H. F. Ahmanson & Co.

H.F. Ahmanson & Co. was a California holding company named after millionaire Howard F. Ahmanson Sr. It was best known as the parent of Home Savings of America, once one of the largest savings and loan associations in the United States.

Early history

Howard Fieldstead Ahmanson, the company's founder, was born in Omaha, Nebraska on July 1, 1906.[1]

Considered by his father to be a genius by the age of five, Ahmanson founded the H.F. Ahmanson company in 1927, before graduating from the University of Southern California.[2] Ahmanson's company specialized in casualty insurance and quickly became the largest underwriter in California. During the Great Depression, the company prospered by dealing with foreclosures.[3] Ahmanson once remarked that he felt like an undertaker: "the worse it got, the better it was for me."

In 1943, Ahmanson bought control of Omaha-based National American Insurance Company. His father had previously owned National American, but the Ahmanson family had lost control of it after his father's death in 1925.

Post World War II era & 1950s

After World War II, the American housing market expanded tremendously, especially in California. In 1947, Ahmanson purchased the Home Building and Loan Association, a savings and loan association with assets of less than $1 million, for $162,000.[1][4] Home Savings then became the cornerstone of H.F. Ahmanson & Company. In the decade that followed, Ahmanson acquired 18 additional institutions, merged them under the name Home Savings and Loan, and turned the group into a financial giant.

Prior to the 1950s, mortgage lenders often earned extra income by tying fire insurance policies to mortgages. New laws passed by states in the late 1940s began to limit this tying relationship. The U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust division launched an investigation of H.F. Ahmanson in the mid-1950s, but the investigation was dropped.[5]

H.F. Ahmanson also formed the Ahmanson Bank and Trust Company in 1957, the National American Title Insurance Company in 1958, and the National American Life Insurance Company of California in 1961.

1960s

H.F Ahmanson continued to grow at a furious pace until the 1960s, when the housing market began to falter and the federal government began to pass legislation designed to regulate the savings and loan industry. In 1965, the Ahmanson Company shifted its mortgage emphasis from tract housing to apartment buildings and was able to avoid most of the problems that other savings institutions faced. Howard Ahmanson viewed the collapse as good for the industry because homes were being built too quickly. Ahmanson likened this industry-wide correction to "a good laxative that cleaned out the system when it could afford to be cleaned."

On June 17, 1968, while traveling in Belgium with his second wife Caroline Leonetti Ahmanson and his son, Howard Ahmanson suffered a heart attack and died. Fortune Magazine estimated Ahmanson's financial worth at the time at between $200 and $300 million, most of it controlled by trust funds and foundations. The Ahmanson company was known for being quiet regarding its operations.

Ahmanson's nephew, William H. Ahmanson, succeeded him as head of the then-private corporation, while Richard Deihl continued as CEO of Home Savings and Loan.[6] After Howard Ahmanson's death, the company's reputation for conservative and shrewd management continued, as did its ability to weather downswings in the economy.

The Tax Reform Act of 1969, which called for a reduction of concentrated holdings by foundations, resulted in several stock offerings by H.F. Ahmanson, but the company's financial base was so solid that the sales had minimal effect. A $101 million stock offering in 1972 was a record for the time, yet it only represented 6.4% of the firm's $4.4 billion in assets.[7] After the Bank Holding Company Act of 1970, H.F. Ahmanson was forced to sell the Ahmanson Bank, which it did in 1976 to private Philippine investors. However, Ahmanson was able to retain its trust operations as a subsidiary, Ahmanson Trust Company.

In the 1960s, there was intense competition among savings and loan associations centered around very high interest rates and offers of expensive premium items for customers who opened new accounts. In 1966, legislation ended the so-called "rates wars," leaving institutions to rely on advertising to attract new customers. Not surprisingly, the larger institutions with more advertising dollars to spend prospered and the giants, including Home Savings, gained the power to set loan interest rates.

1970s

The late 1960s and early 1970s were lean years for the savings and loan industry. A frantic building spree had led to many foreclosures in California and money was tight. Out-of-state money had poured into California because interest rates there were much higher than in the rest of the nation, but as other states began to match California's rates, the money was withdrawn.

By the latter part of the 1970s, investors were beginning to put their money in California institutions again, but in general at this time people were spending more and saving less than past generations. Savings and loans began to look for alternative ways to make money, through consumer lending (such as appliance financing) and loans on properties other than single-family homes. Ahmanson had foreseen these difficulties and had been making loans on apartment buildings since 1965 as a cushion against the failing mortgage market. But Ahmanson did not diversify to the point that would cause the failure of many thrift institutions in the years to come—even into the 1990s the company still did not make auto or consumer loans, leases, or unsecured commercial loans, which tend to be riskier.

