100,068 (1)
10	CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW 9 EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES		☐
11	PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW 9		0.18%
12	TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON		OO

Field: Rule-Page

Field: /Rule-Page

(1) Consists of 100,068 shares of common stock of the Issuer held by Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC.

Field: Page; Sequence: 4

Field: /Page

CUSIP No . 05990K 10 6 Page 5 of 11

1	NAME OF REPORTING PERSONS I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSONS (ENTITIES ONLY)		Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC – Series 2 FinTech
2	CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP		(a) ☑ (b) ☐
3	SEC USE ONLY
4	CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION		United States
NUMBER OF SHARES	5	SOLE VOTING POWER
BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY	6	SHARED VOTING POWER	4,380 (1)
EACH REPORTING	7	SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
PERSON WITH:	8	SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER	4,380 (1)
9	AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON		4,380 (1)
10	CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW 9 EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES		☐
11	PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW 9		0.01%
12	TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON		OO

Field: Rule-Page

Field: /Rule-Page

(1) Consists of 4,380 shares of common stock of the Issuer held by Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC – Series 2 FinTech.

Field: Page; Sequence: 5

Field: /Page

CUSIP No . 05990K 10 6 Page 6 of 11

1	NAME OF REPORTING PERSONS I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSONS (ENTITIES ONLY)		Martin Friedman
2	CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP		(a) ☑ (b) ☐
3	SEC USE ONLY
4	CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION		Delaware
NUMBER OF SHARES	5	SOLE VOTING POWER
BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY	6	SHARED VOTING POWER	2,860,653 (1)
EACH REPORTING	7	SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
PERSON WITH:	8	SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER	2,860,653 (1)
9	AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON		2,860,653 (1)
10	CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW 9 EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES		☐
11	PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW 9		5.02%
12	TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON		IN

Field: Rule-Page

Field: /Rule-Page

(1) Consists of 2,318,377 shares of common stock of the Issuer held by Financial Opportunity Fund LLC, 100,068 shares of common stock of the Issuer held by Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC, and 4,380 shares of common stock of the Issuer held by Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC Series 2 - FinTech, of which FJ Capital Management LLC is the managing member, and 437,828 shares of common stock of the Issuer held by managed accounts that FJ Capital Management LLC manages. Martin Friedman is the Managing Member of FJ Capital Management LLC; as such, Mr. Friedman may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of reported shares but as to which Mr. Friedman disclaims beneficial ownership.

Field: Page; Sequence: 6

Field: /Page

CUSIP No . 05990K 10 6 Page 7 of 11

Item 1(a).	Name of Issuer:
	Banc of California, Inc. (BANC)
Item 1(b).	Address of Issuer’s Principal Executive Offices:
	3 MacArthur Place
	Santa Ana, CA 92707
Item 2(a).	Name of Person Filing:
	This Schedule 13G is being filed on behalf of the following Reporting
Persons: Financial Opportunity Fund LLC Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC – Series 2 FinTech FJ Capital Management LLC Martin Friedman
Item 2(b).	Address of Principal Business Office or, if None, Residence:
	FJ Capital Management LLC 7901 Jones Branch Drive, Suite 210 McLean, VA 22102 Financial Opportunity Fund LLC 7901 Jones Branch Drive, Suite 210 McLean, VA 22102 Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC 7901 Jones Branch Drive, Suite 210 McLean, VA 22102 Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC – Series 2 FinTech 7901 Jones Branch Drive, Suite 210 McLean, VA 22102 Martin Friedman 7901 Jones Branch Drive, Suite 210 McLean, VA 22102
Item 2(c).	Citizenship:
	Financial Opportunity Fund LLC, Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund
LLC, Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC – Series 2 FinTech, and FJ Capital Management LLC – Delaware limited liability
companies Martin Friedman – United States citizen

Field: Page; Sequence: 7

Field: /Page

CUSIP No . 05990K 10 6 Page 8 of 11

Item 2(d).
	Common Stock
Item 2(e).	CUSIP Number:
	05990K 10 6
Item 3.	If This Statement is Filed Pursuant to §§240.13d-1(b), or 240.13d-2(b) or (c), Check Whether the Person Filing is a:

