Eldorado Bancorp: Fewer bad loans and the...

Eldorado Bancorp: Fewer bad loans and the assimilation of a smaller bank it acquired helped the Tustin company post record net income of $5.6 million last year. The profit, amounting to $1.43 a share, was 24% higher than the previous year’s earnings of $4.5 million, or $1.36 a share. Eldorado’s revenue grew 16% to $33.6 million last year from $29 million the previous year. J.B. Crowell, the company’s president, said the bank benefited also from a significant growth in noninterest-bearing deposit accounts.

For the fourth quarter, Eldorado reported net income of $1.5 million, or 38 cents a share, a 7% increase over $1.4 million, or 37 cents a share, earned in last year’s final three months. Revenue rose slightly to $8.42 million from $8.38 million.

Eldorado, which acquired Mariner’s Bank in San Clemente in late 1985, enjoyed the fruits of a full year’s performance from that healthy operation. Eldorado, however, recently agreed to be acquired by a New Hampshire investor group that has bought banks in Orange, San Diego and Sacramento counties.