Eldorado to Acquire San Clemente Bancorp

TUSTIN —  Eldorado Bank agreed Thursday to acquire the holding company of Bank of San Clemente for $5.5 million in a deal that will make Eldorado the largest bank in Orange County.

The acquisition of San Clemente Bancorp, owner of the small but growing San Clemente bank, needs only the approval of state and federal shareholders, according to officials of both institutions.

“Unless some huge surprise comes up, we plan to close the deal in about four months,” said J.B. Crowell, Eldorado’s president and chief executive. Bank of San Clemente will be merged into Eldorado and its holding company will be dissolved.

The all-cash transaction will give Eldorado two more branches in South Orange County and the opportunity to offer business loans to the affluent customers of the San Clemente bank, which has shied away from commercial loans. Eldorado has eight branches in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The deal would make Tustin-based Eldorado the county’s biggest bank, with more than $350 million in assets, and the second-most profitable, with $4.1 million in net income, based on year-end 1990 figures for both banks.

For Irvine developer John E. Wertin Jr., the sole owner of Bank of San Clemente, the sale will provide a good return on the more than $2.6 million he invested 3 1/2 years ago to acquire the bank and restructure its finances. Wertin could not be reached for comment.

“In my own opinion, there was a realization that, given the regulatory environment, the small, independent bank will have a tough road ahead,” said Michael Dunahee, the Bank of San Clemente’s president. Four years ago, Dunahee was hired by the bank’s former owners to help turn the money-losing operation around. As the institution was getting back on its feet in late 1987, Wertin bought it.

Gerry Findley, a banking consultant based in Brea, said Wertin grew tired of the regulations that thwarted his own plans for the bank, such as focusing its business in the Newport Beach-Irvine area.