BANKING / FINANCE : Guardian S&L;’s Main Office Extends Operating Hours: 9 to 9 Every Day

The extended hours adopted in recent weeks by many financial institutions pale in comparison to the new schedule set by the main office of Guardian Savings & Loan.

Starting Sunday, the new office in Huntington Beach will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. 7 days a week.

“This branch is at one of highest (commercial) traffic areas in Orange County,” said Guy Garner, Guardian’s marketing manager. “Between 6 a.m. and midnight every day, people are at businesses near the corner of Beach Boulevard and Warner.”

The main branch, which was transferred from Long Beach, has been open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. 6 days a week for more than a month, Garner said. Even at that, it was open longer than most of the banks and S&Ls; that have instituted extended hours, in most cases by remaining open until 6 or 7 p.m. and for a few hours on Saturday morning.

The new 7-day schedule, which applies only to the main office, will remain in force for “as long as the market demands it,” he said. At Guardian’s six other branches, extended hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. are in force on Fridays only.

To celebrate the move into new corporate headquarters, Guardian will host a grand opening party for the public from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at its main office May 3. The S&L; bought a 14-story building last summer from Charter Savings & Loan for $55 million.