Thrift Expects to Ask for Sale by Regulators : * Banking: San Clemente Savings would avoid being shut down in wake of federal officials’ rejection of its plan to raise required new capital.

Officials at San Clemente Savings Bank said Thursday that they expect to ask federal regulators to try to sell the ailing thrift in order to avoid being shut down and placed under government control.

John Polen, president of the S&L; and executive vice president of its holding company, American Pacesetter, said the arrangement was proposed by the federal Office of Thrift Supervision after it rejected the holding company’s Jan. 23 plan to raise nearly $9 million in required new capital for San Clemente Savings.

Polen said regulators told the S&L; that it would probably be placed under a government conservatorship or receivership if it does not agree to enroll in the voluntary marketing plan, called the Accelerated Resolution Program.

Under the program, which could take 90 days or more to complete, the Office of Thrift Supervision would try to sell the thrift while its branches, personnel and operations would remain intact. The idea is that a sale of the entire institution would bring more money and cost taxpayers less than if the assets were sold in bits and pieces after a government takeover.

But whatever happens, Polen said, it now is likely that the nearly $6 million that American Pacesetter has invested in San Clemente Savings “would almost certainly be lost,” resulting in a huge deficit for the company and its shareholders.

American Pacesetter common stock is thinly traded on the over-the-counter market. Shares closed at 63 cents Thursday and typically sell for well under $1.

The Irvine-based holding company acquired San Clemente Savings in 1984. The S&L;, with six offices and 70 employees, is American Pacesetter’s only asset. The thrift has about $220 million in assets.

“There is no hope for an investor,” Polen said, “so the real issue is that we are volunteering for them to market the association at a loss.”

He said American Pacesetter would have to come up with at least $8.7 million in cash to bring San Clemente Savings’ capital up to the minimum level required by federal regulators.

“But no one is investing in regulated industries these days,” Polen said.

“We think the regulators should let us continue operating and recapitalize internally rather than forcing us to liquidate and inflict a loss on the taxpayers, which is what is most likely to happen,” he said.

The Office of Thrift Supervision, however, has rejected American Pacesetter’s proposal for a self-financed financial reorganization, calling it “uncertain and problematic,” Polen said.

“They’ve already taken over all the broke S&Ls; and all the ones that have been abused and been taken advantage of by thieves, and now they are working up to associations that just don’t have enough capital,” he complained.

“We are simply victims of the slow real estate economy, and we are paying the price.”

Thrifts allowed to enroll in the voluntary sales plan typically are failing financially but have stable operations and “acceptable management,” according to federal guidelines for the program.

In December, the Office of Thrift Supervision said there were about 40 thrifts in the nation eligible for enrollment in the program.