Imperial Credit Shares Sold at a Loss

Imperial Bancorp subsidiary Imperial Bank said it sold its remaining 5.3 million shares in Imperial Credit Industries Inc., a commercial and consumer lender, at a pretax loss of $2.8 million. It sold the shares at $6 apiece and will report the loss for the third quarter, it said. The bank announced its intention to sell the shares in December; since then, Imperial Credit shares have fallen by more than 26%. Imperial Credit said it will have a second-quarter loss because of a write-down associated with an asset sale and an increase in its loan-loss provision. The share sale “improves our ability to focus on the growth of our core commercial banking franchise and its profitability,” Imperial Bank Chief Executive Norman P. Creighton said. Imperial Credit, based in Torrance, was founded in 1986 as a subsidiary of Inglewood-based Imperial Bancorp but was spun off in 1992. Imperial Credit shares rose 6 cents to close at $6.44 on Nasdaq; Imperial Bancorp shares fell 50 cents to close at $17.38 on the NYSE. The announcement was made after the close of U.S. markets.