Accepting Changes, Rousselot Sees OK for Lincoln S&L; Bid

Former U.S. Rep. John H. Rousselot agreed Wednesday to more changes in his bid to acquire Lincoln Savings & Loan, and predicted that regulators would approve the sale today.

In a hand-delivered letter to the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, Rousselot agreed with bank board suggestions to give regulators the power to appoint the president and chief operating officer and four directors to the Irvine-based S&L.;

Rousselot said that he expects the three-member bank board to review his application today and approve the sale.

“This deal makes tremendous sense,” he said late Wednesday night in prepared remarks, pointing out that the deal does not require any funds from the financially strapped Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp., which insures deposits up to $100,000 per account.

“It’s inconceivable to me that the board would not act positively on this application because of the tremendous benefits to the FSLIC, the Federal Home Loan Bank system, Lincoln Savings and its depositors,” he said.

Under new terms hammered out over the weekend, Rousselot would let the bank board “pre-approve” all directors and top officers hired by Lincoln.

In Wednesday’s letter, he also agreed to let the bank board actually appoint the S&L;’s president and chief operating officer--positions filled most likely by one person--and four members of what would now be a nine-member board.

Other new terms of the deal, reported Wednesday, include a reduction in the sale price to $200 million from $288.75 million and a $50-million infusion of cash or securities into Lincoln’s capital from its parent, American Continental Corp. in Phoenix.

The S&L;, which has 29 branches throughout Southern California, is Orange County’s third largest savings institution with $5.5 billion in assets at the end of December.