Los Alamitos : Capital Buys Insolvent Orange Coast Thrift

Orange Coast Thrift & Loan Assn., which was shut down Friday for insolvency, will reopen Monday under new ownership, an official of the state Department of Corporations said Saturday.

Dale Lucas said a bid by Capital Thrift & Loan was approved Saturday and the savings and loan will operate under that name beginning Monday.

Lucas said he did not know the purchase price but said that Capital Thrift & Loan, based in Napa, is worth in excess of $50 million and operates 16 offices statewide.

Orange Coast Thrift & Loan Assn. was declared insolvent after state and federal examiners completed an audit that showed that the company had $12.5 million in assets, $11 million in total loans and a negative net worth of $1.5 million.

The institution was shut on Friday when auditors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. began a review of the thrift and loan’s records. Lucas said that review would be completed by the time the business reopens Monday under new ownership.

Orange Coast, the first California thrift and loan to face closure since 1984, engaged in “inadequate lending policies” that spawned its demise, Lucas said.

Orange Coast had 1,100 customers, none of whom had more than $100,000 deposited. Had no buyer been found, the FDIC would have paid the depositors.