California United Bank is getting ready to open its third branch after just over a year in operation. The Encino-based commercial community bank has received regulatory approval for a new branch office in Santa Clarita and expects to open the new location in the first half of next year. The branch will follow the opening in recent months of a branch in West Los Angeles. Bank officials said they chose the location because of Santa Clarita’s quality of life attributes and its business-friendly climate. “This new office reinforces the bank’s strategy to invest in areas with high growth potential,” said David I. Rainer, president and CEO of CUB. CUB’s Senior Vice President, William Sloan, who is also a resident of Santa Clarita, will oversee the management team of the new bank branch. CUB, which opened in May, 2005, totaled assets of $142.5 million as of June 30, 2006, an increase of 22 percent over the prior quarter ended March 31 and 178 percent over the comparable, year-ago quarter. Deposits as of June 30 were $98.8 million, up 32 percent from March 31. For the quarter ended June 30, CUB recorded a net loss of $618,000 or $0.18 per share, down from a loss of $666,000 or $0.19 per share in the quarter ended March 31.