A thrift tug of war

IBS Financial in Cherry Hill is in a tough proxy fight. A vocal group of dissident shareholders is waging a drawn-out battle with management for representation on the board or the savings and loan holding company. The wranglings might seem more in line for the corporate board room of a Fortune 500 company or an international bank rather than this suburban thrift. But dissident shareholders led by Lawrence B. Seidman and Richard Whitman, he two investment managers, remain confident that a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling on the ultimate composition and size of IBSF's board will give the group an opportunity to nominate two directors and gain a bigger say in how the company is being run.

Based in Cherry Hill, IBS Financial conducts business through its wholly-owned subsidiary Inter-boro Savings and Loan, with 10 offices throughout Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties. At the company's fiscal year end of September 30, 1996, the thrift had $742.1 million in total assets, $571.4 million in total deposits and $4 5 million in net income.

The battle at IBSF has been building ever since Seidman and Whitman's group bought into the thrift back in February 1995. Seidman and company were critical of the company's financial returns and the salary paid to Joseph Ochman, who has been IBSF's CEO since 1976. His annual compensation for 1996, including stock options exercisable on September 30, 1996, was $1.2 million.

The major goal of the dissidents, though, is to sell the thrift. The past couple of years have been a very good time for thrifts and small banks to sell because bigger institutions have been trying to bulk up.

Heading the investment group Seidman Associates, Seidman and others in the dissident shareholder committee held 8.5% of IBSF's shares at the end of January. Richard Whitman, president of Benchmark Capital, an investment consulting firm in New York City, is...