Eldorado Bancorp

ADDRESS: 17752 E. 17th St., Tustin BUSINESS: Bank holding company ASSETS: $199 million (Dec. 31, 1987) NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 185

Reacting to rising interest rates and growing competition, Orange County's largest independent bank said Monday that it plans to sell or close its wholesale mortgage division. The decision by Eldorado Bancshares Inc. will affect about 100 jobs, mostly in Sacramento, and cause the Laguna Hills-based operator of Eldorado Bank to report a $3.4-million loss for the year ended Dec. 31, 1999.

Eldorado Bancorp directors have increased the quarterly dividend to 9 cents a share from 8 cents, payable July 1 to shareholders of record June 3. The company, parent of Eldorado Bank, paid a 10% stock dividend in December.

Commerce Security Bancorp Inc. in Irvine has completed its acquisition of Eldorado Bancorp, parent company for one of Orange County's oldest banks, for $91.7 million in cash. The 25-year-old Eldorado Bank in Tustin will continue to operate under its own name as a subsidiary of Commerce Security, said Edward J. Carpenter, an Irvine banking consultant who helped to put the deal together. Few layoffs are expected at Eldorado, which operates 12 branches in four counties.

Directors of Eldorado Bancorp, parent of Eldorado Bank, authorized the company to purchase up to $1 million of its common stock in open-market or negotiated transactions. The company had nearly 3.4 million shares outstanding on Wednesday. Directors also declared a 10% stock dividend, payable Dec. 26 to shareholders of record Nov. 28. J.B.

Directors of Eldorado Bancorp have increased the company's quarterly dividend to 11 cents per share from 10 cents per share, payable June 9 to shareholders of record June 2. The company, which operates Eldorado Bank, also said its acquisition by Commerce Security Bancorp Inc. should occur on June 6. The deal has been approved by federal and state regulators, as well as by Eldorado shareholders, the company said.

Eldorado Bancorp, the parent company of Eldorado Bank, reported a profit of $895,000, or 33 cents a share, for the third quarter, a 24% increase from $722,000, or 27 cents a share, for the same period a year earlier. For the first nine months of 1992, earnings totaled $2.6 million, or 95 cents a share, up 13% from the $2.3 million, or 86 cents a share. As of Sept. 30, total assets were $346.7 million, 17% higher than the $295.3 million recorded at the same time last year. J.B.

Donald Sodaro has been elected to the board of directors of Eldorado Bancorp, the parent company of Eldorado Bank in Tustin. His election brings the number of board members to 10. Sodaro is chairman and chief executive of Accord Group Inc., an investment management company with interests in commercial real estate, home building and securities. Earlier, Sodaro was president and chief executive of Sixpence Inns of America Inc.

Eldorado Bancorp, holding company for Eldorado Bank, reported record first quarter net income of $568,000, up 56% from $364,000 a year earlier. Total assets for the Tustin-based holding company were $185 million on March 31, up 5.7% from $175 million a year earlier. The bank reported deposits at the end of the quarter were $167.25 million, up 5.8% from the year-earlier $158.1 million. Shareholders' equity on March 31 totaled $14.7 million.

Citing severe real estate-related problems, Eldorado Bancorp on Wednesday reported the first year-end loss in the bank's 21-year history. The Tustin-based bank reported a net loss of $1.72 million, equal to 63 cents per share, for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31. This compares with net income of $2.76 million, or $1 per share, reported for 1992. "This was a difficult year.

Directors of Eldorado Bancorp have increased the company's quarterly dividend to 11 cents per share from 10 cents per share, payable June 9 to shareholders of record June 2. The company, which operates Eldorado Bank, also said its acquisition by Commerce Security Bancorp Inc. should occur on June 6. The deal has been approved by federal and state regulators, as well as by Eldorado shareholders, the company said.

Eldorado Bancorp stock rose 9% Thursday in the first day of trading after the announcement that it is being acquired by Commerce Security Bancorp Inc. of Huntington Beach for $23 per share. Eldorado's stock climbed $1.875 a share to $22.25 in Nasdaq trading. The companies announced the $90-million deal after the market closed Tuesday.

The ongoing consolidation in Orange County's independent banking community continued as Commerce Security Bancorp Inc. agreed to acquire Tustin-based Eldorado Bancorp in a deal that has been valued at about $90 million. Huntington Beach-based Commerce Security would become the largest bank holding company in Orange County, with total assets of $850 million. The deal would trim the number of Orange County independent banks to about 12 from 50 since 1980.

The ongoing consolidation of Orange County's independent banks continued Tuesday as Commerce Security Bancorp Inc. agreed to acquire Eldorado Bancorp in a deal valued at about $90 million. The deal, which was announced after the stock market closed, values Eldorado at $23 per share. Eldorado's stock traded Tuesday at $20.375 on the American Stock Exchange.

Eldorado Bancorp directors have increased the quarterly dividend to 9 cents a share from 8 cents, payable July 1 to shareholders of record June 3. The company, parent of Eldorado Bank, paid a 10% stock dividend in December.