Guardian to Consolidate Far-Flung Operations in Huntington Beach Office : BANKING/FINANCE

Guardian Savings & Loan is an institution that has been here and there.

Its main office is in Long Beach. Its administrative headquarters is in Huntington Beach. It bought a failed S&L; in Northern California. And it has 12 loan offices stretching from San Diego to Sacramento.

Some of that will change early next year when it consolidates its main office, administrative headquarters and mortgage operations in the 15-story Huntington Beach building it bought earlier this year from Charter Savings Bank for $55 million.

And the S&L; is increasing its presence in the county with the recent opening of a branch in Laguna Hills, its fifth retail branch.

“What we’re doing is returning to a traditional S&L;, offering traditional savings products and steering away from so-called banking products like credit cards, ATM (automated teller machines) machines and traditional checking accounts,” said Guy Garner, Guardian’s director of marketing.

The idea is to keep costs down and offer slightly higher rates on deposits, he said.

The S&L;, for instance, offers 8% interest on $25,000 certificates of deposits with 6-month terms. The rate is in the upper third of rates offered by S&Ls;, he said.

Also, four of Guardian’s five branches are near retirement communities, Garner said, which explains why its branches are spread among Hemet, Rancho Mirage, Long Beach and Laguna Hills. Only its Visalia office, acquired when it bought the failed Mt. Whitney Savings earlier this year, is not near a retirement community.

The 5-year-old S&L; has been built into an operation with $475 million in assets by its owners, former real estate developer Russell M. Jedinak, and his wife, Rebecca M. Jedinak. He is chairman, president and chief executive officer; she is senior executive vice president. Both are longtime residents of Huntington Beach.