(a)	☐	Broker or dealer registered under Section 15 of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78o).
(b)	☐	Bank as defined in Section 3(a)(6) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78c).
(c)	☐	Insurance company as defined in Section 3(a)(19) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78c).
(d)	☐	Investment company registered under Section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-8).
(e)	☐	An investment adviser in accordance with §240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(E);
(f)	☐	An employee benefit plan or endowment fund in accordance with §240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(F);
(g)	☐	A parent holding company or control person in accordance with §240.13d-1(b)(ii)(G);
(h)	☐	A savings association as defined in Section 3(b) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813);
(i)	☐	A church plan that is excluded from the definition of an investment company under Section 3(c)(14) of the Investment Company Act (15 U.S.C. 80a-3);
(j)	☐	Group, in accordance with §240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(J).

Item 4.
Provide the following information regarding the aggregate number and percentage of the class of securities of the issuer identified in Item 1.

(a)
FJ Capital Management LLC – 2,860,653 shares Financial Opportunity Fund LLC – 2,318,377 shares Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC – 100,068 shares Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC – Series 2 FinTech –
4,380 shares Martin Friedman – 2,860,653 shares

Field: Page; Sequence: 8

Field: /Page

CUSIP No . 05990K 10 6 Page 9 of 11

(b)	Percent of class:
	FJ Capital Management LLC – 5.02% Financial Opportunity Fund LLC – 4.07% Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC – 0.18% Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC – Series 2 FinTech – 0.01% Martin Friedman – 5.02%
(c)	Number of shares as to which such person has:
	(i)	Sole power to vote or to direct the vote
		All Reporting Persons - 0
	(ii)	Shared power to vote or to direct the vote
		FJ Capital Management LLC – 2,860,653 shares Financial Opportunity Fund LLC – 2,318,377 shares Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC – 100,068 shares Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC – Series 2 FinTech –
4,380 shares Martin Friedman – 2,860,653 shares

(iii)	Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of
	All Reporting Persons – 0
(iv)	Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of
	FJ Capital Management LLC – 2,860,653 shares Financial Opportunity Fund LLC – 2,318,377 shares Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC – 100,068 shares Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC – Series 2 FinTech –
4,380 shares Martin Friedman – 2,860,653 shares

Item 5.	Ownership of Five Percent or Less of a Class.
	If this statement is being filed to report the fact that as of the date hereof the reporting person has ceased to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent of the class of securities, check the following ☐
Item 6.	Ownership of More than Five Percent on Behalf of Another Person.
	N/A.
Item 7.	Identification and Classification of the Subsidiary Which Acquired the Security Being Reported on by the Parent Holding Company or Control Person.
	N/A

Field: Page; Sequence: 9

Field: /Page

CUSIP No . 05990K 10 6 Page 10 of 11

Item 8.	Identification and Classification of Members of the Group.
	Due to the relationships among them, the reporting persons hereunder may be deemed to constitute a “group” with one another for purposes of Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Item 9.	Notice of Dissolution of Group.
	N/A
Item 10.	Certification.
	By signing below I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the securities referred to above were not acquired and are not held for the purpose of or with the effect of changing or influencing the control of the issuer of the securities and were not acquired and are not held in connection with or as a participant in any transaction having such purpose or effect.

Field: Page; Sequence: 10

Field: /Page

CUSIP No . 05990K 10 6 Page 11 of 11

After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, I certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.

Date: 10/26/2023 Financial Opportunity Fund LLC By: FJ Capital Management LLC, its Managing Member By: /s/ Martin Friedman Name: Martin Friedman Title: Managing Member Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC By: FJ Capital Management LLC, its Managing Member By: /s/ Martin Friedman Name: Martin Friedman Title: Managing Member Financial Opportunity Long/Short Fund LLC – Series 2 FinTech By: FJ Capital Management LLC, its Managing Member By: /s/ Martin Friedman Name: Martin Friedman Title: Managing Member FJ Capital Management LLC By: /s/ Martin Friedman Name: Martin Friedman Title: Managing Member /s/ Martin Friedman MARTIN FRIEDMAN