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. Imperial Bank sold the shares at $6 each and will report the loss for the third quarter. The bank announced its intention to sell the shares in December; since then, Imperial Credit’s stock has fallen more than 26%. Imperial Credit said this week it would have a second-quarter loss because of a write-down associated with an asset sale and an increase in its loan-loss provision. Torrance-based Imperial Credit was founded in 1986 as a subsidiary of Inglewood-based Imperial Bancorp but was spun off in 1992. Imperial Credit shares rose 13 cents to close at $6.56 on Nasdaq; Imperial Bancorp rose 31 cents to close at $17.69 on the NYSE. The announcement was made after the close of U.S. markets Tuesday.