Delaware Firm Will Acquire RB Savings

Rancho Bernardo Savings Bank said Thursday that it has agreed to sell all of its stock to a private firm for about $4 million, more than twice the bank’s net worth.

American Fidelity Financial Corp., a privately held firm incorporated in Delaware, will pay about $20 per share in cash for each of RB Savings’ 200,087 shares, according to H. M. Darmstandler, the bank’s chairman.

RB Savings, with assets of about $25 million, has a net worth of $1.8 million. It began operation in September, 1983, after netting about $2 million from a $10-per-share public offering.

Darmstandler would not identify who owns American Fidelity, where it is based or what type of business it conducts.

“I’ve seen their financial (statements), know they’re solid, and they’re acceptable to regulators,” he said. The deal, he added, will be completed in six to nine months, during which time he will remain as chairman.

“We’ve built a sound financial base, and someone came along with an offer we couldn’t refuse,” Darmstandler said.

The bank will soon report a “slight loss” for 1984, Darmstandler said, because management has “been conservative and forward looking. We’ve deferred income from fees and have done some things to accrue (income). We have not tried to just make it all in a hurry.”