Several federal regulations passed during this period proved advantageous to H.F. Ahmanson & Company. A 1968 law ended a nine-year freeze on takeovers by holding companies, and a 1971 rule allowed financial institutions to make loans within 200 miles of each branch office—whereas the old rule had restricted lending to within 200 miles of an institution's headquarters only. Spurred by the easing of restrictions, the Home Savings network soon covered the whole state of California, as four offices were acquired in northern California.

Ahmanson's insurance operations, the original business of the company, continued to grow, as Stuyvesant Insurance Group was acquired from GAC Corporation in 1974 and Bankers National Life Insurance Company was purchased in 1981.

1980s

Having saturated the California savings and loan market, Ahmanson began to merge out-of-state institutions into the Home Savings network under the name Savings of America. In December 1981, three mergers were completed in Florida and Missouri; six more in Texas and Illinois followed in 1982. A New York merger was completed in 1984. Subsequent mergers included institutions in Ohio (1985), Arizona (1987), and Washington (1987). At the end of 1987, Home Savings reported $27 billion in assets.

These forays outside California often included expensive, and very successful, direct-mail campaigns. One promotion in Texas reportedly brought in $60 million in one month. But Ahmanson's interstate mergers have also generated some opposition. When Savings of America announced plans to open an office in Berwyn, Illinois, a community known for its proliferation of financial institutions, critics in the industry questioned Ahmanson's motives. An earlier protest to the Federal Home Loan Bank by Illinois officials had been dropped after the company convinced the protesters that Illinois money would not be used for California investments. In any event, as one official said, protests rarely affect regulatory approvals, and the Savings of America branches continue to attract savers by offering interest rates as much as 2% higher than local competitors.

Further penetration outside California continued when, in January 1988, Ahmanson acquired the Bowery Savings Bank, an institution established in 1934 in New York City. The 25 Bowery offices continue to operate under their original name.

Ahmanson also strengthened its loan operations in the 1980s by opening lending offices under the name of Ahmanson Mortgage Company in Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, and Virginia. Two regional loan service centers, in California and North Carolina, provided support for the offices.

Richard H. Deihl became chairman and CEO of H.F. Ahmanson in 1983. A company veteran, he joined Home Savings as a loan agent in 1960 and was elected CEO of the subsidiary in 1967. Under Deihl's leadership, Ahmanson company avoided the high returns from junk bonds during the mid-1980s, preferring to rely on the safer 1 to 1.5 percent earnings garnered from a home loan. It was a prescient decision. From 1988 to 1990, when hundreds of savings and loans throughout the United States were failing because of their involvement with junk bonds, Ahmanson's deposits grew by 75% and its assets increased by more than 65%. The company's net earnings during the same period averaged more than $200 million per year.

Part of Deihl's success was due to his strategy of streamlining Ahmanson's operating costs. First, the company moved its headquarters to Irwindale, California to take advantage of more space for less money. Secondly, more than 700 employees were eliminated at staff and administrative levels and, as a result, the company lowered its ratio of general expenses to 1.5% of its average assets, nearly one-half point below the industry ratio for the larger savings and loan institutions. Deihl also insisted on adhering to strict criteria for home loans. The average borrower at Home Savings carried a personal debt of 33% of his total income, almost 3% below the standard set by the Government National Mortgage Association. In 1991, approximately 95% of the company's entire loan portfolio was secured by residential real estate properties.

1990s

In light of such favorable numbers, Ahmanson continued to expand by purchasing other savings and loans that were failing. In 1990 and the following year, the company purchased Home Savings Bank of New York and also acquired numerous branch offices from Coast Savings' San Diego operation. In 1992, Ahmanson acquired County Bank of Santa Barbara and also changed the names of its savings and loan operations in New York and Connecticut to Home Savings of America. In 1993, the company purchased 24 branch offices from HomeFed Bank. In July, 1994, Home Savings of America purchased Fidelity Federal Bank, Long Beach Bank and Hawthorne Savings and Loan Association, with a total of 21 branches in Southern California with deposits totaling $1.1 billion.[8] In addition, Home Saving of America purchased five branches of Guardian Federal Savings Association of Huntington Beach and four branches of Northeast Savings in San Diego from the Resolution Trust Corp (RTC) in the same month.[8] Two months later in September 1994, Home Savings of America purchased 23 branches of Western Federal Savings Bank from the RTC.[8]

Yet even with this expansion Ahmanson felt the effects of California's recession during the early 1990s. In 1992, earnings fell to $156 million, partially due to falling property values in the state which led to a substantial increase in non-performing assets. During the same year, 61% of its mortgage business resulted from refinancings.

