Troubled Bank of San Francisco Scrapes to Fund Capital Reserve

An Indonesian shopping center magnate has come to the aid of Bank of San Francisco again, but the bank still must raise another $1.1 million to appease regulators.

Putra Masagung of Indonesia, who owns 95% of the San Francisco Co., the bank's holding company, contributed $4.3 million in new capital to the company in the second quarter. However, that, together with $400,000 contributed by the holding company, was not enough to satisfy state regulators, who have demanded that the bank raise at least $5.8 million in new capital.

The $136.7 million-asset bank said last week that it is seeking the $1.1 million in additional capital to comply with the order, but "there can be no assurances that the capital will be forthcoming."

The bank's leverage capital ratio is 4.8%. The California bank commissioner is requiring a 7% ratio for Bank of San Francisco.

The company has had meager profits for two consecutive quarters. It reported earnings of $120,000 in the second quarter, compared with a $6 million loss in the year-earlier quarter. For the six months, the San Francisco Co. said it earned $188,000, compared with a $9.2 million loss in the comparable quarter last year.

"We are very encouraged by our results," said James Gilleran, the former California bank commissioner who took the chief executive's job at the bank last fall. "We're moving in the right direction, and the steps we are taking to turn the bank around are working."

Mr. Masagung's total capital commitment to Bank of San Francisco is well over $40 million, roughly the amount the bank has lost in the last four years.