<PAGE>
 
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 20, 1996
                                                   Registration No. 33-_________
                                                                                

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                               -----------------

                                    Form S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     Under
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                               -----------------

                         COAST SAVINGS FINANCIAL, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

                               -----------------

                         Delaware                        95-4196764
             (State or other jurisdiction of          (I.R.S. Employer
              incorporation or organization)         Identification No.)

                               -----------------

                            1000 Wilshire Boulevard
                       Los Angeles, California 90017-2457
         (Address, including zip code, of Principal Executive Offices)

                               -----------------


            1996 COAST SAVINGS FINANCIAL, INC. EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
                            (Full title of the plan)
                                        

         Norman H. Raiden, Esq.                       Copies to:
            General Counsel                     Stephen D. Cooke, Esq.
     Coast Savings Financial, Inc.         Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker
        1000 Wilshire Boulevard                  695 Town Center Drive
   Los Angeles, California 90017-2457              Seventeenth Floor
             (213) 362-2000                  Costa Mesa, California 92626
(Name, address, including zip code, and              (714) 668-6200
telephone number, including area code,
of agent for service)

                               -----------------

                       CALCULATION  OF  REGISTRATION  FEE
<TABLE> 
<CAPTION>
==============================================================================================================
                                                   Proposed               Proposed 
                                                    Maximum                Maximum
       Title of                 Amount to be     Offering Price           Aggregate               Amount of
Securities to be Registered      Registered       Per Share (1)        Offering Price (1)     Registration Fee
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                             <C>              <C>                   <C>                    <C>
Common Stock, par value          929,146 (2)         $32.6875            $30,371,460               $10,473
$.01 per share
==============================================================================================================
</TABLE> 
(1) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the amount of the
    registration fee in accordance with Rule 457 under the Securities Act of
    1933, as amended.  The Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price is based on
    the average of the high and low prices on the New York Stock Exchange
    Composite Transaction Report on June 17, 1996 of $32.6875 per share with
    respect to the 929,146 shares issuable pursuant to awards granted under the
    1996 Coast Savings Financial, Inc. Equity Incentive Plan.

(2) This Registration Statement covers, in addition to such number of shares
    issuable pursuant to awards granted under the 1996 Coast Savings Financial,
    Inc. Equity Incentive Plan, an indeterminate number of additional shares
    which may become subject to awards as a result of the adjustment provisions
    of the plan.  The registration fee is calculated only on the stated number
    of shares.

                                       
<PAGE>
 
                                     PART I

              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS


Item 1.  Plan Information*

Item 2.  Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information*

       *    Information required by Part I to be contained in the Section 10(a)
            prospectus is omitted from the Registration Statement in accordance
            with Rule 428 under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Note to Part
            I of Form S-8.


                                    PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT


Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference

          The following documents are hereby incorporated into this Registration
Statement and made a part hereof by this reference:

            (a)   The Annual Report on Form 10-K of Coast Savings Financial,
                  Inc. (the "Company") for the fiscal year ended December 31,
                  1995, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
                  "Commission") pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
                  as amended (the "Exchange Act");

            (b)   The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal
                  quarter ended March 31, 1996, filed with the Commission
                  pursuant to the Exchange Act;

            (c)   All other reports filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of
                  the Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year covered by
                  the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K referred to in (a)
                  above;

            (d)   The description of the Common Stock contained under the
                  caption "Description of Common Stock" in the Company's
                  Registration

                                       1
<PAGE>
 
                  Statement on Form S-3 (no. 33-59110) filed with the
                  Commission; and

            (e)   The description of the rights to purchase preferred stock
                  contained in the Company's Form 8-A filed with the Commission
                  on September 1, 1989.

          In addition, all documents filed by the Company with the Commission
pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent
to the date of this Registration Statement, and prior to the filing of a post-
effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered have been sold
or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be
incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement and to be a part
hereof from the date of the filing of such documents with the Commission.


Item 4.  Description of Securities

            Not applicable.


Item 5.  Interests of Experts and Named Counsel

            Not applicable.


