Home Savings Merger Denied: The federal Office...

Home Savings Merger Denied: The federal Office of Thrift Supervision, as expected, denied Home Savings of America’s request to merge with a New York-based bank that it owns, in a move that would cut its deposit insurance premiums. The Irwindale-based thrift’s merger into Bowery Savings Bank would roughly halve Home’s $47-million annual payment because banks pay much lower deposit insurance rates than thrifts. Home said it will keep fighting for the merger through a federal lawsuit filed last summer in Los Angeles.