Wedbush Continues to Sell Its Stock in Great American Bank
For reasons that remain unexplained, Wedbush Corp., the largest single shareholder in Great American Bank, continues to sell its stock in the weakened San Diego-based savings and loan.
According to recent filings with the government, Wedbush sold 150,000 more shares of its Great American holdings between April 24 and 27, leaving it with 3,244,323 shares, or 13.5% of the total outstanding.
The latest sale means that Wedbush has sold 830,000 Great American shares in recent weeks, reducing its stake from a peak of 4,074,023 shares held, or 17% of the total outstanding. Wedbush made two similar disclosures of having sold Great American stock on April 16 and April 24.
As was the case with the previous stock sales, Wedbush Corp. Chairman Ed Wedbush was unavailable for comment Thursday on why he sold the stock. Great American shares closed unchanged at $3 a share in New York Stock Exchange trading Thursday.
Great American, the nation’s eighth-largest S&L; with $15.9 billion in assets, last month announced a $263.4-million loss for 1989 and that its capital position has been severly weakened. The thrift faces the possibility of a regulatory seizure by the end of the year unless it can find a buyer or major investor.
Speculation on Wedbush’s motive for selling the stock ranges from the firm facing a “ margin call,” or cash payment for leveraged stock purchases, to pessimism about Great American’s chances of finding a buyer or investor.
