Secor plans to sell seven branches to 2 banks.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Secor Bank said it has entered into letters of intent to sell seven branches to two Alabama banks.

The announcements came two months after Secor, the largest thrift in the state, with $2 billion in assets, ended negotiations to be acquired by Union Planters Corp. of Tennessee.

Secor, which is showing signs of improved health despite a loss in the second quarter, has 51 branches in Alabama, Florida, and Louisiana that are seen as attractive to banks seeking to expand in the Southeast.

Secor will sell $119 million of its $1.5 billion in deposits and $49 million of its $979 million of loans, as well as the seven branch offices. Completion of definitive agreements and board and regulatory approvals could take several months, a spokesman said.

Five offices in northern Alabama would go to AmSouth Bank of Birmingham, the largest commercial bank in Alabama. Two other Alabama sites - in Livingston and Fayette - would be acquired by West Alabama Bank and Trust Co., Reform, Ala.

AmSouth Bancorp., the state's largest banking company, with $9.2 billion in assets, said Secor's Muscle Shoals and Florence-Regency branches would be converted into AmSouth Bank offices. Secor's Decatur, Gadsden, and Florence-Pine Street offices are to be consolidated into nearby AmSouth offices.

AmSouth's portion of the deal involves $93 million in deposits and $37 million in loans.

|A Modest Positive Impact'

John W. Woods, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of AmSouth, said the purchases "will have a modest positive impact on net income [and] will enhance our existing market share in attractive Alabama markets."

Separately, Secor Bank reported a net loss of $74,000 for the quarter ended June 30. Including preferred stock dividends that are $1.7 million in arrears, the primary loss per common share was 49 cents.

Net income for the first six months of 1992, before preferred stock dividends, totaled $7 million, down by $2 million, or 22%, from the year before.

Core earnings for the first half were $659,000, compared to a loss of $2.9 million in 1991.

William L. Watson 3d, chairman and chief executive officer, listed several "encouraging" trends in core earnings, including a 154% increase in second-quarter mortgage production, to $165.7 million; a $9.2 million decrease in the cost of funds; and a $761,000 decline in loss provisions.

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