An investment group headed by former U.S....

An investment group headed by former U.S. Treasury Secretary William E. Simon and Preston Martin has filed plans with the SEC to merge two California savings and loan associations it is planning to buy. The group is largely financed by Simon and operated by Martin, former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. Western Federal Savings & Loan is based in Marina del Rey, while Bell Savings & Loan Assn., declared insolvent in July, 1985, by federal regulators, is headquartered in San Mateo. “We’re hopeful to obtain (regulatory) approval to merge Bell with Western Federal,” Martin said. “This will give us a hold in two principal markets of the country--Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.”