Banks’ Parent Firm to Boost Loan-Loss Reserves

Ventura County National Bancorp, the Oxnard parent of Ventura County National Bank and Frontier Bank, said it would add $1.25 million to its loan-loss reserves, resulting in an operating loss for the fourth quarter.

William E. McAleer, president and chief executive, blamed the weak economy for the decision to boost loan-loss allowances. “We cannot ignore the fact that the recession is not winding down as anticipated,” he said in a statement.

In the previous quarter, the parent company had record loan charge-offs totaling about $1 million.

In the nine months that ended Sept. 30, the parent company’s earnings dropped 49% to $1.5 million from $2.9 million in the same period a year earlier.