IT'S OVER; L.A. LOSING 5TH BANK IN '90S : STATE'S LARGEST FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer When Seattle-based Washington Mutual “WaMu” redirects here. For the Washington, DC radio station, see WAMU. Washington Mutual (or WaMu; NYSE: WM) is the United States' largest savings and loan association. completes its $6.9 billion buyout of Great Western Financial in a few weeks, it will mark the fifth time that the city of Los Angeles
Great Western's current headquarters in Chatsworth, containing 1 million square feet on a sprawling 57-acre campus, may continue to operate as Washington Mutual's California headquarters. Or Washington Mutual could select the Irvine offices occupied by its American Savings subsidiary to run its Golden State operations. Either way, the largest financial institution based within Los Angeles' city limits will be Coast Savings Financial with assets of $8.7 billion - the nation's 14th-largest savings and loan savings and loan n. a banking and lending institution, chartered either by a state or the Federal government. Savings and loans only make loans secured by real property from deposits, upon which they pay interest slightly higher than that paid by most banks. . Great Western is currently the city's largest bank or S&L, with assets of $43 billion. ``I think the absence of a major bank is very disquieting dis·qui·et tr.v. dis·qui·et·ed, dis·qui·et·ing, dis·qui·ets To deprive of peace or rest; trouble. n. Absence of peace or rest; anxiety. adj. Archaic Uneasy; restless. for a lot of people,'' said Jack Kyser, an economist with the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Economic Development Corp. ``It stings our pride because we style ourselves as a major international business center.'' Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or has sustained two big bank hits in recent years. The first came in 1992 when Security Pacific was bought out by San Francisco-based BankAmerica Corp. for $4.5 billion - at the time, the biggest bank buyout in U.S. history. The second came last year when San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Wells Fargo armored carriers of bullion. [Am. Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 1147] See : Protectiveness Wells Fargo company that handled express service to western states; often robbed. [Am. Hist. bought First Interstate Bancorp First Interstate Bancorp was a bank based in the United States that was taken over in 1996 by Wells Fargo. It was headquartered in Los Angeles. The name has continued to be used in the banking world by used after the merger by First Interstate Bank who had been using the for $13 billion, the current U.S. record. Those moves left hundreds of thousands of square feet of prime downtown commercial space on the market. ``The Security Pacific and First Interstate (deals) were body blows to the downtown market,'' said Bill Boyd Bill Boyd is:
For example, while rates for Class A office space in downtown range from $21 to $23 a square foot, Glendale's is in the $26 to $27 range. Of course, Glendale benefits from its proximity to Burbank and its growing entertainment companies. The other departures from Los Angeles included H.F. Ahmanson, Great Western's failed suitor SUITOR. One who is a party to a suit or action in court. One who is a party to an action. In its ancient sense, suitor meant one Who was bound to attend the county court, also, one who formed part of the secta. (q.v.) , which switched its downtown headquarters to suburban Irwindale a decade ago; and California Federal, which had been based in the Mid-Wilshire district but was bought out by Ronald Perelman's Dallas-based First Nationwide Bank this year. The exodus of banking headquarters has meant fewer jobs. Los Angeles County saw the number of financial-services jobs fall from 278,000 to 217,000 last year. ``Those losses were a major foot on the brake in slowing down this area's recovery,'' Kyser said. Still, many major banks based elsewhere have stepped up their presence in Los Angeles, Kyser noted, and pointed out that BankAmerica Chairman David Coulter said recently he is buying a house in Los Angeles and plans to spend several months in town each year. ``The California economy is back all the way and banks understand that they need a presence in the (Los Angeles) region,'' he said. The 15 largest financial institutions in California,X with assets in billions. Name Headquarters Assets 1. Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC TYO: 8648 ) is the largest commercial bank in the United States in terms of deposits, and the largest company of its kind in the world. San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden $180.5 2. Wells Fargo Bank San Francisco $99.2 3. H.F. Ahmanson & Co. Irwindale $49.6 4. Great Western Chatsworth $40.1 5. Golden West Financial Oakland $37.7 6. Union Bank of California Union Bank of California is one of the 30 largest commercial banks in the United States. It has 327 branches, the majority of which are in San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange Counties. San Francisco $29.2 7. CitibankXX San Francisco $16.8 8. Glendale Federal Bank Glendale $15.1 9. Coast Federal Bank Los Angeles $8.7 10. Sanwa BankXX San Francisco $7.8 11. Downey Savings & Loan Newport Beach Newport Beach, residential and resort city (1990 pop. 66,643), Orange co., S Calif., on Newport Bay and