Regulators OK UnionFed Plan to Raise Capital for S & L Subsidiary

UnionFed Financial Corp., struggling for five years to pull itself out of the red, said federal regulators have approved its plan to raise at least $9 million for its beleaguered savings and loan subsidiary by the end of March.

UnionFed, based in Brea, has lost a total of $167.3 million since it restated its fiscal 1990 results. The company also said this week that it has retained the investment bank of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. to help it raise the needed cash or sell the institution.

A $26.5-million loss for the fiscal year that ended June 30 caused the company’s Union Federal Savings Bank to fall below federal requirements for capital adequacy--the amount of money investors have contributed to act as a final cushion against losses.

The thrift is also trying to dispose of $54 million worth of troubled loans and other assets. Three years ago, it had $191 million in bad assets.

Union Federal has 14 branches in Orange and Los Angeles counties with a total of $835 million in deposits.