Pacific Capital Bancorp said in an Oct. 13 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the Nasdaq stock market has told it to get its stock price back above $1 before April 6, 2011, or potentially be delisted.

The Santa Barbara-based banking firm — the holding company for Santa Barbara Bank & Trust and First Bank of San Luis Obispo — has said that it intends to issue a reverse stock split in the near future, which would bring the number of outstanding shares down, and push the per-share price up.

Pacific Capital’s shares have traded below $1 since late August. The Nasdaq issues a warning after a company’s shares have traded below the $1 minimum bid for more than 30 consecutive business days.

The stock exchange will notify the bank holding company that it has achieved compliance with the stock-price rule after the firm’s shares close at $1 or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days, Pacific Capital said in SEC filings.

Pacific Capital is the largest independent banking firm in the Tri-Counties. At the end of August, it closed a $500 million recapitalization deal with the Ford Financial Fund, a Texas private equity group. The deal provided much-needed capital to the struggling firm, but also diluted existing shareholders, as the Ford group took ownership of 86 percent of the company.

Pacific Capital shares closed at 84 cents on Oct. 13.