First Executive in No Instant Danger, Chief Says : Insurance: Fred Carr says a restructuring being planned at the big Los Angeles holding company is not an emergency.

First Executive Corp. confirmed Thursday that it is hastening work on a major restructuring plan that will involve not only a renegotiation of bank debt but also further measures designed to put the life insurance holding company on a sound footing.

Fred Carr, chairman and chief executive of the big Los Angeles-based firm, confirmed that it has been holding intensive meetings with commercial and investment bankers during the past two weeks.

However, in the company’s first public comment since it was disclosed this week that First Executive had notified the Securities and Exchange Commission that it expects to call a special meeting of shareholders, Carr denied in an interview that First Executive is in any imminent danger.

Carr also strongly denied that negotiations on the restructuring are taking place in a crisis atmosphere. “It is true that we are accelerating the process,” Carr said. But he added: “We have gone about it very tediously” and deliberately. He said it isn’t urgent that the talks be concluded quickly.

Separately, sources confirmed Thursday that the investment banking firm Kidder, Peabody & Co. has been involved in the talks on restructuring and may soon be hired officially by First Executive to handle part of it. The sources also said that Kidder’s parent company, General Electric, has been consulted and is considering an investment that would be part of the First Executive restructuring plan. GE so far hasn’t confirmed publicly that it is contemplating any role in the restructuring.

Carr refused to say anything specific about when he expects a plan to be announced. “We have been working with the (commercial) bank group and believe that they have been very constructive,” he said. “We hope that over the course of the next few months, we’ll be able to present a program to our various constituencies.”

He refused to give any details about the purpose of the special shareholders meeting. As reported, sources have said the meeting will be necessary to approve elements of the plan. One source Thursday said First Executive had filed preliminary proxy material with the SEC for a meeting as a way to spur the banks and other parties to reach an agreement quickly.

First Executive, the parent of Executive Life and Executive Life of New York, has been hit hard by the declining value of its enormous junk bond portfolio. The parent firm also has disclosed that it may have to suspend dividend payments on its preferred stock and might be in danger of defaulting on $275 million of bank debt. Regulators are refusing to let the parent company withdraw profits from the insurance units.

Carr said Thursday, however, that the next payment on the debt, $46 million, isn’t due until March. He said the company has enough cash on hand to cover it. “Because we have adequate funds to meet the 1991 payment, we have no immediate concerns,” he said.

The true state of First Executive’s finances has been the subject of much debate, however. On Wednesday, the rating agency Standard & Poor’s again substantially lowered its ratings on a variety of First Executive securities and insurance.