PacWest's $2.6B Real Estate Loan Sale Boosts Stock Gains.

PacWest Bancorp's shares rose nearly 13% after the lender announced it would sell $2.6 billion worth of its loan portfolio to Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc at a discount of nearly $200 million. The deal is expected to help the bank build its common equity tier 1 capital. The move comes as the regional banking sector grapples with its biggest crisis since 2008, and PacWest had earlier said it was exploring strategic asset sales to sharpen focus on its core business segments.