1
                        HAWTHORNE FINANCIAL CORPORATION

PRESS RELEASE
NOVEMBER 18, 1999                                                      EXHIBIT 1


                                [HAWTHORNE LOGO]



                        HAWTHORNE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
                                 PRESS RELEASE


NOVEMBER 18, 1999

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Mr. Gary W. Brummett, Acting President and Chief Executive Officer
          (310) 725-5600
          Ms. Simone Lagomarsino, EVP and Chief Financial Officer (310) 725-5631
          Mr. Timothy R. Chrisman, Chairman of the Board (213) 620-1192


(NASDAQ:HTHR) (El Segundo, CA) Timothy R. Chrisman, Chairman of the Board of
Hawthorne Financial Corporation (the "Company"), parent company of Hawthorne
Savings, F.S.B. (the "Bank"), today announced that Scott Braly has resigned
from his positions of President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of the
Company and the Bank. Mr. Chrisman indicated that Gary W. Brummett will be
acting President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and the Bank during
the interim while the Board undergoes a search for a new President and Chief
Executive Officer. Mr. Brummett has been a director of the Company and Bank
since October, 1999. Formerly, Mr. Brummett was the Chief Operating Officer of
Cal Fed Bancorp, Inc., a $14 billion financial services company.

Mr. Chrisman noted that the Company will continue to specialize in real estate
secured loans throughout Southern California in the niche markets that it
serves, including: 1) Permanent loans collateralized by single family
residential property, 2) permanent and construction loans secured by
multi-family residential and commercial real estate, 3) loans for the
construction of individual and tracts of single family residential homes and
the acquisition and development of land for the construction of such homes. The
Company funds its loans predominantly with retail deposits generated through
its six full-service retail offices.