Hearing Date Set on Keating Bail Appeal : Thrifts: The Arizona businessman is being held on securities fraud charges.

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Los Angeles County authorities to explain at a hearing why there should be a $5-million bail set on businessman Charles H. Keating Jr., who has been jailed since he was indicted a month ago on state securities fraud charges.

In a brief order, U.S. District Court Judge John G. Davies set the hearing for 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

Judge Davies’ decision came after the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed a response Tuesday to Keating’s petition to reduce or lift the high bail.

Keating had gone through the state appellate system seeking a review of the bail set by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. A state Court of Appeal panel refused to lower bail and the state Supreme Court refused to hear the case.

Keating, 66, is the former chairman of American Continental Corp. in Phoenix, which owned Lincoln Savings & Loan in Irvine. The company filed for bankruptcy in April, 1989, and regulators seized Lincoln the next day.

The company sold nearly $200 million in debt securities through Lincoln’s 29 Southern California branches, and the small investors who bought the bonds say they were misled into believing that the bonds were safe and insured.

The 42-count indictment accuses Keating and three others of providing investors with false and misleading information and violating other state laws in selling the bonds. The bonds have become worthless since the collapse of the company and the S&L.;

A trial is tentatively set for Nov. 26. But both the Los Angeles County Superior Court trial judge and defense attorneys said they doubted a trial could begin that soon.