Golden State Bancorp Inc

Golden State Bancorp Inc., the second-largest U.S. savings and loan, said third-quarter profit rose 17% as the company benefited from lower short-term interest rates and earned more in fees on customer transactions. Net income rose to $103.3 million, or 72 cents a share, from $88.5 million, or 62 cents, a year earlier, the company said Tuesday. That beat the 71-cent average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call.

The Federal Reserve voted unanimously Monday to approve Citigroup Inc.'s takeover of California Federal Bank parent Golden State Bancorp, but said it would continue to review the banking giant's much-criticized sub-prime lending operations. The deal will convert about 350 CalFed offices across California and Nevada to Citibank branches, creating the third-largest commercial banking company in both states, with 5.8% of California's deposits and 11.4% of Nevada's.

Golden State Bancorp Inc.'s Glendale Federal Bank unit is expected to learn Friday how much it will win in its $2-billion "supervisory goodwill" lawsuit against the U.S. government. U.S. Claims Court Judge Loren Smith last month suggested he will award Glendale a substantial sum. The government is expected to appeal. The GlenFed decision, the first of its kind, is expected to have major ramifications for more than 100 similar cases.

Addressing a potential barrier to Citigroup Inc.'s takeover of Golden State Bancorp, Citigroup's top executive said Friday that the banking giant was "in advanced discussions" on settling a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit alleging sub-prime lending abuses. FTC officials have insisted on a settlement worth hundreds of millions of dollars, topping the agency's previous record in a predatory lending case set in March when Irvine lender First Alliance Corp.

Golden State Bancorp Inc. said it settled shareholder lawsuits after Citigroup Inc. agreed to reduce the fee the California thrift must pay if it backs out of its proposed sale to the world's largest financial services company. Golden State, the No. 3 U.S. thrift company, said it will pay Citigroup $42.5 million to $160 million if it cancels the deal. The bank had agreed to pay $117.5 million to $235 million. Citigroup said in May that it would pay about $5.

Aames Financial Corp. said directors Gerald Ford and Howard Gittis--who joined when financier Ronald Perelman and Ford bought 9.9% of the consumer finance company--quit last week. Los Angeles-based Aames also said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the lender "is currently in discussions with several entities, including Golden State Bancorp Inc., concerning various alternatives." Perelman and Ford, partners in Golden State Bank, in March agreed to buy 2.

The U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision has approved the merger of California Federal Bank with Golden State Bancorp Inc. Golden State, parent of Glendale Federal Bank, and San Francisco-based California Federal are merging in a complicated transaction creating the second-largest U.S. thrift after Seattle-based Washington Mutual Inc. The OTS approved the arrangement in an Aug. 12 letter, signed by Assistant Regional Director Nicholas Dyer. The letter was released Thursday.

Citigroup Inc. was asked by federal regulators reviewing its proposed $5.8-billion purchase of Cal Fed parent Golden State Bancorp Inc. to provide information about how the New York-based bank makes loans to low-income families. In a July 3 letter, a Federal Reserve senior counsel sought answers to 34 questions ranging from the way Citigroup monitors complaints about abusive loan practices to how it rewards loan managers. Responses are due Wednesday.

Golden State Bancorp Inc.'s California Federal Bank can't recover potential profit it lost as a result of a 1989 accounting rule change that sparked its $1.6-billion "supervisory goodwill" lawsuit against the U.S., a federal judge ruled. U.S. Claims Judge Robert H. Hodges' ruling doesn't destroy Cal Fed's case. Still, Hodges' one-page order undermines a key Cal Fed theory and throws a curve ball at litigants seeking as much as $30 billion in 120 cases.

Golden State Bancorp Inc. settled a lawsuit with shareholders over the company's $2.5-billion acquisition by a San Francisco-based thrift owned by financier Ronald Perelman. Perelman's First Nationwide Holdings Inc. agreed in February 1998 to buy control of Golden State. In a consolidated suit in Delaware Chancery Court, Golden State shareholders contended they weren't getting a big enough stake in the new company. The merger was completed in September 1998, giving Perelman a 34% stake.

Golden State Bancorp Inc. shareholders Thursday backed Citigroup Inc.'s planned $4.9-billion takeover of the second-largest U.S. thrift, which would almost double the number of U.S. branches of the world's largest financial services company. The San Francisco-based company's shareholders voted 87.4% in favor of the purchase. Voting against were 0.6%, and the remainder abstained, Golden State said.

The last-minute disclosure that there was another potential suitor for Golden State Bancorp isn't likely to derail the company's takeover by Citigroup Inc., but it has raised questions about whether Golden State's investors were properly informed of their options.

Golden State Bancorp Inc. said it settled shareholder lawsuits after Citigroup Inc. agreed to reduce the fee the California thrift must pay if it backs out of its proposed sale to the world's largest financial services company. Golden State, the No. 3 U.S. thrift company, said it will pay Citigroup $42.5 million to $160 million if it cancels the deal. The bank had agreed to pay $117.5 million to $235 million. Citigroup said in May that it would pay about $5.

A judge Friday ordered the U.S. to pay Golden State Bancorp Inc. $381 million for breaking a promise of special regulatory treatment made during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. U.S. Claims Court Judge Loren A. Smith, saying he wished he had power to order a larger award, gave the San Francisco-based thrift less than half the $909 million he had awarded in a 1999 ruling. A federal appeals court said that amount was too large and told Smith to recalculate it.

Citigroup Inc. was asked by federal regulators reviewing its proposed $5.8-billion purchase of Cal Fed parent Golden State Bancorp Inc. to provide information about how the New York-based bank makes loans to low-income families. In a July 3 letter, a Federal Reserve senior counsel sought answers to 34 questions ranging from the way Citigroup monitors complaints about abusive loan practices to how it rewards loan managers. Responses are due Wednesday.

Community groups said Monday that they will challenge Citigroup Inc.'s $5.8-billion takeover of Golden State Bancorp Inc., parent of savings and loan California Federal Bank, on grounds the New York financial giant does too little to help lower-income customers.

Golden State Bancorp Inc.'s California Federal Bank asked a judge for more than $1.6 billion in damages in its "supervisory goodwill" lawsuit against the U.S. government. The damages request, which asks for more than many analysts and investors expected, could give a boost to other litigants seeking as much as $30 billion in 120 separate cases. The aggressive bid could also pave the way for other lawsuits.

Marking the latest acquisition in California's fast-consolidating thrift industry, the parent of Glendale Federal Bank said Monday that it has agreed to buy Pasadena-based CenFed Bank in a stock swap valued at $210 million. For Glendale-based Golden State Bancorp Inc., whose Glendale Federal is the state's sixth-largest savings and loan, with assets of $16.

Unusually heavy trading in the stock of Golden State Bancorp Inc. in the days before the announcement of Citigroup Inc.'s $5.8-billion acquisition of the San Francisco thrift suggests some investors were betting a takeover was coming, analysts said Wednesday. The analysts said they first shrugged off the heavier-than-usual volume and even told investors not to take it seriously after it began to be reported Friday.

Golden State Bancorp Inc., the second-largest U.S. savings and loan, said third-quarter profit rose 17% as the company benefited from lower short-term interest rates and earned more in fees on customer transactions. Net income rose to $103.3 million, or 72 cents a share, from $88.5 million, or 62 cents, a year earlier, the company said Tuesday. That beat the 71-cent average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call.