Item 6.  Indemnification of Officers and Directors

       Article TWELFTH of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company filed
with the Secretary of State of Delaware eliminates the personal liability of the
directors of the Company to the fullest extent permissible under Delaware law as
the same exists and to such greater extent as Delaware law may thereafter
permit.

       Additionally, pursuant to Article FOURTEENTH of the Certificate of
Incorporation filed with the State of Delaware, the Company is authorized to
indemnity any officer or director for monetary damages incurred by such person
as a result of settling or successfully defending any action, suit or
proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative if the
officer or director acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably
believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the Company.  In
addition, the Company shall indemnify any officer or director for the costs of
defending an action in which such person is adjudged to be liable to the Company
to the extent that the Court of Chancery of Delaware or the court in which such
action or suit

                                       2
<PAGE>
 
was brought shall determine upon application that such person is fairly and
reasonably entitled to indemnity for such costs.  Any indemnification resulting
from an officer or director settling any action, suit or proceeding shall be
paid by the Company, if a determination is made (i) by the board of directors by
a majority vote of the directors who are not parties to such action, suit or
proceeding, or if such majority of disinterested directors so directs, (ii) by
independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (iii) by the stockholders,
that indemnification of the director or officer is proper in the circumstances
because he or she has met the above-referenced standard of conduct.  The
Certificate of Incorporation further provides that if the Delaware General
Corporation Law is amended after the date of the Certificate of Incorporation to
further expand the indemnification permitted to directors and officers, then the
Company shall indemnify such person to the fullest extent permitted by the
Delaware General Corporation Law as so amended.

Item 7.  Exemption from Registration Claimed

            Not applicable.

Item 8.  Exhibits

         The exhibits filed as part of this Registration Statement are as
         follows:
<TABLE> 
<CAPTION> 
         Exhibits
         --------
         <S>   <C>
         4.1   1996 Coast Savings Financial, Inc. Equity Incentive Plan
               (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's
               Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March
               31, 1996).

         5.    Opinion of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker.

         23.1  Consent of KPMG Peat Marwick LLP.

         23.2  Consent of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker (contained in
               Exhibit 5).

         24.   Power of Attorney (contained on signature page of Registration
               Statement).
</TABLE> 
Item 9.  Undertakings

(1)    The Company hereby undertakes:

                                       3
<PAGE>
 
       (a)    To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
              made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

              (i)    To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of
                     the Securities Act;

              (ii)   To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising
                     after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or
                     the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which,
                     individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental
                     change in the information set forth in this Registration
                     Statement;

              (iii)  To include any material information with respect to the
                     plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this
                     Registration Statement or any material change to such
                     information in this Registration Statement;

              provided, however, that the undertakings set forth in paragraph
              --------  -------  
              (a)(i) and (a)(ii) above do not apply if the information required
              to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs
              is contained in periodic reports filed by the Company pursuant to
              Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are
              incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.

       (b)    That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
              Securities Act, each post-effective amendment to this Registration
              Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
              relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of
              such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial
              bona fide offering thereof.

       (c)    To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment
              any of the securities being registered that remain unsold at the
              termination of the offering.

(2)  The Company hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any
     liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Company's annual
     report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that
     is incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement shall be deemed
     to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered
     therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed
     to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

                                       4
<PAGE>
 
(3)  Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act
     may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the
     Company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Company has
     been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is
     against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore,
     unenforceable.  In the event that a claim for indemnification against such
     liabilities (other than the payment by the Company of expenses incurred or
     paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Company in the
     successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
     director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities
     being registered, the Company will, unless in the opinion of its counsel
     the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of
     appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is
     against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be
     governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

                                       5
<PAGE>
 
                                   SIGNATURES


          Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all
of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Los Angeles, State of California, on June 20, 1996.


                          COAST SAVINGS FINANCIAL, INC.



                          By:  /s/ Ray Martin
                               -------------------------
                               Ray Martin
                               Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

                                       6
<PAGE>
 
                               POWER OF ATTORNEY

          KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature
appears below constitutes and appoints Ray Martin and Robert L. Hunt II, or any
of them, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of
substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name, place, and stead, in
any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective
amendments) to this Registration Statement, and to file the same, with all
exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and
agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and
every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith,
as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby
ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of
them, or their or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be
done by virtue hereof.

          Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the date indicated.
<TABLE> 
<CAPTION> 
      Signature                     Title                           Date
      ---------                     -----                           ----
<S>                           <C>                               <C>
/s/ Ray Martin                Chairman of the Board,            June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  Chief Executive Officer
Ray Martin                    and Director (Principal
                              Executive Officer)


/s/ Robert L. Hunt II         President, Chief Operating        June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  Officer and Director
Robert L. Hunt II

 
/s/ James F. Barritt          Senior Executive Vice             June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  President and Chief Financial
James F. Barritt              Officer (Principal Financial
                              and Accounting Officer)

 
/s/ Leon S. Angvire           Director                          June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  
Leon S. Angvire

 
/s/ John C. Argue             Director                          June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  
John C. Argue

 
/s/ Gerald D. Barrone         Director                          June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  
Gerald D. Barrone

 
/s/ Joan Milke Flores         Director                          June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  
Joan Milke Flores

 
/s/ Jack P. Libby             Director                          June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  
Jack P. Libby

 
/s/ James P. Miscoll          Director                          June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  
James P. Miscoll
 

/s/ Keith W. Renken           Director                          June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  
Keith W. Renken

 
/s/ Harold B. Starkey, Jr.    Director                          June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  
Harold B. Starkey, Jr.
</TABLE>

                                       7
<PAGE>
 
                                 EXHIBIT INDEX
<TABLE> 
<CAPTION> 
                                        
       Exhibits
       --------
       <S>          <C>
          4.1       1996 Coast Savings Financial, Inc. Equity Incentive Plan
                    (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's
                    Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended
                    March 31, 1996)

          5.        Opinion of Paul, Hastings,
                    Janofsky & Walker

         23.1       Consent of KPMG Peat Marwick LLP

         23.2       Consent of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker (contained in
                    Exhibit 5)

         24.        Power of Attorney (contained on signature page of
                    Registration Statement)

</TABLE> 

                                       8
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "FORM S-8 RE 1996 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN", "secsgml_size_bytes": 18951}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "COAST SAVINGS FINANCIAL INC", "cik": "0000841074", "assigned-sic": "6035", "irs-number": "954196764", "state-of-incorporation": "DE", "fiscal-year-end": "1231"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-06425", "film-number": "96583560"}, "business-address": {"street1": "1000 WILSHIRE BLVD", "city": "LOS ANGELES", "state": "CA", "zip": "90017-2457", "phone": "2133622000"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "1000 WILSHIRE BLVD", "city": "LOS ANGELES", "state": "CA", "zip": "90017-5624"}}
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 20, 1996
                                                   Registration No. 33-_________
                                                                                

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                               -----------------

                                    Form S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     Under
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                               -----------------

                         COAST SAVINGS FINANCIAL, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

                               -----------------

                         Delaware                        95-4196764
             (State or other jurisdiction of          (I.R.S. Employer
              incorporation or organization)         Identification No.)

                               -----------------

                            1000 Wilshire Boulevard
                       Los Angeles, California 90017-2457
         (Address, including zip code, of Principal Executive Offices)

                               -----------------

            1996 COAST SAVINGS FINANCIAL, INC. EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
                            (Full title of the plan)
                                        

         Norman H. Raiden, Esq.                       Copies to:
            General Counsel                     Stephen D. Cooke, Esq.
     Coast Savings Financial, Inc.         Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker
        1000 Wilshire Boulevard                  695 Town Center Drive
   Los Angeles, California 90017-2457              Seventeenth Floor
             (213) 362-2000                  Costa Mesa, California 92626
(Name, address, including zip code, and              (714) 668-6200
telephone number, including area code,
of agent for service)

                               -----------------

                       CALCULATION  OF  REGISTRATION  FEE
==============================================================================================================
                                                   Proposed               Proposed 
                                                    Maximum                Maximum
       Title of                 Amount to be     Offering Price           Aggregate               Amount of
Securities to be Registered      Registered       Per Share (1)        Offering Price (1)     Registration Fee
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock, par value          929,146 (2)         $32.6875            $30,371,460               $10,473
$.01 per share
==============================================================================================================
(1) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the amount of the
    registration fee in accordance with Rule 457 under the Securities Act of
    1933, as amended.  The Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price is based on
    the average of the high and low prices on the New York Stock Exchange
    Composite Transaction Report on June 17, 1996 of $32.6875 per share with
    respect to the 929,146 shares issuable pursuant to awards granted under the
    1996 Coast Savings Financial, Inc. Equity Incentive Plan.

