Failed Banks’ Furnishings Are Up for Public Auction

It may not be what the decorator ordered, but come this weekend, shoppers looking for a bargain on used office furniture and equipment may find just what they’re looking for at a million-dollar auction.

For the second time this year, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s Southern California liquidation office is auctioning the equipment and furnishings seized by the agency from seven area banks that failed within the last three years. Proceeds from the auction will be used to reimburse the banks’ creditors, including the FDIC.

The two-day auction will start at 10 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday at the FDIC’s former offices at 150 Paularino Ave. in Costa Mesa. An FDIC spokesman said about 3,000 items--including desks, fireproof file cabinets, lamps and artwork--will be up for bid.

David Lawson, the Pasadena auctioneer who is making a repeat performance after his FDIC debut last January, said that the most expensive item on hand is a $20,000 Xerox machine. The cheapest: ashtrays and pens. Most of the items to be auctioned are from Heritage Bank of Anaheim, which was declared insolvent March 16, 1984. The six other failed banks with goods to be sold are Garden Grove Community Bank, Newport Harbour National Bank, Bank of San Marino, and West Coast Bank, American City Bank and Commercial Bank of California, all of Los Angeles.

Like the auction held earlier this year, the event is open to the public and participants will be required to put up a $100 refundable cash deposit at the door. This, says the FDIC’s Joyce Wong, is to ensure that the bidders are serious and will purchase the item for which they have successfully bid.

Wong said she expects a crowd of about 1,000 people to show up over the weekend.