Prior to 1998 the principal Subsidiaries were Home Savings of America; Savings of America; Ahmanson Mortgage Company; Ahmanson Marketing, Inc.; Griffin Financial Services.

In 1998, Seattle-based thrift Washington Mutual (WaMu) purchased HF Ahmanson and its Home Savings unit for $10 billion. As a result of this takeover and those of American Savings and Great Western Financial, Washington Mutual became California’s second largest bank. At the time, HF Ahmanson had $55 billion in assets.[9]

The acquisition also gave Washington Mutual control over a part of the Ahmanson Ranch, a hotly disputed undeveloped area northwest of Los Angeles. After initial considerations of developing a new city on the large space, WaMu eventually sold off their share, now known as the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.

With the collapse of Washington Mutual in 2008, JPMorgan Chase has become the successor to H. F. Ahmanson and Co.

Home Savings

Expansion in California

In January 1991, Home Savings announced the pending acquisition of 19 San Diego-area branch offices of the Los Angeles-based Coast Federal Bank for $20 million in cash.[10][11][12] The acquisition was completed in May 1991.[13][14] Five of the acquired branch offices were closed and consolidated into nearby Home Savings offices.

In March 1992, Home Savings announced the acquisition of 10 branch offices of the failed Santa Barbara-based County Bank from the Resolution Trust Corporation for an undisclosed amount.[15]

In August 1992, Home Savings announced the pending acquisition of 8 Central Valley-area branch offices of the Coast Federal Bank for an undisclosed amount.[16][17] The acquisition was completed in November 1992.[18][19]

In December 1993, Home Savings announced the acquisition of 8 Inland Empire-area branch offices of the failed San Diego-based HomeFed Bank from the Resolution Trust Corporation for an undisclosed amount.[20][21]

In March 1994, Home Savings announced the pending acquisition of the four California branch offices of the Connecticut-based Northeast Savings for an undisclosed amount.[22][23] Three of the offices were closed and the deposits from those offices were transferred to nearby Home Savings offices. The acquisition was completed in July 1994.[24]

In July 1994, Home Savings announced the pending acquisition of two branch offices and the deposits of the remaining four branch office of the Orange-based Long Beach Bank for $12.5 million in cash.[25] The acquisition was completed in October 1994.[26] After the sale, Long Beach Bank converted from a savings bank to a mortgage banking company that specialized in subprime mortgages and changed the name of the company to Long Beach Mortgage Company. Long Beach Mortgage was later acquired by Washington Mutual in 1999. During the same month, Home Savings announced the pending acquisition of the deposits of nine branch offices of the troubled Glendale-based Fidelity Federal Bank for an undisclosed amount and six branch offices of the Hawthorne Savings & Loan for an undisclosed amount in an unrelated sale.[27][8] The Fidelity transaction was completed in August.[28] Home Savings also acquired five branches of the Huntington Beach-based Guardian Federal Savings Association from the Resolution Trust Corporation for $1.8 million.[29][8]

In September 1994, Home Savings announced the acquisition of 23 branch offices of the failed Marina del Rey-based Western Federal Savings Bank from the Resolution Trust Corporation for $87.2 million.[24][8][30]

In February 1995, Home Savings announced the pending acquisition of 52 Southern California branches of Household Bank from Household International for $53 million in cash.[31][32] Home Savings had planned to close 20 branches that were in close proximity to existing Home Savings offices. The acquisition was completed in June 1995.[33]

In March 1996, Home Savings announced the pending acquisition of 61 First Interstate Bancorp branch offices for about $200 million that Wells Fargo was required to sell by the U.S. Department of Justice[34] before Wells Fargo could acquire First Interstate.[35][36][37] As a result of close proximity to an existing Home Savings branch office, the first 14 out of a possible 27 First Interstate Bank branches were announced in June to be closed.[38]

In October 1997, Home Savings announced the pending acquisition of the Los Angeles-based Coast Savings Financial, Inc., with its Coast Federal Bank subsidiary for $900 million in stock.[39][40][41][42] At the time of the announcement, Coast had 90 branch offices in California while Home had 370 branch offices in California, Texas, and Florida. The acquisition was completed in February 1998.[43][44] After closing 52 redundant branch offices in California[44] and selling off the remaining branch offices in Florida in an unrelated sale,[45] Home Savings had approximately 375 branch offices remaining in California and Texas by mid-1998.[46]

The merger of Coast with Home Savings (and not to mention the subsequent acquisition of Home by Washington Mutual that occurred just a few months later) did not occur without problems for customers. One customer discovered that records for her two adjustable-rate mortgages could not be located for an entire month.[47] A Home Savings customer discovered that the bank lost his safety deposit box, which contained irreplaceable family heirlooms, during the branch office consolidations.[48] Other customers complained about long lines and erosion of the quality of customer service as a result of branch consolidations.[49]

