The Suitors Come a-CallingOne of the popular...

The Suitors Come a-Calling

One of the popular topics of discussion among California bankers now is who might be interested in buying beleaguered First Interstate Bancorp.

Executives at the Los Angeles banking company indicate that they have no desire to sell. Still, First Interstate’s sagging stock price, caused largely by problems in its Texas and Arizona units, is triggering plenty of speculation.

Wells Fargo Chairman Carl E. Reichardt has made it clear that he might be an interested suitor, as has Security Pacific Corp.’s new chief executive, Robert H. Smith. Others often rumored include such Japanese banks as Dai-Ichi Kangyo, Fuji Bank and Bank of Tokyo (the parent of Union Bank). So are such out-of-state institutions as Citicorp in New York and North Carolina’s NCNB, once California’s interstate banking barriers drop next year.

So what about BankAmerica? In an interview with The Times last week, Chairman A. W. Clausen said First Interstate “could present something that would be of interest to us,” although he quickly added that the San Francisco bank has no deal in the works.

Clausen conceded that his statement is “a little ironic.” A little more than three years ago, First Interstate Chairman Joseph J. Pinola, no friend of Clausen’s, launched a bold takeover bid for BankAmerica for about $3.4 billion.

At the time, BankAmerica, parent of Bank of America, was struggling. It successfully spurned the bid, and has turned around, earning a record $1.1 billion last year.

First Interstate declined to comment.

A Fortunate Bunch

In yet another takeoff of a venerable financial yardstick, the Nature Conservancy recently announced its Fortunate 500, a list of rare and endangered species defended by the low-key environmental group in 1989. The lucky ones range from Rhode Island’s American burying beetle to Missouri’s Mead’s milkweed to that kindest and gentlest of reptiles, California’s desert tortoise. The Nature Conservancy has preserved millions of acres of wildlife habitat through innovative deal making with the private sector.

Learning From the Wise Guys

“Family” business takes on a whole new meaning in “Mafia Management: What the Mafia Can Teach You About Management”--64 loosely bound photocopied pages being touted by HLD Publishing in Los Angeles.

Author Hector Davila, who is also the don at HLD Publishing, says legitimate businesses may learn from the Mafia.

Using such sources as Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather,” several presidential reports on organized crime and numerous other works on the underworld, Davila attributes the mob’s success to “leadership, business cunning and decisiveness.”

But at $59.95, the price makes the book an offer you just might be able to refuse.