West Coast’s 1990 Loss May Be $1 Million

West Coast Bancorp, a multibank holding company, said Friday that it expects to post a loss for last year of up to $1 million because of continuing bad loan problems in its subsidiaries.

West Coast, which owns Sunwest Bank in Tustin and other financial institutions, said it had to set aside $2.9 million in the fourth quarter for possible future loan losses. The provision is the main reason that the company will post a fourth-quarter loss of $700,000 to $800,000, said John Joseph, the company’s chairman.

In the third quarter ended Sept. 30, the company socked away $3.6 million in reserves to cover possible loan losses, wiping out its profits for the year and leaving it $197,000 in the red. Its third-quarter loss alone was $904,000.

Joseph said much of the problem stems from loans made by West Coast Realty Finance, a mortgage-lending subsidiary that ceased operations in April when the market for home loans dried up. The provision for loan losses was necessary, he said, to reflect possible defaults from the economic slowdown in Southern California.

The bad news for the third and fourth quarters ruined his prediction in August that the company would post an annual profit.

West Coast also owns Heritage Thrift & Loan in Brea and Sacramento First National Bank in Sacramento.