(2) This Registration Statement covers, in addition to such number of shares
    issuable pursuant to awards granted under the 1996 Coast Savings Financial,
    Inc. Equity Incentive Plan, an indeterminate number of additional shares
    which may become subject to awards as a result of the adjustment provisions
    of the plan.  The registration fee is calculated only on the stated number
    of shares.
PART I

              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

Item 1.  Plan Information*

Item 2.  Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information*

       *    Information required by Part I to be contained in the Section 10(a)
            prospectus is omitted from the Registration Statement in accordance
            with Rule 428 under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Note to Part
            I of Form S-8.

                                    PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference

          The following documents are hereby incorporated into this Registration
Statement and made a part hereof by this reference:

            (a)   The Annual Report on Form 10-K of Coast Savings Financial,
                  Inc. (the "Company") for the fiscal year ended December 31,
                  1995, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
                  "Commission") pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
                  as amended (the "Exchange Act");

            (b)   The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal
                  quarter ended March 31, 1996, filed with the Commission
                  pursuant to the Exchange Act;

            (c)   All other reports filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of
                  the Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year covered by
                  the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K referred to in (a)
                  above;

            (d)   The description of the Common Stock contained under the
                  caption "Description of Common Stock" in the Company's
                  Registration

                                       1
Statement on Form S-3 (no. 33-59110) filed with the
                  Commission; and

            (e)   The description of the rights to purchase preferred stock
                  contained in the Company's Form 8-A filed with the Commission
                  on September 1, 1989.

          In addition, all documents filed by the Company with the Commission
pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent
to the date of this Registration Statement, and prior to the filing of a post-
effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered have been sold
or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be
incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement and to be a part
hereof from the date of the filing of such documents with the Commission.

Item 4.  Description of Securities

            Not applicable.

Item 5.  Interests of Experts and Named Counsel

            Not applicable.

Item 6.  Indemnification of Officers and Directors

       Article TWELFTH of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company filed
with the Secretary of State of Delaware eliminates the personal liability of the
directors of the Company to the fullest extent permissible under Delaware law as
the same exists and to such greater extent as Delaware law may thereafter
permit.

       Additionally, pursuant to Article FOURTEENTH of the Certificate of
Incorporation filed with the State of Delaware, the Company is authorized to
indemnity any officer or director for monetary damages incurred by such person
as a result of settling or successfully defending any action, suit or
proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative if the
officer or director acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably
believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the Company.  In
addition, the Company shall indemnify any officer or director for the costs of
defending an action in which such person is adjudged to be liable to the Company
to the extent that the Court of Chancery of Delaware or the court in which such
action or suit

                                       2
was brought shall determine upon application that such person is fairly and
reasonably entitled to indemnity for such costs.  Any indemnification resulting
from an officer or director settling any action, suit or proceeding shall be
paid by the Company, if a determination is made (i) by the board of directors by
a majority vote of the directors who are not parties to such action, suit or
proceeding, or if such majority of disinterested directors so directs, (ii) by
independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (iii) by the stockholders,
that indemnification of the director or officer is proper in the circumstances
because he or she has met the above-referenced standard of conduct.  The
Certificate of Incorporation further provides that if the Delaware General
Corporation Law is amended after the date of the Certificate of Incorporation to
further expand the indemnification permitted to directors and officers, then the
Company shall indemnify such person to the fullest extent permitted by the
Delaware General Corporation Law as so amended.

Item 7.  Exemption from Registration Claimed

            Not applicable.

