BANKING / FINANCE : Despite Cutbacks and Restructuring, Boston Survives in Newport Beach

With much fanfare, the Boston Co. invaded California three years ago as part of a major effort to expand its private banking subsidiary, the Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Co., beyond New England.

Boston Safe hired some members of the Boston Pops orchestra to provide entertainment at grand opening parties at its operations headquarters in Newport Beach and at facilities in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Palo Alto.

But in the past year, cost-cutting and restructuring have hampered its style.

Recently, the 116-year-old banking concern shut its Newport Beach operations headquarters, consolidating mortgage underwriting with its Boston headquarters office and mutual funds activities with its Cleveland regional office. The West Coast operations office had about 50 employees.

In addition, the Boston Co.’s main livelihood--its asset management group--trimmed five of its 13 Newport Beach employees recently as part of a restructuring, said William O. Gamble, president of Boston Safe of California.

But at least the office survived. Earlier this month, the company closed its Palo Alto office.

“We’re not closing the Newport Beach office,” Gamble said. “We feel the Orange County and San Diego markets continue to offer tremendous opportunity to the Boston Co., and we’re dedicated to keeping a presence there.”