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Banking Firm Names President in Restructuring : Revisions: West Coast Bancorp is centralizing operations and hopes to put the company on track as a major regional concern.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

West Coast Bancorp, a multibank holding company, has promoted William J. Mylymok to president and chief operating officer as part of a corporate restructuring to centralize operations and, the firm hopes, put the company on track as a major regional banking concern.

Mylymok, of Newport Beach, had been a corporate executive vice president as well as president and chief executive of the firm’s Sunwest Bank unit in Tustin.

James G. LeSieur III of Corona del Mar, who had been Sunwest’s chief financial officer, assumed Mylymok’s posts of bank president and chief executive.

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Mylymok was hired as a corporate executive five years ago to mold the holding company, which had just purchased Sunwest. But the firm discovered loan problems and other problems at Sunwest and moved Mylymok to the bank to straighten them out, said Frank E. Smith, West Coast’s chief financial officer.

Now the holding company, which also owns Heritage Thrift & Loan in Brea and Sacramento First National Bank in Sacramento County, wants to centralize as much of its operations as possible and prepare for further growth. Mylymok was moved up to handle that job.

He replaces John B. Joseph as West Coast president. Joseph remains as chairman and chief executive of West Coast as well as chairman of Sunwest.

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West Coast, formerly called Centennial Beneficial Corp., had total assets of $472.8 million at the end of March and earned $754,000 in the first quarter, double the amount earned in last year’s first quarter.

Sunwest has been the company’s major subsidiary and income provider. The bank accounts for about 60% of the company’s total assets. Last year, the bank earned $1.6 million, but losses elsewhere in the company gave West Coast an annual loss of $1.2 million.

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