Banking & finance.

Consolidation and record earnings were the two major themes on the L.A. banking scene in 1996, as profits soared at most banks and thrifts while the number of institutions continued to dwindle.

Consolidation is evident in the numbers: There were 111 banks headquartered in L.A. County in 1996, down by a third from only five years before.

The drop in the number of thrifts was 50 percent, with only 25 S&Ls calling L.A. County their home in 1996. That number will drop by at least one major thrift in 1997, following the pending purchase of Great Western Financial Corp. - L.A.'s second largest savings and loan - by Seattle-based Washington Mutual Inc.

Meanwhile, profits are at record levels for most banks and thrifts, sending stocks for most publicly-traded financial institutions to all-time highs over the last year and half.

The record profits are being driven by a strong local economy, which has driven down non-performing assets to six-year lows for most institutions.

The drop in non-performing assets is most pronounced for savings and loans, which were hammered hardest in the recession of the early 1990s by the high volume of home mortgage foreclosures. Non-performing assets for all L.A. County thrifts in 1996 were at less than half their levels in 1991.

Non-performing assets for banks were down an even sharper 85 percent for 1996 vs. 1991, but a large part of that decrease was fueled by the loss of L.A.'s largest bank, First Interstate Bancorp, which was acquired by San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Bank in April 1996.

First Interstate's departure caused the total figures for deposits and net income of L.A. County banks to drop sharply, even as other banks were recording both record deposit levels and record profits.

The loss of First Interstate - which had more than $50 billion in assets - means that L.A. County's largest bank is Sanwa Bank California. with a much smaller $7.7 billion in assets.

The number of banks and thrifts in L.A. County is expected to shrink even more in 1997, as relaxed interstate banking laws that took effect on June 1 allow more out-of-state players into the market.

In addition to the pending Great Western purchase by Washington Mutual. Mellon Bank of Pittsburgh has announced its intent to acquire 1st Business Bank of downtown L.A., and Bancorp Hawaii Inc. has also announced its planned purchase of CU Bancorp of Encino.

Largest Banks
L.A. County-based; ranked by assets as of June 30, 1996

                                          Assets        Deposits
Rank    Bank                           In millions    In millions

1       Sanwa Bank of California         $7,753.7       $5,879.0
2       City National Corp.               3,857.9        2,851.0
3       Imperial Bancorp                  3,080.7        2,655.7
4       East-West Bank                    1,569.1        1,192.0
5       Farmers & Merchants Bank(*)       1,522.7        1,034.2
6       Tokai Bank of California          1,491.1        1,309.2
7       Southern Pacific(**)              1,479.1        1,035.6
8       GBC Bancorp                       1,322.4        1,161.0
9       Cathay Bancorp Inc.               1,183.7        1,078.7
10      Manufacturers Bank                1,075.8          773.1
11      Citizens Business Bank            1,040.0          896.7
12      1st Business Bank                   951.7          839.4
13      California Commerce Bank            878.9          759.7
14      California United Bank              816.5          711.0
15      Community Bank                      752.6          582.4

* Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach

** Southern Pacific Thrift & Loan Association
Largest S&Ls
L.A. County-based; ranked by assets as of June 30, 1996

                                                       Assets
Rank    Bank                                      In Millions

1       Home Savings of America                     $49,506.6
2       Great Western Financial Corp.                43,720.0
3       Glendale Federal Bank                        14,456.6
4       California Federal Bank                      14,045.4
5       Coast Savings Financial                       8,350.7
6       FirstFed Financial Corp.                      4,104.9
7       Fidelity Federal Bank FSB                     3,291.6
8       Cenfed Bank                                   2,148.3
9       Pomona First Federal S&L Assoc.               2,092.5
10      Southern California S&L Assoc.                1,694.7
11      Hawthorne Financial Corp.                       761.2
12      Quaker City Federal S&L Assoc.                  725.1
13      Standard Saving Bank                            459.2
14      Highland Federal Bank FSB                       441.2
15      Topa Savings Bank                               408.3

Source: Los Angeles Business  Journal

[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]

Largest Venture Capital Firms In L.A. and Orange Counties

                                   Capital under        1996
                                     management      investments
Firm                                in millions      in millions

Chase Capital Partners                 $3,600            $725
William E. Simon & Sons LLC               500              50
Brentwood Venture Capital                 331              49
Crosspoint Venture Partners               300              55
Domain Associates                         300              25
TVM Techno Venture Management             280              10
Enterprise Partners                       215              30
Century Financial Partners Inc.           183              45
Ventana                                   170               6
Forrest Binkley & Brown                   155              24

Source: Los Angeles Business Journal