Spring Mountain Group

Abandoned twice by suitors in recent years, Orange County's smallest thrift, Pioneer Savings & Loan, finally has tied the knot with the Spring Mountain Group in Newport Beach, the new owner disclosed Monday. Spring Mountain, whose primary subsidiary is Spring Mountain Escrow Corp., won state and federal regulatory approvals late last week to purchase Pioneer, said Christine Sanderson, the group's president. The new owner will take control next Monday, she said.

Atop Spring Mountain: Scott A. McAfee, a financial industry consultant, has been selected president and chief executive of Spring Mountain Group in Newport Beach. McAfee, 38, assumed his duties immediately, filling a vacancy in the financial holding company founded and chaired by longtime Orange County businessman Frank O'Bryan.

The plans for growth at Spring Mountain Group in Newport Beach are coming fast. The holding company's main subsidiary, Spring Mountain Escrow Corp., announced that it expects to double its branches in the next three years by opening 40 offices in Northern California, starting with six new offices by July. The escrow firm has hired Ted D. Gregory as senior vice president and regional manager for the Northern California operation.

Two escrow companies that have competed for 30 years for dominance of the real estate market in Riverside and San Bernardino counties said Monday that they have agreed to merge. Spring Mountain Escrow Corp. of Newport Beach will combine its 30 offices with the 14 offices of Riverside-based Courtesy Escrow Service Inc. The merged entity will operate under the Spring Mountain Escrow name. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Atop Spring Mountain: Scott A. McAfee, a financial industry consultant, has been selected president and chief executive of Spring Mountain Group in Newport Beach. McAfee, 38, assumed his duties immediately, filling a vacancy in the financial holding company founded and chaired by longtime Orange County businessman Frank O'Bryan.

Two escrow companies that have competed for 30 years for dominance of the real estate market in Riverside and San Bernardino counties said Monday that they have agreed to merge. Spring Mountain Escrow Corp. of Newport Beach will combine its 30 offices with the 14 offices of Riverside-based Courtesy Escrow Service Inc. The merged entity will operate under the Spring Mountain Escrow name. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Spring Mountain Escrow Corp., which bills itself as the nation's largest independent escrow company, Tuesday announced a major thrust into the Northern California market with the purchase of Bank of America's escrow business. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Spring Mountain, based in Newport Beach, said it will open 20 new offices in Northern California by the end of the year.

Why would a 57-year-old man who has built two companies, sold one at a hefty profit and secured a comfortable life for himself and his family want to risk his money in the beleaguered savings and loan industry by buying a money-losing thrift? "I come from a mortgage banking background, so I have no trouble running and managing a mortgage operation," said Frank O'Bryan, who operated a mortgage banking firm for 16 years.

* Frank E. O'Bryan has been appointed to the board of directors of First American Financial Corp. in Santa Ana and to the board of its principal subsidiary, First American Title Insurance Co. He succeeds Harold Kean, who retired last year. O'Bryan is chairman of the Spring Mountain Group, whose subsidiaries include Spring Mountain Escrow Corp. and Pioneer Savings and Loan Assn.

Pioneer Savings & Loan, a one-branch operation in Newport Beach that has long been Orange County's smallest thrift, posted net income of $111,800 for its fiscal first quarter. The thrift's profit for the three-month period ended Jan. 31 was nearly treble the $42,300 earned in its fiscal first quarter last year. Quarterly revenue at the Newport Beach thrift shot up 67% to $1.2 million this year from $717,000 last year.

Spring Mountain Escrow Corp., which bills itself as the nation's largest independent escrow company, Tuesday announced a major thrust into the Northern California market with the purchase of Bank of America's escrow business. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Spring Mountain, based in Newport Beach, said it will open 20 new offices in Northern California by the end of the year.

The plans for growth at Spring Mountain Group in Newport Beach are coming fast. The holding company's main subsidiary, Spring Mountain Escrow Corp., announced that it expects to double its branches in the next three years by opening 40 offices in Northern California, starting with six new offices by July. The escrow firm has hired Ted D. Gregory as senior vice president and regional manager for the Northern California operation.

Why would a 57-year-old man who has built two companies, sold one at a hefty profit and secured a comfortable life for himself and his family want to risk his money in the beleaguered savings and loan industry by buying a money-losing thrift? "I come from a mortgage banking background, so I have no trouble running and managing a mortgage operation," said Frank O'Bryan, who operated a mortgage banking firm for 16 years.

Abandoned twice by suitors in recent years, Orange County's smallest thrift, Pioneer Savings & Loan, finally has tied the knot with the Spring Mountain Group in Newport Beach, the new owner disclosed Monday. Spring Mountain, whose primary subsidiary is Spring Mountain Escrow Corp., won state and federal regulatory approvals late last week to purchase Pioneer, said Christine Sanderson, the group's president. The new owner will take control next Monday, she said.

Two county thrifts--Pioneer Savings & Loan in Newport Beach and Constitution Federal Savings & Loan in Tustin--have tentatively agreed to be sold, according to S&L officials and documents. Spring Mountain Escrow Group--headed by Newport Beach financier Frank O'Bryan--has filed an application with the state Department of Savings and Loan to buy Pioneer from Rancho Mirage home builder James F. Deane. Pioneer has not had a profitable year since it opened in 1985.

The ravaged Orange County thrift industry has had more than its share of sick savings and loans, but regulatory statistics portend less bleeding and more healing in the future as institutions bolster their levels of capital. Of the 31 independently owned thrifts operating at the end of 1989, only one failed to pass two major tests of capital strength. Three others failed to pass one of those tests, according to figures supplied by Sheshunoff Informations Services Inc., an Austin, Tex.