SAN FRANCISCO -- Banc One Corp. and First Interstate Bancorp were the big buyers in the Resolution Trust Corp.'s sale of Arizona and Washington state branches of Great American Federal Savings Association.
Continuing its recent practice of selling failed thrifts piece-meal, the RTC last week said it sold 60 of Great American's Arizona branches, 24 Washington branches, and $2 billion in de. posits in both states to a total of seven buyers.
In Arizona, Banc One paid $49.36 million for some $1.4 billion in deposits, a premium of about 3.7%. In Washington, Los Angeles-based First Interstate bought approximately $334 million in deposits for $26 million, a 7.8% premium.
Supermarket Locations
The combined premiums of $90.7 million equaled about 4.4% of Great American's total deposits of $2.06 billion. The RTC estimated core deposits, defined as local retail accounts, at $1.53 billion. Bidding was competitive, with 61 offers submitted.
Ohio-based Banc One acquired 58 Great American branches in Arizona, including 36 supermarket locations, almost all in the Phoenix and Tucson areas. The Ohio company bought Phoenix-based Valley National Corp. last year, parent of Arizona's largest bank.
Washington Federal Savings bought Great American's two other Arizona branches, both in Tucson, for a $400,000 premium. The acquisition is the Seattle-based thrift's first in Arizona.
In Washington, First Interstate acquired 10 Seattle-area and five Olympia-area Great American branches. First Interstate owns the fourth-largest commercial bank in the Evergreen State, which it has identified as a top priority for expansion. The Great American purchase takes First Interstate into Olympia, the state capital, for the first time.
Other Buyers
Great American's remaining nine Washington branches were acquired by Sterling Savings Association, Spokane, Wash.; Riverview Savings Bank, Camas, Wash.; Interwest Savings Bank, Oak Harbor, Wash.; and KeyCorp, Cleveland, Ohio.
Great American, which was headquartered in San Diego, had more than $15 billion in assets in 1990, making it one of the biggest thrifts ever to fail.
It sold its core California operations to Wells Fargo & Co. before federal regulators seized it in August 1991.