Expansion in Florida

In February 1997, H. F. Ahmanson announced the pending sale of 12 branch offices in Florida to the Birmingham, Alabama-based SouthTrust for an undisclosed amount.[50] At time of the announcement, Home Savings had 39 branch offices in Florida. In December 1997, H. F. Ahmanson announced the pending sale of the remaining 27 branch offices in Florida to SouthTrust for $300 million in cash.[51][45]

Expansion in New York

In August 1984, Home Savings entered the state of New York by announcing the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation-assisted acquisition of the troubled Cedarhurst-based Century Federal Savings and Loan Association. At the time of the acquisition, Century Federal Savings had 16 branches on Long Island.[52]

In October 1987, Home Savings announced the pending acquisition of the troubled New York City-based Bowery Savings Bank with its 25 New York City branches for $200 million in cash.[53][54] The acquisition was completed in February 1988 and initially did not merger Bowery into its existing Savings of America's New York operations and kept it as a separate business entity.[55]

In April 1990, Home Savings announced the pending acquisition of the Bayside-based Home Savings Bank of New York with its 13 branch offices for $300 million in stock.[56][57] At time of the announcement, Home had 26 branch offices operating as Bowery Savings Bank in the New York City metropolitan area and 18 branch offices in Long Island and New York City operating as Savings of America.[58] The acquisition was completed in November 1990.[59]

In April 1992, Home Savings announced that they were changing the names of all of its branch offices to the Home Savings of America name. Previous to that announcement, Home Savings was doing business in the state of New York under the names of Bowery Savings Bank, Home Savings Bank, and Savings of America.[60][61]

In May 1993, Home Savings announced the pending acquisition of 10 branch offices of the Syosset-based Long Island Savings Bank for an undisclosed amount.[62]

In May 1995, Home Savings announced the pending sale of its entire New York state system of 60 branch offices to the New York City-based GreenPoint Financial Corporation for $660 million, a price 1.5 times what some analysts had expected the system to fetch.[63][64][65] At the time of the sale, Home Savings had branch offices in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County just prior to leaving the state.

Expansion in Arizona

In April 1987, Home Savings entered Arizona by announcing the pending acquisition of the one-office Tucson-based Tucson Savings & Loan Association for an undisclosed amount of Ahmanson stock.[66]

In August 1996, Home Savings decided to leave the state of Arizona by announcing the pending sale of all 4 branch offices in Arizona to the First National Bank of Arizona, then a unit of Bancorp Hawaii for an undisclosed amount.[67][68] The acquisition was completed in March 1997.[69]

