BANKING / FINANCE : American Interstate Restates Earnings, Posts $298,000 Loss

American Interstate Bank, which has been in and out of trouble over the past decade, has restated its earnings for last year to report a loss of $298,000, and more red ink is expected to be added to last year’s figures.

The 18-year-old Newport Beach bank originally had posted net income of $229,000. The reversal reduces the total profit for the 37 independent banks based in Orange County last year to $47.4 million.

The major reason for the bank’s restated financial results is its decade-long problem asset, a condominium-and-country club project in Prescott, Ariz., said Donald L. Solsby, the bank’s president and chief executive.

In 1980, a $6-million real estate development loan package to a builder in Prescott went sour, and the bank foreclosed on the property. It has spent the last decade building, managing and marketing the complex.

Solsby attributed the change in fortunes mostly to a $300,000 write-down in the value of the property, together with management and legal fees related to the project.

Solsby said American Interstate hopes to sell the Prescott property soon, adding more red ink to last year’s figures. He said the bank expects to turn the corner once it sells the Prescott property.