the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1906. It is a popular seaside resort and yachting center. Manufactures include electrical and medical equipment, computers, boats, and adhesives. $5.2 12. Bank of the West San Francisco $5.1 13. Sumitomo BankXX San Francisco $5 14. CityNational Bank Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. $4.17 15. First Federal Bank of CA Santa Monica $4.15 XAs of Dec. 31, 1996 XX Major subsidiary of a non-California company SOURCE: The Bauer Group LARGEST U.S. THRIFTSX The 15 largest savings and loans in the United States, with assets in billions. Company Headquarters Assets 1. Washington Mutual-Great WesternXX Seattle $87 2. H.F. Ahmanson & Co. Irwindale $49.6 3. Golden West Financial Oakland $37.7 4. First Nationwide Dallas $31 5. Dime Bancorp New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of $19.5 6. Standard Federal Troy, Mich. $15.7 7. Glendale Federal Glendale $15.1 8. Charter One Financial Cleveland$13.9 9. GreenPoint Financial New York $13.3 10. Sovereign Bancorp Wyomissing, Pa. $12.4 11. Bank United Houston $11.1 12. Guaranty Federal Dallas $10.6 13. Coast Federal Los Angeles $8.7 14. Roosevelt Financial Chesterfield, Mo. $7.8 15. People's Bank Bridgeport, Conn. $7.6 X As of Dec. 31, 1996 XX Assuming Great Western shareholders approve friendly merger with Washington Mutual. SOURCE: SNL SNL Saturday Night Live SNL Sandia National Laboratories SNL School for New Learning (Depaul University) SNL Springfield News-Leader (Missouri newspaper) SnL Sweet N Low SNL Standard Nomenclature List Securities The 4-Month Soap Opera Feb. 17 - H.F. Ahmanson & Co., the Irwindale-based parent of Home Savings of America, offers to buy Great Western Financial Corp., the Chatsworth-based parent of Great Western Bank, for $6 billion. Great Western officials are cool to the offer. March 3 - Ahmanson begins mailing consent forms to Great Western shareholders, asking them to approve proposals that include quickly rescheduling a postponed annual shareholders meeting. Ahmanson plans to nominate three candidates to the Great Western board of directors who are friendly to its merger proposal. March 6 - Great Western Financial Corp. agrees to be bought by Washington Mutual Inc. of Seattle for $6.57 billion. March 10 - Ahmanson executives fight back by telling industry analysts that Washington Mutual exaggerated the benefits of the merger. March 17 - Ahmanson raises its hostile bid to $6.6 billion, topping Washington Mutual's offer. March 26 - Great Western's board of directors rejects Ahmanson's sweetened sweet·en v. sweet·ened, sweet·en·ing, sweet·ens v.tr. 1. To make sweet or sweeter by adding sugar, honey, saccharin, or another sweet substance. 2. To make more pleasant or agreeable. bid. April 3 - The Los Angeles City Council  The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. votes to oppose an Ahmanson takeover of Great Western, fearing that the union could lead to more job losses and branch closings in the area than a marriage with Washington Mutual. April 9 - Ahmanson says it has enough Great Western shareholder support to force a board meeting on its merger proposal by May 6. April 24 - Great Western accuses Ahmanson of double-counting more than 5 million votes in a referendum designed to force management to negotiate. May 2 - Great Western and Ahmanson agree to a recount. May 5 - A majority of Great Western shareholders support three of five proposals put forward by Ahmanson dealing with rescheduling of the annual meeting, preventing the board from ending the meeting before all business is discussed and restricting Great Western's board from modifying bylaws The rules and regulations enacted by an association or a corporation to provide a framework for its operation and management. Bylaws may specify the qualifications, rights, and liabilities of membership, and the powers, duties, and grounds for the dissolution of an . May 13 - Great Western schedules a shareholder vote on the Washington Mutual merger for June 13, the same day as its annual meeting. Ahmanson challenges the date in court, asking that it be held six weeks after the annual meeting. Also, the Securities and Exchange Commission approves Washington Mutual's acquisition of Great Western. Monday - Ahmanson warns that Washington Mutual may not be able to close Mits buyout of Great Western as quickly as promised, due to possible regulatory concerns. Washington Mutual says Ahmanson's attempt was a ``blatant effort to mislead investors.'' Tuesday - A Delaware court rejects Ahmanson's request to delay the June 13 meeting, at which Great Western stockholders will vote on the Washington Mutual merger. The delay would have given Ahmanson time to seat its own nominees on Great Western's board of directors before a merger vote could be taken. Wednesday - Ahmanson gives up on its takeover of Great Western. SOURCE: Daily News Research CAPTION(S): Photo, Box, 2 Charts Box: (Color) H.F. Ahmanson withdrew its hostile bid for Chatsworth-based Great Western Financial on Wednesday, paving the way for a friendly $6.8 billion takeover by Washington Mutual. Main News Photo: (Color) Washington Mutual has yet to decide what it will do with Great Western's offices in Chatsworth. Myung J. Chun/Daily News Chart: (1--Color) STATE'S LARGEST FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS (See text) (2--Color) LARGEST U.S. THRIFTS (See text) |
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