California Federal Bank, known as CalFed, was a

savings bank A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings deposits and paying interest on those deposits. They originated in Europe during the 18th century with the aim of providing access to savings products to al ...

headquartered in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, at 5670 Wilshire Boulevard. It operated 352

branches A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually r ...

, most of which were in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. In 2002, the bank was acquired by Citigroup.

History

The bank was founded in 1945 originally as California Federal Savings & Loan Association. In June 1989, California Federal Savings & Loan Association was renamed California Federal Bank. In January 1993, the bank's stockholders voted to eliminate the bank's then holding company parent, CalFed Inc. (NYSE: CAL), as a means to raise more capital. In 1994, the bank acquired Cornerstone Savings & Loan after it was shut down by regulators as a result of

bank failure A bank failure occurs when a bank is unable to meet its obligations to its depositors or other creditors because it has become insolvent or too illiquid to meet its liabilities. A bank usually fails economically when the market value of its asset ...

. In August 1995, the bank reversed its 1993 decision to eliminate its holding company and formed Cal Fed Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: CAL) as its new parent. In 1997, First Nationwide Holdings Inc., the parent company of First Nationwide Bank, acquired the bank's then parent, Cal Fed Bancorp, and converted its First Nationwide Bank offices to the California Federal name. Since 1994, First Nationwide Holdings Inc. was owned 80% by

Ronald Perelman Ronald Owen Perelman (; born January 1, 1943) is an American banker, businessman and investor. MacAndrews & Forbes, MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated, his company, has invested in companies with interests in groceries, cigars, Liquorice (confect ...

and 20% by

Gerald J. Ford Gerald J. Ford (born 1944) is an American attorney and businessman.

. In 1998, Golden State Bancorp (NYSE: GSB), the parent of

Glendale Federal Glendale Federal Savings and Loan Association, later Glendale Federal Bank, was one of the nation's largest federally chartered savings and loan association during the 1980s. It was long based in Los Angeles suburb Glendale, California, at 401 B ...

Bank, acquired the bank and moved the headquarters from Los Angeles to San Francisco with the merged institution using the California Federal Bank name. In 2000, the bank's auto loan subsidiary acquired Downey Auto Finance. In 2002, Citigroup acquired the bank for $5.8 billion.

References

External links

{{Citigroup Defunct banks of the United States 1945 establishments in California Banks established in 1945 2002 disestablishments in California Banks disestablished in 2002