Consultant Hired to Help Evaluate Proposals : FCA to Take Closer Look at Merger Bids

Financial Corp. of America has hired Kaplan, Smith & Associates, a well-known consulting firm in the savings and loan industry, as financial adviser to help evaluate possible merger offers, the company said Tuesday.

FCA’s announcement follows a move earlier this month by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board to retain the New York investment banking firm of Salomon Bros. to aid in finding new capital for FCA, which is based in Irvine.

FCA is the parent firm for American Savings & Loan, the nation’s largest S&L.; American Savings’ capital is well below federal regulatory requirements.

FCA Chairman William J. Popejoy cautioned that the move to hire Kaplan, Smith does not mean that a sale is near or even that the company is aggressively looking for a buyer.

FCA has said previously that it has held preliminary sales discussions with several unidentified parties.

But, Popejoy added in a statement, “it is extremely important to us that . . . we consistently position this company to seize opportunities that may arise--particularly regarding our ability to raise capital.”

FCA also said it has weathered recent turmoil in the bond market, which has taken a beating on some days because of rising interest rates.

More than half of FCA’s $34 billion in assets were in mortgage-backed securities at the end of 1986.

“Some concerns have been expressed in the last couple of days regarding our ability to accommodate the mortgage-backed securities deterioration,” Popejoy said in his statement.

“To paraphrase Mark Twain, recent rumors of our demise are not only premature but in error. We were well prepared to handle the run-up in mortgage-backed securities rates and did so with ease.”