BANKING / FINANCE

First American Financial Corp. shareholders approved the creation of a new class of common stock, entitled Class B Common, but the Santa Ana company has not decided how it will use the new stock.

The Class B stock could be used for corporate financing, acquisition funding or paying dividends to existing shareholders of its Class A Common, said William G. Zaenglein Jr., the company’s secretary and counsel.

The 12 million shares of authorized Class B stock will carry all the rights of Class A stock, except that it will have one-tenth of a vote per share. The 5.9-million shares of Class A stock carry a full vote per share.

No Class B stock has been issued yet.