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References
  1. Tucker, Harold (June 11, 1961). "It's Not All Finance With L.A. Financier". Los Angeles Times. p. J1. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  2. "Businessmen in the News". Fortune. February 1956. p. 53.
  3. "Howard F. Ahmanson, 61, Dies; One of Nation's Wealthiest Men: Led Home Savings & Loan in Los Angeles -- Fortune Estimated at $300-Million". New York Times. June 18, 1968. p. 47. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  4. Nichols, Robert E. (December 3, 1961). "No. 5 Joins the Select Ranks of Area's Billion-Dollar Firms: Home Joins Select Billion-Dollar Realm". Los Angeles Times. p. I1. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  5. "Emperor in Private". Time. 90 (19). November 10, 1967. p. 106. ISSN 0040-781X. Alternate Link(subscription required) via EBSCO.
  6. H.F. Ahmanson & Co., 1993 Annual Report.
  7. "H.F. Ahmanson & Co.'s Initial Public Offer Of Stock Sells Quickly". Wall Street Journal. October 18, 1972. p. 30. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  8. "Home Savings of America Acquires 23 Branches of Western Federal Savings Bank". PR Newswire (Press release). September 9, 1994 – via The Free Library.
  9. Morris, Kathleen (November 12, 1998). "Ahmanson: Parity Lost". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on 1999-05-07.
  10. Johnson, Greg (January 23, 1991). "Home Savings to Buy Coast's S.D. Branches". Los Angeles Times.
  11. Greene, Jay (January 23, 1991). "Coast Federal Bank to Sell Branches to Home Savings". Los Angeles Daily News. p. B2. Coast Federal Bank will sell its 19 San Diego County branches to Home Savings of America for $20 million, Coast announced Tuesday. Coast said the sale price is too low to place it in compliance with a new federal guideline requiring S&Ls to boost capital to protect against their riskiest assets. Los Angeles-based Coast has been trying to sell the branches since August. Its inability to do so has left it shy of the new guideline, prompting regulators last month to impose a supervisory agreement on the thrift that limits the amount of deposits it can take in.
  12. Bratt, L. Erik (January 23, 1991). "Home Savings to acquire 19 Coast branches". San Diego Union Tribune. pp. D-1. Home Savings of America announced that it had reached an agreement with Coast Savings to acquire 19 branch offices in San Diego County. The deal would make Home Savings the seventh largest institution in the county in terms of branch offices. It has 38. Under the agreement, Los Angeles-based Coast will receive a premium of $20 million for the $950 million of deposits in the transaction... With the addition of the Coast branches, Home's total deposit base is $38.6 billion, the largest of any U.S. savings and loan. Home Savings, which has more than $50 billion in assets, operates 374 branch offices in nine states and 95 mortgage lending offices in 13 states. In California, it has 174 branches and 56 mortgage lending offices. Coast Savings Financial Inc., the holding company of Coast Federal Bank, will be left with 101 branches in California. Coast has more than $10 billion in assets.
  13. "L.A. Briefly - Developments". Los Angeles Daily News. April 16, 1991. p. B1. S&L deal set to close: Home Savings of America, the principal unit of Irwindale-based H.F. Ahmanson & Co., will complete its $20 million acquisition of 19 San Diego County branches of Los Angeles-based Coast Federal Bank on May 3. Home Savings, which has 19 branches in San Diego County, plans to consolidate six of its branches into five of the Coast branches where market areas overlap.
  14. "L.A. Briefly - Developments". Los Angeles Daily News. May 7, 1991. p. B1. Home Savings completes Coast deal: The Los Angeles-based thrift completed its acquisition of 19 Coast Federal Bank branches in San Diego. The subsidiary of Irwindale-based H.F. Ahmanson & Company paid $20 million for the offices, which have $950 million in deposits.
  15. "Ual Chairman Takes 97% Cut In '91 Earnings". Long Beach Press-Telegram. March 31, 1992. p. B3. Home Savings of America has acquired the 10 branches of Santa Barbara-based County Bank from the Resolution Trust Corp., the agency that parcels off the remains of failed thrifts. In announcing the acquisition, Home Savings parent H.F. Ahmanson & Co. said the acquisition includes about $630 million in retail deposits. Four County Bank branches are located in Santa Barbara County, three in Ventura County and three in San Luis Obispo County.
  16. "Briefly - Home Savings Buys Coast Federal Branches". Los Angeles Daily News. August 25, 1992. p. B2. Irwindale-based Home Savings of America has agreed to buy eight Central California branch offices from Coast Federal Bank, the Los Angeles-based savings and loan, officials said Monday. Home Savings now has seven Central California offices. The eight branches have $275 million in deposits. Four of the offices are in Fresno, two in Visalia and one each in Tulare and Sanger. Terms of the sale, which must receive regulatory approval, were not disclosed.
