2 County Firms Rank High on List of U.S. Venture Capital Companies : BANKING/FINANCE

Orange County’s growing group of venture capital firms includes two companies that make a lot of investments, according to the June issue of Venture magazine.

California’s largest venture capital firm--in terms of total investments made in 1987--is Security Pacific Capital in Costa Mesa, according to Venture.

The company, a subsidiary of Security Pacific Corp., put $107.9 million into 62 deals last year, the magazine said. And that was enough to rank it fifth on Venture’s list of the nation’s top 100 venture firms. The company was seventh on the nationwide list last year.

Moving up dramatically on the list was First Interstate Venture Capital in Newport Beach, which shot to 31st place from 90th the previous year. The firm, a subsidiary of First Interstate Bancorp, invested $31.3 million in 15 deals last year.

The two Orange County-based venture firms are among 24 California companies in the nation’s top 100.