Consolidating 3 Facilities Into 1 Would Cut Costs : Security Pacific May Join Credit Card Units

Security Pacific Corp. is evaluating plans to combine its credit card processing facilities in three states into a single location.

The three operations employ about 800 people. The largest number, 600, work at the bank’s Glendale facility. Another 150 work in Seattle, and 50 at a facility in Phoenix.

A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles-based banking company said the evaluation is expected to be completed by mid-summer and that the bank is examining several prospective sites.

The company will decide whether to consolidate its existing operations. If the decision is made to consolidate, the next step would be picking a location for the single facility.

Deborah K. Lewis, the spokeswoman, said the existing Glendale facility is only one location under consideration in California. She declined to identify the other spots in the state.

In addition, she said, Security Pacific is examining possible locations in the other four states where the company has bank subsidiaries--Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

A spokesman for Security Pacific’s Washington bank said Spokane is one of the cities being considered for a possible relocation and consolidation of the card processing operations. Two Security Pacific officials toured a building in Spokane last week as part of the search.

The credit card facilities operate around the clock, processing transactions for MasterCard and Visa cards issued by the Security Pacific banks in five states.

Security Pacific has three processing centers because its banks in California, Washington and Arizona maintain separate facilities that existed before the banks became part of the holding company.

Combining duplicate data-processing operations, such as credit card transactions, is viewed within the banking industry as an important cost-saving step, and more banks are searching for opportunities to consolidate.

Savings from such consolidations usually come from reduced expenses for equipment and locations as well as by eliminating jobs. Lewis said no decisions have been made on whether jobs would be cut in a consolidation.

First Interstate Bancorp in Los Angeles operates banks in 13 Western states, the nation’s widest geographic distribution. Consolidating its data-processing functions emerged last year as a key strategy in the company’s attempt to cut costs.