Golden State Bancorp

Golden State Bancorp said Wednesday that fiscal third-quarter earnings rose 40%, as the thrift added low-cost deposits, widening the gap between interest rates it paid and rates it collected on loans. The Glendale-based parent of Glendale Federal Bank said net income rose to $32 million, or 45 cents a diluted share, in the quarter ended March 31, from $22.9 million, or 33 cents, in the year-earlier period. Golden State was expected to earn 44 cents a share, according to analysts.

Some shareholders of Golden State Bancorp are asking a Delaware judge to stop financier Ronald Perelman from taking control of the California thrift in a $2.5-billion merger, saying investors are being shortchanged in the transaction. Perelman said Thursday his thrift, First Nationwide Holdings Inc., would take control of Glendale-based Golden State, the holding company for Glendale Federal Bank, in a reverse merger to form the nation's third-largest savings and loan.

In an effort to stake a claim in the Inland Empire market, Golden State Bancorp, the nation's sixth-largest thrift, agreed on Monday to acquire RedFed Bancorp, the holding company of Redlands Federal Bank, for $158 million in stock.

Golden State Bancorp, the holding company of Glendale Federal Bank, on Tuesday said it posted a fiscal first-quarter profit as the bank gained customers, loans and deposits. Golden State reported first-quarter net income of $28.5 million, or 40 cents a share, contrasted with a net loss of $20 million, or 50 cents, in the same period last year. The results exceeded analysts' average estimate of 37 cents a share.

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.

Glendale Federal Bank said it plans to form a thrift holding company to give it more flexibility in buying back stock and making acquisitions. Shareholders of the thrift would swap one share for each share of the holding company, to be called Golden State Bancorp Inc. Glendale expects the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve the plan next month.