Household Bank: The Irvine thrift, Orange County’s...

Household Bank: The Irvine thrift, Orange County’s second largest, completed the sale of its California branches to Home Savings of America for an estimated $50 million to $55 million. Home Savings, the nation’s largest S & L, picked up 51 branches and deposits of $1.25 billion.

Home Savings closed 15 Household branches, including one in San Clemente, and consolidated those operations into nearby Home Savings branches. It will keep open the remaining offices as Home Savings branches. It was unclear Monday how many Household employees lost jobs.

Household’s parent company, Household International Corp. in Chicago, said it wanted to concentrate its thrift business in the Midwest where it had a greater market share.