California International Bank, NA, the nation’s first federally chartered Vietnamese-American community bank, has expanded into the San Gabriel Valley.

The company, which has operated a location in Westminster since 2005, moved its corporate headquarters to 8632 E. Valley Blvd. in Rosemead. A new bank branch has also been opened there. The 6,200-square-foot duel operation opened Monday.

“We’re excited about the move,” CEO Benjamin J. Lin said Friday. “This will allow us to connect and expand with a bigger customer base and we’ll have more opportunities to partner with other banks.”

California International’s Westminster location opened in 2005 as Saigon National Bank. The bank switched to its new name late last year to reflect its goal of serving a larger segment of the local Asian-American community.

Lin said California International will be issuing a lot of commercial loans.

“We are looking for small businesses that want real estate construction loans,” he said. “We also offer small business loans that are guaranteed by the Small Business Administration and we offer capital working loans. Our portfolio is mostly made up of commercial real estate loans.”

One thing is certain: Southern California’s Asian-American population would give California International a huge bas of potential customers.

The 2010 U.S. Census revealed that there were nearly 5.6 million Asian-Americans living in California, including 647,589 Vietnamese residents. More recent information compiled by the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership shows there are 514,450 Asian-Americans living in the San Gabriel Valley. That accounts for more than a quarter of the region’s overall population.

Karthick Ramakrishnan, a professor of political science and public policy at UC Riverside, said the bank will likely draw plenty of Asian-American customers.

“When you work with an immigrant population it helps to have support for that language because some people may be more comfortable dealing with someone who speaks their language,” he said. “And often you’ll see banks set up branches here because people from their home country are familiar with the name and it’s easier for them to transfer money to relatives back home.”

In June, California International announced that it had received a $4.5 million capital investment. The infusion, which has boosted the owners’ equity in the company by more than $14.9 million, was made through an investment by board Chairman Hien Quang Do, the bank’s largest shareholder.

The bank — which has about $60 million in assets — also disclosed that its board of directors reached agreement on an additional $4.5 million capital investment that will be made during the first quarter of fiscal 2017. That money will be used to expand the bank’s lending capacity and further strengthen its overall financial condition.

“We think the local economy is pretty healthy,” Lin said. “We’re getting a lot of requests for commercial loans to buy apartments, shopping centers and small businesses. They have high demand in this area.”