Downey S&L; Merger Approved

Federal regulators authorized Costa Mesa-based Downey Savings & Loan to merge its subsidiary, Butterfield S&L; of Santa Ana, into its operations.

The action ends the checkered history of Butterfield, once considered one of the fastest-growing and most innovative S&Ls; in the state.

In 1985, regulators declared that it was being operated in an unsafe manner and seized it. Downey, which had run Butterfield for regulators, bought the institution last year.

With the merger, Butterfield’s two offices, in Santa Ana and Lodi, will become Downey branches.