BANKING / FINANCE : Thrift President Puts Faith--and Cash--in His S

James P. Gough of Irvine figures he isn’t like most people who invest in savings and loans.

“I’m willing to put what I’ve got where my mouth is,” said Gough, who has been a thrift management consultant for the last five years.

Gough recently took over as president of Rancho Bernardo Savings Bank in San Diego, pledging most of the $2.5 million that he and two other investors plan to infuse into the weak thrift. He would not reveal the names of the other investors except to say that one is an Orange County resident and the other is a West German national.

The S&L; falls short of meeting the capital levels required by federal law. Gough said it needs at least $7.5 million, and perhaps more once regulators finish their routine audit of the thrift. Rancho Bernardo Savings will seek the remaining amount in a private stock offering after the regulatory review, he said.

His current role is an experiment, he said, because he is being allowed to operate Rancho Bernardo Savings before actually investing any money, as a way to stabilize the thrift and entice new investors. His group’s investment, which would give them 51% of the thrift’s stock, would be part of the private placement, he said.

At the end of June, Rancho Bernardo Savings had $124.7 million in assets. It earned $157,000 for the first six months.