Ventura County Bancorp Posts 2nd-Quarter Loss

Ventura County National Bancorp posted a second-quarter loss of $879,000, equal to 10 cents per share, despite profits at the company’s subsidiary banks. The holding company’s year-to-date loss now stands at $553,000, or 6 cents per share.

A $2.5-million court judgment against the corporation is the reason for the quarterly loss, according to Richard S. Cupp, president and chief executive. The judgment is being appealed, corporation officials said.

The holding company’s second-quarter figures brought the year-to-date loss to $553,000, or 6 cents per share.

The judgment stems from a legal dispute between the corporation and its former president and chief executive officer, William McAleer. An Orange County jury found that McAleer was negligent in performing his duties, but awarded him $2.5 million in his countersuit claiming the corporation had failed to indemnify him against monetary penalties assessed him by the government.

The company’s lawsuit against McAleer also named its former attorneys as defendants. The company received a pretrial settlement of $950,000 from its claim against the attorneys.

The net after-tax effect of the accrual, along with the related costs and receipt of the $950,000, was a charge to earnings of about $1.5 million.

Cupp reported that the company’s subsidiary banks, Ventura County National Bank in Ventura and Frontier Bank N.A. in La Palma, were both profitable, reflecting combined second-quarter after-tax profits of $540,000 and year-to-date after-tax profits of $918,000. The year-to-date net interest margin was 5.98%.

The company’s asset quality showed improvement, with non-performing assets representing 2.23% of total assets as of June 30, which compares to 3% at the end of 1995.