PacWest Bancorp has sold off its $3.5 billion specialty finance loan portfolio to asset manager Ares Management’s Alternative Credit arm in a bid to boost liquidity and capital.

The deal will bring PacWest Corp nearly $2 billion, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional tranches are planned in the future.

The portfolio is comprised of high quality, senior secured, asset-backed loans and is backed by consumer, auto and small business loans, timeshare receivables, asset manager and fund finance loans, and residential and commercial real estate loans.

“This transaction will improve our liquidity and capital as we continue to implement our announced strategy to return our focus to relationship-based community banking,” said PacWest Bancorp president and CEO, Paul Taylor.

California-based PacWest had been looking for strategic options to increase its liquidity in recent months, following major deposit outflows that coincided with the bankruptcies of Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank.

The lender sold a $2.6 billion portfolio of construction loans to real estate investment firm Kennedy-Wilson in May. Following that, Civic Financial Services, its property lending subsidiary, was sold to real estate loan originator Roc360.

Ares, meanwhile, remains active in the asset-backed space. In May, its US Direct Lending and Alternative Credit strategies acted as the lead arranger and junior agent for $3 billion in asset-backed and operating company financing for the acquisition of Merchants Fleet, a provider of fleet management services.

Barclays provided financing to Ares. Stephens served as financial advisor to PacWest Bancorp.