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When George Haligowski first learned Imperial Thrift & Loan Association was in trouble in 1992, the bank was getting administrative guidance from the federal government and was on the verge of being seized.
A group of Japanese investors had bought the bank that was later to become ITLA Capital Corp. in 1983. But by 1992, the Japanese economy was in a recession and the stock market there had begun a rapid decline.
The California economy wasn't much better off, recalled Haligowski, president and CEO of La Jolla-based ITLA Capital.
To complicate things, the thrift was trying to be a community bank, offering a wide range of consumer services in competition with bigger banks that could offer much more.
"I came from a securities industry background and knew very little about banking," said Haligowski, 46. "But I had a mandate from the owners to reposition the bank in the marketplace so it could be sold.
"I looked at the bank's operations and realized it was a traditional community bank. But the paradigm had changed and community banks had a lot of trouble competing with bigger banks."
He decided to change the bank completely. About 90 percent of the bank officers and executives were let go. Nine of its 16 branch offices around California were closed.
Three years after Haligowski took charge, the Japanese investors sold out and received their initial investment when the bank became a publicly traded company.
Now, five years later, ITLA's subsidiary, Imperial Capital Bank, as it is now called, is a leading commercial real estate lender in the state. It recently relocated from Glendale to La Jolla where ITLA Capital is headquartered along with another subsidiary,...