Hall Seeks to Refinance Loans With Westwood S

A large land syndication firm in Dallas known as Hall Financial Group is trying to refinance about $181 million in commercial and residential real estate loans that it obtained through Westwood Savings & Loan Assn., it was disclosed Monday.

Westwood is the lead lender on these properties, though “the majority” of the loan money came from about nine other investors, Westwood Savings executive Joan Williams said in a telephone interview. Williams said the other investors include financial institutions in California, but she declined to name them.

The move is part of Hall Financial’s effort to renegotiate the interest rates for loans on dozens of properties in cities throughout the Sun Belt, including Houston, Dallas and Phoenix. The move also appears symptomatic of the problems at many S&Ls; today, including Westwood Savings, whose loan portfolios have grown enormously in recent years.

“One by one, they are having problems,” said Sal Serrantino, a savings and loan consultant based in Santa Monica. “It has turned out to be uncontrolled growth.”

Craig Hall, chairman of Hall Financial, disclosed in a letter to investors last month that he may, as a last resort, seek bankruptcy protection if lenders do not go along with his requests. The company invests in real estate through limited partnerships that raise money from private investors.

“In some severe instances, we may initiate bankruptcy actions by the partnerships to forestall a foreclosure,” Hall wrote. “Although this is a drastic step which we have never taken in the past, it is a powerful negotiating procedure to induce a lender to negotiate in good faith.”

Williams confirmed that loan negotiations are now under way with Hall Financial, but she declined to be more specific. Hall declined to be interviewed.

Westwood Savings lost $1.76 million in the third quarter of 1985, the latest period for which figures are available, according to an earnings report on file at the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. Westwood Savings has six branch offices in some of the most affluent parts of the Los Angeles area.

The S&L;’s assets stood at $679 million on Sept. 30, more than double what they were two years ago. Its regulatory net worth was 2.72% of its assets, below the 3% level required by savings and loan regulators, the records show.

Westwood Savings is the successor firm to California Women’s Savings & Loan Assn., a financial institution founded in 1978 to help women obtain credit and other financial services.

According to consultant Serrantino, California Women’s Savings was bought in the early 1980s by real estate developer Edward Israel, who remains company chairman. Israel was not available for comment Monday.