  17. Nax, Sanford (August 25, 1992). "Coast Savings Plans to Sell Eight Branches * About Two Years After Saying It Would Not Sell Its Valley Branches, Coast Savings Changes Its Mind". Fresno Bee. p. D1. Home Savings of America said Monday it plans to acquire eight branches of Coast Savings Federal Bank, including all four branches in Fresno, one in Sanger, two in Visalia and one in Tulare... Last year, Home Savings bought 19 retail banking offices from Coast. The San Diego offices and Valley offices, were put up for sale in 1990, but the Valley branches were taken off the block after it was decided the bids were too low. Coast contemplated the sale in 1990 because it needed to shrink and thought it best to concentrate on its Los Angeles, San Francisco and Montery locations, officials said. Two years later, the sale of the Valley branches to Home Savings is occurring. A Coast representative declined to comment on what prompted the change of mind. Coast entered the Valley in 1987 by buying out Central Savings, which was based in San Diego. In 1991, Central had acquired First Savings and Loan Association, a Fresno institution founded in 1957 by the late Dr. Karl Falk.
  18. "Business". Fresno Bee. November 23, 1992. p. C2. Sale closed: Home Savings of America has completed the acquisition of Coast Federal Bank's eight branches in the San Joaquin Valley. The eight Coast branches have deposits of about $258 million. Four of the branches are in Fresno, two in Visalia, one in Tulare and one in Sanger. Home Savings, with assets of more than $47 billion and deposits of more than $39 billion, is the nation's largest savings institution. It operates 378 savings branches in nine states and 90 mortgage lending offices in 13 states.
  19. "Banking". Los Angeles Times. November 19, 1992.
  20. Hanley, Robert (December 4, 1993). "HomeFed Bank carved up, sold to competitors - Out-of-town thrifts swallow local firm". San Diego Union Tribune. pp. A-1. Home Savings of America, the largest S&L in the nation with over $50 billion in assets, bought eight branches in San Bernardino and Riverside counties with deposits totaling about $190 million. The Irwindale-based thrift plans to immediately sell one of those branches to First Federal Savings & Loan of San Bernardino, and eventually may consolidate some of the rest into nearby Home Savings branches, but has not yet decided which ones will be affected.
  21. "HomeFed's Branch Sale". New York Times. December 4, 1993.
  22. Hanley, Robert (March 18, 1994). "Home Savings will buy Northeast's 4 branches". San Diego Union Tribune. pp. C-1. Home Savings of America yesterday said it will buy the four California branches of Northeast Savings, a New England savings and loan that bought the offices just two years ago from government thrift liquidators. The four branches -- in Carlsbad, Escondido, La Jolla and Mira Mesa -- had about $60 million in deposits at the end of last year, according to Home Savings. Financial terms of the deal, expected to be complete this fall, weren't disclosed. But Home Savings plans to close three of its San Diego County branches.
  23. Johnson, Joanne (March 18, 1994). "Northeast Federal to Sell Branches". Hartford Courant. p. D1. The parent of Hartford-based Northeast Savings said Thursday it plans to sell its four California branches to a thrift in that state as part of its fight to strengthen its banking operations. Northeast Federal Corp. said it has signed a definitive agreement to sell the branches in the San Diego, Calif., area to Home Savings of America of Irwindale, Calif., the nation's largest savings institution. The sale, scheduled to close during the third quarter, is subject to regulatory approval. Terms of the deal, through which Northeast is to sell about $60 million in deposits, were not disclosed. Northeast, which with nearly $4 billion in assets is Connecticut's largest thrift, said it decided to sell the branches as part of its effort to focus on its primary market in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts... Home Savings of America is the principal subsidiary of H.F. Ahmanson. Home Savings, which has $50 billion in assets, operates 365 branches in seven states. and 92 mortgage lending offices in 12 states.
  24. "San Diego And California". San Diego Union Tribune. September 17, 1994. pp. C-1. Home Savings of America took over 23 branches, including two Oceanside branches, of the failed Western Savings Bank of Marina del Rey this week. The Irwindale-based thrift, the nation's largest, took over four San Diego County branches of Northeast Savings in July.
  25. Takahashi, Dean (July 2, 1994). "Long Beach Bank Sells Deposits to Home Savings". Los Angeles Times.
  26. Granelli, James S. (October 7, 1994). "Orange S&L Becoming Privately Owned Mortgage Firm : Thrifts: Long Beach Bank today will complete sale of deposits to Home Savings. It plans to give up S&L charter". Los Angeles Times.
  27. "Banking & Finance: Ahmanson Buys 21 Branches". Los Angeles Times. July 22, 1994.
  28. "Fidelity Federal Completes Sale of Problem Assets". Los Angeles Times. August 30, 1994.
  29. Davies, Samantha (July 29, 1994). "Home Savings of America has acquired five branches of Guardian Federal Savings Association". PR Newswire (Press release). p. 1. Home Savings of America, the principal subsidiary of H. F. Ahmanson & Co. (NYSE: AHM), today announced it had acquired five branches of Guardian Federal Savings Association of Huntington Beach from the Resolution Trust Corp. (RTC). The acquisition, which became final at 6 p.m. PDT today, includes approximately $87.4 million in retail deposits in the five branches. Home Savings paid the RTC approximately a $1.8 million premium for the deposits. The branches are located in Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Rancho Mirage, Hemet and San Jose, Calif. Home Savings is also purchasing approximately $9.8 million of Guardian Federal's assets, which consist of cash and cash equivalents. Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  30. Myers, David W. (September 10, 1994). "Western Fed Sold to Home Savings, Others". Los Angeles Times.
