As if being caught in a tough financial environment isn’t bad enough, City National Corp. also is dealing with the annoyance of mistaken identity. The L.A.-based bank, a big player in OC, has no subprime loans, is well capitalized and remains profitable. But soured loans to homebuilders have cut into earnings and its stock is down 30% year-to- date. To add insult to injury, City National says a few clients and others have confused it with the much bigger National City Corp., which is being closely watched by regulators and investors. That Cleveland-based regional bank, strapped with nearly $5 billion in “non-prime” loans, lost $1.8 billion in the second quarter and its stock has plummeted 80% in 12 months. Because of the name confusion, as well as general inquiries about the health of City National stoked by concerns over the federal takeover of IndyMac, City National has issued a “safe and sound” fact sheet. Even CNBC’s “Street Signs” slipped up when City National CEO (and OC weekender) Russell Goldsmith appeared as a panelist on the show. Host Erin Burnett referred to him as CEO of National City as the Cleveland bank’s plunging stock chart was flashed on the screen. Burnett corrected herself and Goldsmith remained cool, taking the opportunity to point out differences between the two banks …
UCI Chancellor Michael Drake and wife Brenda were a couple of weeks ahead of Barack Obama in visiting the Middle East and Europe. The Tulsa, Okla.-based Schusterman Foundation sponsored Drake and eight other U.S. university chiefs in Israel, and the Drakes continued on to Germany, coincidentally visiting the same sites,Jerusalem, the West Bank, the missile-torn town of Sderot and Berlin,that Obama then hit in his highly publicized tour. It was even more coincidental for Drake, as he was able to get better acquainted with his new boss, UC President Mark Yudof and his wife Judy. Yudof still was running the University of Texas system when he invited Drake to Israel. “We have many mutual friends but had not spent much time working together,” Drake says. “It was nice to spend time together” …
Bob Leenhouts, GM of Shady Canyon since its 2002 opening, is moving to Maui to become CEO of the Makena Golf Club. He’ll oversee conversion of the two public courses to private membership, part of the resort’s planned conversion into an 1,100-unit residential community. “I haven’t had one (Shady) member tell me they won’t come to see me” …
Who says there’s no bipartisanship? Land use lawyer Tim Paone, a Republican, and his Manatt, Phelps & Phillips partners Tom Phelps and Tom Umberg, both Democrats, hosted a get-to-know-you for new state Senate Republican leader Dave Cogdill. A couple of months earlier, OC GOP chairman and consultant Scott Baugh invited his Democrat friend Fabian N & #250; & #324;ez, then winding down as Assembly speaker, to kick back with a few Republicans at Gulfstream in Corona del Mar.
