BANKING

Home Interstate Bancorp and CU Bancorp to Merge: The combination of the two Los Angeles-area independent banks would create a single bank with $810 million in assets and 22 branches in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties through a tax-free stock swap. Signal Hill-based Home Interstate and CU Bancorp, which is the corporate parent of California United Bank, have not determined the name of the new bank. The merger must be approved by shareholders and government regulators. CU Bancorp recently acquired Santa Ana-based Corporate Bank, which had $69 million in assets.