Crocker in Black for ‘85; Cites Loan Sales to Parent

Crocker National said the sale of the bulk of its troubled foreign and real estate loans to its parent, London-based Midland Bank, helped it post fourth-quarter and full-year profits.

Crocker National, holding company for San Francisco-based Crocker National Bank, said it earned $10 million in the fourth quarter and $38 million for all of 1985, compared to 1984 fourth-quarter losses of $216 million and total 1984 losses of $324 million.

“Crocker’s profitability was restored during 1985,” Crocker Chairman Frank V. Cahouet said. “More importantly, we substantially strengthened our balance sheet and the quality of our earnings.”

Non-performing loans totaled $254 million at year-end, compared to $1.13 billion at the end of 1984. The improvement was due primarily to the September sale of $3.1 billion in foreign loans and $442 million in troubled domestic real estate loans to Midland Bank.

The big British bank completed its purchase of all of Crocker’s common shares in May.

Because of the loan sale, Crocker’s assets on Dec. 31 were $19.2 billion, compared to $22.3 billion a year earlier.

In order to maintain a balance between deposits and loans, Crocker deliberately lowered its deposit base to $15 billion from $18 billion at the end of 1984.