WESTCORP <WCRP> UNIT SELLS CAR LOAN BACKED BONDS
Western Financial Auto Loans 2, a unit
of Westcorp's Western Financial Savings Bank subsidiary, is
offering 125 mln dlrs of bonds that are collateralized by car
loan receivables, said sole underwriter Drexel Burnham.
    A Drexel officer said that while today's issue is
asset-backed, the debt is a bond, not a pass-through
certificate like the so-called "cars" deals First Boston Corp
popularized for General Motors Corp's <GM> GMAC unit.
    The Western Financial unit's securities have an average
life of 1.4 years and mature March 1, 1990. They were priced to
yield 6.86 pct, Drexel said.
    The bonds have a 6-3/4 pct coupon and were priced at 99.938
to yield 60 basis points more than Treasuries.
    The debt has a quarterly payment schedule. Standard and
Poor's rates the issue a top-flight AAA.
    This is Western Financial Auto Loans' third such issue. All
three were underwritten by Drexel, which is part of an elite
group of Wall Street firms that have brought these asset-backed
deals to market since early 1985.
 Reuter