Item 8.  Exhibits

         The exhibits filed as part of this Registration Statement are as
         follows:
Exhibits
         --------
4.1   1996 Coast Savings Financial, Inc. Equity Incentive Plan
               (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's
               Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March
               31, 1996).

         5.    Opinion of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker.

         23.1  Consent of KPMG Peat Marwick LLP.

         23.2  Consent of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker (contained in
               Exhibit 5).

         24.   Power of Attorney (contained on signature page of Registration
               Statement).
Item 9.  Undertakings

(1)    The Company hereby undertakes:

                                       3
(a)    To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
              made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

              (i)    To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of
                     the Securities Act;

              (ii)   To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising
                     after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or
                     the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which,
                     individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental
                     change in the information set forth in this Registration
                     Statement;

              (iii)  To include any material information with respect to the
                     plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this
                     Registration Statement or any material change to such
                     information in this Registration Statement;

              provided, however, that the undertakings set forth in paragraph
              --------  -------  
              (a)(i) and (a)(ii) above do not apply if the information required
              to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs
              is contained in periodic reports filed by the Company pursuant to
              Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are
              incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.

       (b)    That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
              Securities Act, each post-effective amendment to this Registration
              Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
              relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of
              such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial
              bona fide offering thereof.

       (c)    To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment
              any of the securities being registered that remain unsold at the
              termination of the offering.

(2)  The Company hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any
     liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Company's annual
     report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that
     is incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement shall be deemed
     to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered
     therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed
     to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

                                       4
(3)  Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act
     may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the
     Company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Company has
     been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is
     against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore,
     unenforceable.  In the event that a claim for indemnification against such
     liabilities (other than the payment by the Company of expenses incurred or
     paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Company in the
     successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
     director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities
     being registered, the Company will, unless in the opinion of its counsel
     the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of
     appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is
     against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be
     governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

                                       5
SIGNATURES

          Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all
of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Los Angeles, State of California, on June 20, 1996.

                          COAST SAVINGS FINANCIAL, INC.

                          By:  /s/ Ray Martin
                               -------------------------
                               Ray Martin
                               Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

                                       6
POWER OF ATTORNEY

          KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature
appears below constitutes and appoints Ray Martin and Robert L. Hunt II, or any
of them, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of
substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name, place, and stead, in
any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective
amendments) to this Registration Statement, and to file the same, with all
exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and
agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and
every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith,
as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby
ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of
them, or their or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be
done by virtue hereof.

          Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the date indicated.
Signature                     Title                           Date
      ---------                     -----                           ----
/s/ Ray Martin                Chairman of the Board,            June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  Chief Executive Officer
Ray Martin                    and Director (Principal
                              Executive Officer)

/s/ Robert L. Hunt II         President, Chief Operating        June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  Officer and Director
Robert L. Hunt II

 
/s/ James F. Barritt          Senior Executive Vice             June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  President and Chief Financial
James F. Barritt              Officer (Principal Financial
                              and Accounting Officer)

 
/s/ Leon S. Angvire           Director                          June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  
Leon S. Angvire

 
/s/ John C. Argue             Director                          June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  
John C. Argue

 
/s/ Gerald D. Barrone         Director                          June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  
Gerald D. Barrone

 
/s/ Joan Milke Flores         Director                          June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  
Joan Milke Flores

 
/s/ Jack P. Libby             Director                          June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  
Jack P. Libby

 
/s/ James P. Miscoll          Director                          June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  
James P. Miscoll
 

/s/ Keith W. Renken           Director                          June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  
Keith W. Renken

 
/s/ Harold B. Starkey, Jr.    Director                          June 20, 1996
- ----------------------------  
Harold B. Starkey, Jr.
7
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibits
       --------
4.1       1996 Coast Savings Financial, Inc. Equity Incentive Plan
                    (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's
                    Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended
                    March 31, 1996)

          5.        Opinion of Paul, Hastings,
                    Janofsky & Walker

         23.1       Consent of KPMG Peat Marwick LLP

         23.2       Consent of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker (contained in
                    Exhibit 5)

         24.        Power of Attorney (contained on signature page of
                    Registration Statement)
8