Minsheng Bank, China's first listed non-state lender, is looking to increase its stake in San Francisco-based UCBH Holdings Inc, in order to bolster the U.S. bank's capital, Bloomberg said, citing two people briefed on the matter.

Minsheng is planning to approach U.S. regulators for approval to boost its stake in UCBH to at least 50 percent from the present 9.6 percent, the people told the news agency.

Minsheng has an option to increase its stake to about 20 percent, according to the news agency.

UCBH, which is operating under an enforcement order from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and the California Department of Financial Institutions, said last month two top executives resigned after a board audit panel raised concerns about the actions of several current and former officers.

Minsheng and UCBH could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters.

(Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

China Citigroup