ORANGE COUNTY EARNINGS

First Fidelity Bancorp Inc.: The Irvine holding company of First Fidelity Thrift and Loan reported that net income for the second quarter rose 6% to $961,852, or 56 cents a share, from $910,193, or 60 cents a share, for the same period in 1997. Net income for the first half rose to $4.8 million, or 2.72 a share, from $1.6 million, or $1.08 a share. A tax benefit of $1.9 million was recorded for the 1998 first half and $648,000 for the year-earlier period. Total assets increased 35% to $392.5 million from $289.8 million.