BANKING

U.S. Regulators Close L.A. Thrift: The Office of Thrift Supervision took over Union Federal Bank and immediately transferred control of the privately held institution to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Dean Witter Trust FSB, a subsidiary of Dean Witter Discover & Co., purchased Union Federal’s available assets and debts and will service Union Federal’s customers. Dean Witter Trust will take over about 1,000 accounts, valued at roughly $30.6 million, according to the FDIC. Dean Witter Trust will pay the FDIC $4.1 million to take over the failed Los Angeles-based thrift’s insured deposits and to purchase roughly $2.7 million of its assets. The action closes the doors on a savings and loan that held $2 billion in assets in 1991. Union Federal’s assets dwindled in the 1990s as it ran into financial trouble.