Imperial Takes Pretax Charge: Imperial Bancorp said...

Imperial Takes Pretax Charge: Imperial Bancorp said its Imperial Bank subsidiary is taking a $7.4-million pretax charge against fourth-quarter earnings after the company found “irregularities and continued overstatement of assets” at a small lending unit in Encino that it acquired last year. The Los Angeles-based banking firm said the problem occurred with MFC Financial, a unit involved in asset-based lending that makes loans of $25,000 to $1 million to small businesses. A spokesman for Imperial declined to elaborate on the irregularities and said new management has been installed at the unit. Despite the charge, Imperial expects to post increased earnings from the year-ago quarter.