  31. Mulligan, Thomas S. (February 8, 1995). "Home Savings to Acquire Bank Network : Thrifts: Purchase of Household Bank's 52 Southern California branches would add $1.35 billion in deposits". Los Angeles Times.
  32. Iwata, Edward (February 8, 1995). "Home Savings to acquire branches - BANKING: The S&L will take over Household Bank offices, including 10 in Orange County". Orange County Register. p. c02. Home Savings of America on Tuesday agreed to acquire the 52 Southern California branches of Household Bank, including 10 in Orange County, for $53 million... The acquisition gives Home Savings $53 billion in assets and 355 savings branches, including 25 in Orange County. Home Savings plans to consolidate 20 of the newly acquired branches into existing Home Savings offices.
  33. "Briefly: Home buying". Los Angeles Daily News. June 21, 1995. p. B2. Home Savings of America, an Irwindale-based thrift, Monday said it purchased 51 branches of Household Bank's Southern California operations. Home Savings acquired $1.25 billion in deposits.
  34. "Justice Department and California Attorney General's Office Reach Agreement with Wells Fargo for $2.54 Billion Divestiture in California" (Press release). U.S. Department of Justice. February 28, 1996.
  35. Mulligan, Thomas S. (March 29, 1996). "Home Savings Wins Bidding War for 61 First Interstate Branches". Los Angeles Times.
  36. "Home Savings Deal Helps Wells Fargo". New York Times. March 29, 1996.
  37. "Business Brief -- H.F. Ahmanson & Co.: Unit to Pay $206 Million For Wells Fargo Properties". Wall Street Journal (Eastern ed.). March 29, 1996. Home Savings of America, Irwindale, Calif., a unit of H.F. Ahmanson & Co., said it agreed to pay Wells Fargo & Co. about $206 million for 61 bank branches in California. Through the transaction, Ahmanson gains a stronger presence in California, where it is already the third-largest financial institution. The branches it is buying have about $2.5 billion in deposits and $1.3 billion in loans. Wells Fargo is selling the branches in connection with its acquisition of First Interstate Bancorp. Ahmanson said it expects to consolidate as many as 27 of the branches. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  38. "Home Savings to Close Branch". Sacramento Bee. June 27, 1996. p. F2. Home Savings of America will close one of the 15 First Interstate Bank branches it is acquiring in the Sacramento region, the company said Wednesday... In all, Home Savings said it will close 14 overlapping branches throughout the state as it completes its $200 million deal to buy 61 First Interstate branches from Wells Fargo & Co. More closings will be announced in the coming weeks... In March, the thrift said up to 27 of the branches, including one in Sacramento, could close.
  39. Vrana, Debora (October 6, 1997). "Ahmanson Deal to Buy Coast Federal Is Reported: Business: The parent of Home Savings of America is expected to acquire L.A.-based company. Deal would create state's third-largest financial institution". Los Angeles Times. The combination of Ahmanson, parent of Home Savings of America, and Coast, the Los Angeles-based parent of Coast Federal Bank, will create a thrift with $39.2 billion in deposits in California, Texas and Florida. Some branch closings and layoffs are expected, but the sources said the numbers will probably be small. Coast has 90 California branches and Ahmanson more than 370.
  40. "Ahmanson In Deal for Coast Federal". New York Times. October 7, 1997.
  41. Wilcox, Gregory J. (October 7, 1997). "Ahmanson Deals to Acquire Coast - Thrifts Merger to Cost Nearly $900 Million". Los Angeles Daily News. p. B1.
  42. Lipin, Steven (October 6, 1997). "Ahmanson Agrees to Buy Coast Savings". Wall Street Journal (Eastern ed.). p. A3. H.F. Ahmanson & Co. has agreed to acquire smaller rival Coast Savings Financial Inc. for about $900 million, or $46.17 a share, plus certificates representing any cash awards from lawsuits against the U.S. government, say people familiar with the situation. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  43. "Also. . ". Los Angeles Times. February 13, 1998. Irwindale-based H.F. Ahmanson & Co. said shareholders of Coast Savings Financial Inc. approved its acquisition of the thrift and that it expects to complete the $900-million transaction today.
  44. Adamson, Deborah (February 13, 1998). "Closing Deal = Closing Banks - Ahmanson: Coast Has Cleared". Los Angeles Daily News. p. B1. H.F. Ahmanson & Co., the parent of Home Savings of America, said Thursday that federal regulators and shareholders have approved its purchase of Coast Savings Financial, the parent of Coast Federal Bank. The $900 million deal, structured as a tax-free exchange of stock, is expected to close today. As part of the acquisition, Ahmanson is closing 52 Coast and Home Savings branches. After the closures, 407 branches will remain... In October, Irwindale-based Ahmanson announced its purchase of Coast, which had 91 branches.
  45. "Southtrust Buys More Banks". Orlando Sentinel. December 6, 1997.
