Bank Plus Receives Offer From Bay View

Bank Plus Corp., the Los Angeles-based parent of Fidelity Federal Bank, received a buyout offer of $175 million from San Mateo, Calif.-based Bay View Capital Corp., according to a report in American Banker. The $9-a-share offer does not include Bank Plus’ troubled credit card portfolio, where high delinquencies caused the thrift to lose $56.3 million last year, the trade paper reported. Officials at both companies declined to comment on a possible deal. Bank Plus has been searching for a buyer for several months, after government regulators tightened supervision over the thrift due to the credit card losses. Bay View has said it wants to expand its operations into Southern California. Shares of Bank Plus rose 13 cents to close at $6.25 on Nasdaq. Bay View lost 56 cents to close at $19.75 on the NYSE.