Lippo Bank Earnings Rise in First Half of ’97

Los Angeles-based Lippo Bank California recorded net earnings of $128,033 for the two quarters ending June 30, after incurring losses of $678,000 for the same period in 1996 and $163,000 in 1995. The privately held bank, which has assets valued at $100 million, suffered overall losses of $5.3 million in 1996 and $3.2 million the previous year. Under orders from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Lippo implemented a cost-reduction program this year that included the elimination of 20 jobs and the closure of the bank’s Westminster branch as of Aug. 29. The troubled bank, which has been sanctioned by banking regulators three times in the last seven years because of financial irregularities, also received a cash infusion of $6 million from James Riady, its major shareholder and a prominent figure in the Democratic campaign finance controversy.