  46. Adamson, Deborah (December 9, 1997). "Home, Coast Closures - Thrifts Shutting 50 Branches". Los Angeles Daily News. p. B1. In the deal, Home Savings took over 91 Coast branches. Last week, Home Savings said it is selling 27 Florida branches to SouthTrust Corp., an Alabama-based operator of regional banks. When the targeted branches are closed, the combined company will have about 375 branches in California and Texas.
  47. Sanders, Edmund (March 18, 1998). "Washington Mutual finds Home - MERGER: The new conglomerate looks to be the force in California banking". Orange County Register. p. c01. At first blush, the real winners of the merger-mania sweeping Southern California financial institutions appear to be the sign makers. The paint's barely dry on the new Home Savings logos at former Coast Savings branches, and now they're slated to be covered up by Home's would-be owner, Washington Mutual. Next month, nameplates at American Savings and Great Western Bank are coming down, and Washington Mutual signs will go up... A former Coast customer, Lima said she recently received a letter from Home explaining that her two adjustable-rate mortgages had been transferred to a new office. But when the mortgage payments came due, the new office failed to send the usual payment slip showing the amount owed. She called customer service, but they could find no record of her loans. After a month of phone calls, the problem was cleared up, but the experience left Lima skeptical.
  48. Haldane, David (October 12, 1999). "Not So Safe: Bank Loses Safe-Deposit Box, Heirlooms". Los Angeles Times.
  49. Lee, Don (March 18, 1998). "Some Hold Back the Welcome Mat at Home Savings". Los Angeles Times.
  50. "Banking". Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel. February 12, 1997.
  51. "Southtrust to Buy 27 More Home Savings Branches". New York Times. December 5, 1997.
  52. "Home Savings In Acquisition Washington, Aug. 12". New York Times. August 13, 1984.
  53. "Ahmanson to Buy Bowery Savings Bank of New York for $200 Million". Los Angeles Times. October 6, 1987.
  54. Berg, Eric N. (October 6, 1987). "Bowery Savings Bank Is Sold for $200 Million". New York Times.
  55. "L.A. Briefly - Deals". Los Angeles Daily News. February 2, 1988. p. B1. H.F. Ahmanson & Co. completed the purchase of The Bowery Savings Bank in New York for $200 million in cash. The Los Angeles-based parent of Home Savings of America does not plan to merge its Savings of America's New York operations into The Bowery. The Bowery Savings Bank will remain an FDIC-insured institution and will operate as a separate unit of Home Savings. The Bowery has assets of $6.3 billion and operates 25 savings branches in the New York Metropolitan area.
  56. "H.F. Ahmanson to buy New York thrift". United Press International. April 2, 1990.
  57. Lev, Michael (April 3, 1990). "H. F. Ahmanson Plans Expansion in New York". New York Times.
  58. Sanchez, Jesus (April 3, 1990). "Parent of Home Savings to Buy New York Thrift". Los Angeles Times.
  59. "Due to Computer Problems, Commodities Listings Are Incomplete. - L.A. Briefly Developments". Los Angeles Daily News. November 14, 1990. p. B1. H.F. Ahmanson & Co., the Los Angeles-based parent of Home Savings of America, is scheduled to complete its merger with The Home Savings Bank of New York on Monday, exchanging each share of Home's stock for nearly 1.4 shares of Ahmanson stock.
  60. Roosevelt, Phil (April 12, 1992). "N.Y.'s landmark Bowery Savings changing its name". Dallas Morning News. p. 15H. The Bowery Savings Bank, founded in 1834, will become Home Savings of America on April 20, according to its Los Angeles-based parent, H.F. Ahmanson and Co. The thrift company said it is striving to establish a nationwide identity around the Home Savings of America moniker. That is the name of its flagship unit, the nation's largest thrift. Ahmanson, which acquired Bowery in 1988, said the Home Savings of America name also will be adopted by its two smaller New York thrifts -- Home Savings Bank and Savings of America
  61. "The Company Name Game; Is Corporate America Having an Identity Crisis?". New York Times. July 15, 1992. Fleet-Norstar Financial Group became Fleet Financial Group and the Bowery Savings Bank took the name of its parent, Home Savings of America.
  62. "Long Island Savings Bank to Sell 10 Branches". New York Times. May 4, 1993.
  63. Iwata, Edward (May 15, 1995). "Ahmanson selling New York branches". San Francisco Chronicle.
  64. Hansell, Saul (May 16, 1995). "Greenpoint to Pay $660 Million For 60 Home Savings Branches". New York Times.
  65. Mulligan, Thomas S. (May 16, 1995). "Home Savings to Sell 60 N.Y. Branches : Banking: GreenPoint Financial will buy the system for $660 million". Los Angeles Times. The Home Savings branch network was created through the acquisitions of Century Federal Savings & Loan in 1984, Bowery Savings Bank in 1988, Home Savings Bank in 1990 and several branches of Long Island Savings Bank in 1993.
  66. "H. F. Ahmanson agreed to buy an S&L in Arizona". Los Angeles Times. April 29, 1987.
  67. "Banking & Finance". Los Angeles Times. August 31, 1996.
  68. "Home Savings to sell Arizona franchise to First National Bank of Arizona". Business Wire (Press release). August 30, 1996 – via The Free Library.
  69. Vandeveire, Mary (February 23, 1997). "Name change evokes bank's Pacific parent". Phoenix Business Journal. The Arizona bank also is gearing to close next month on the purchase of four Arizona branches of Irwindale, Calif.-based Home Savings of America.
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