American Savings Takes Over Deposits

American Savings Bank has acquired $89.2 million in deposits from Encino Savings Bank in a sale forced by regulators and reopened the small thrift’s two offices Monday as American branches.

American, based in Irvine, said Friday that it will close those branches in about two months and move the deposit accounts to nearby American offices. It will hire a dozen of the 26 employees and give temporary jobs to three more. The rest will join the Resolution Trust Corp., the federal agency charged with liquidating failed thrifts.

American’s offer to pay $1.5 million for the right to the deposits was the highest of three bids turned in to regulators.

Encino Savings appeared to be solvent, with $95.8 million in loans and other assets and $90.7 million in debts and other liabilities. But regulators said many assets were troubled, and the thrift, which lost $2.1 million last year, would have failed eventually.

Instead of seizing the thrift earlier, regulators began seeking bids from other institutions, then forced the sale. The RTC will liquidate the loans and other assets at an estimated cost to taxpayers of $4.6 million.

With $17.2 billion in loans and other assets, American is the nation’s fourth-largest thrift.