Popejoy Heads Bank Formed to Shed Assets

William J. Popejoy has been named chairman of Irvine-based New West Federal Savings & Loan, a company formed several months ago for the sole purpose of liquidating more than $20 billion in troubled assets of American Savings & Loan.

New West Federal Savings and American Savings Bank are the successor companies to American Savings & Loan, which failed last fall and was later acquired by Texas billionaire Robert M. Bass as part of a government-assisted rescue. Popejoy had been chairman and chief executive of American Savings & Loan until Bass took over.

As a result of the sale to Bass, American Savings Bank assumed the healthy assets, while New West Federal Savings took over the troubled ones, which consisted mainly of money-losing mortgage-backed securities and large real estate loans that had gone into default.

Popejoy’s new job as chairman of New West Federal Saving will be a “part-time” position, according to a spokesman for Bass. Popejoy is also a director of American Savings Bank and, as previously reported, is going into business with Bass as a partner on other investments.

In other changes, William E. Griscom has been appointed president and chief executive of New West Federal. He had been chief financial officer of American Savings & Loan.