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(ISSN 0026-296X)

SOUTHERN EDITION

AUGUST, 1984

ASSET/LIABILITY MANAGEMENT/

COMMERCIAL LOAN ISSUE


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Asset/Liability Management:
Where Can Bankers Go for Help?
Asset/Liability-Management Software:
Is It Providing Answers Banks Need? . . . . Page 37
Enhancing
Loan-Documentation
Efficiency . . . Page 18
If:.

I

Regulators Analyze Problems
Facing Commercial Lenders . . . ____ Pages 8, 9, 21

/

/V

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Introducing

Banks of Mid-America
A strong new name in banking.
You are cordially invited to become well
acquainted with this STRONG new banking company.
It signifies a potent new partnership, rising to meet
the growing financial needs of Middle America
and Mid-Americans.

HOW STRONG?...
On July 17, Liberty National Corporation of
Oklahoma City and First Tulsa Bancorporation, Inc. of
Tulsa officially became BANKS OF MID-AMERICA and
formed the strongest possible banking axis between
Oklahoma’s two great metropolitan areas with
(as of March 31, 1984):
•more than 40% greater deposits
•more than 15% greater loans
•more than 20% greater resources
•more than 15% greater capital funds
•and a more than 20% greater combined bank
loan limit than our nearest competitor in each

ÛS Liberty
A Bank of Mid-America
Liberty National Bank and Trust Company
Post Office Box 2 5 848, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73125/M em ber FDIC


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

category...but we could not have a greater desire
to lend our strength to you.

WHY THE SYMBOL?...
The face of the Statue of Liberty was chosen
because it is our country’s singular monument to
freedom and opportunity. And where but in
Mid-America do freedom of economic enterprise and
opportunity flourish more abundantly? We believe
the region is on the threshold of quantum growth
over the years immediately ahead.

MEANWHILE...
Respectfully, we invite you to discover the new
depth and breadth of the superior customer services
which our two anchor banks can now provide. The
strongest in Oklahoma, Banks of Mid-America has
more for you. At the core of our corporate philosophy,
you will always find the cherished ideals upon which
America - and both banks - were founded.

First Tulsa
A Bank of Mid-America
The First National Bank and Trust Company
Post Office Box One, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74193/M em ber FDIC

WHITNEY NATIONAL BANK OF NEW ORLEANS

CONDENSED STATEMENT OF CONDITION
AS OF JUNE 30, 1984
RESOURCES
Cash and Due from Financial In stitu tio n s............................................................................................. $
U. S. Treasury S e c u ritie s ...............................................................................................................................
Obligations of States and Political S u b d iv isio n s................................................................................
Federal Reserve and Corporate S t o c k .....................................................................................................
Federal Funds Sold and Securities Purchased Under Agreements to R esell............................
Loans and L e a s e s ...........................................................................................................................................
Less: Reserve For Possible Loan L o s s e s ...............................................................................................
$
Bank Prem ises and E q u ip m e n t..................................................................................................................
Other Real E s t a t e ...........................................................................................................................................
Customers’ A cceptance L iab ility ...............................................................................................................
Accrued Income R e c e iv a b le .......................................................................................................................
Other A s s e ts .......................................................................................................................................................

280,986,247.39
680,225,799.59
73,004,392.18
1,503,776.87
21,700,000.00
986,112,869.45
11,007,160.79
975,105,708.66
18,513,011.37
6,112,672.98
209,394.58
34,837,410.40
5,051,394.50

TO TA L........................................................................................................................................................ $ 2,097,249,808.52

LIABILITIES
D e p o s its ..............................................................................................................................................................$ 1,606,198,197.27
Federal Funds Purchased and Securities Sold Under Agreements to R e p u rch a se................
244,625,000.00
A cceptances O utstan din g............................................................................................................................
209,394.58
Dividend Payable July 2, 1984 ....................................................................................................................
4,050,784.80
Special Dividends Payable............................................................................................................................
1,145,976.94
Accrued Taxes, Interest and E x p e n s e s ....................................................................................................
23,061,800.92
TOTAL LIA BILITIES.............................................................................................................................. $ 1,879,291,154.51

CAPITAL

ACCOUNTS

Capital S to ck ........................................................................................................................................................$
S u rp lu s ................................................................................................................................................................
Undivided Profits..............................................................................................................................................
Securities R eserv e.............................................................................................................................................

2,800,000.00
47,200,000.00
167,095,653.06
863,000.95

TOTAL CAPITAL A C C O U N T S............................................................................................................ $

217,958,654.01

TO TA L .......................................................................................................................................................... $ 2,097,249,808.52


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

---- §F-----

WkuMUf
NATIONAL BANK I
OF NEW ORLEANS

"

CONVENTION
CALENDAR

Aug. 19-22: Independent Bankers
Association of America Seminar/
Workshop on the One-Bank HC,
Colorado Springs, C olo., the
Broadmoor.
Aug. 19-24: Independent Bankers
Association of America Senior
Bank Officer Seminar, Boston,
Babson College.
Sept. 1-4: Assem blies for Bank
Directors Assembly 58, Colorado
Springs, Colo., the Broadmoor.
Sept. 9-11: Kentucky Bankers Asso­
ciation Annual C onvention,
Louisville, Galt House.
Sept. 9-12: ABA National Bank
Card Conference, Washington,
D. C., Washington Hilton.
Sept. 10-12: Independent Bankers
Association of Am erica Basic
Commodity Marketing Seminar,
Chicago, Westin Hotel.
Sept. 12-13: Banking/Insurance
Forum: 1984, Boston, Colonnade
Hotel. (Sponsored by Risk Plan­
ning Group, Ine., 203/655-9791.)
Sept. 12-15: Bank Administration
Institute National Convention,
Denver, Fairmont Hotel.
Sept. 16-18: Independent Bankers
Association of America Commer­
cial Loan W orkshop, Kansas
C ity, Radisson M u ehlebach
Hotel.
Sept. 16-19: ABA Human R e­
sources
C o n feren ce,
New
Orleans, Fairmont Hotel.
Sept. 16-19: Bank Marketing Asso­
ciation Annual Convention, New
Orleans, Marriott.
Sept. 20-22: ABA International
Banking Conference, Washing­
ton, D. C., Mayflower Hotel.
Sept. 23-28: Robert Morris Associ­
ates Loan Management Seminar,
Columbus, O.
Sept. 23-29: ABA National Con­
sumer Credit School, Norman,
Okla., University of Oklahoma.
Sept. 24-26: ABA Chief Financial
O fficers Sem inar, New York
City, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
Sept. 25: Bank Marketing Associa­
tion’s C ross-Selling, Chicago,
BMA Office.
Sept. 27: Bank Marketing Associa­
tion’s Cross Selling, Chicago,
BMA Office.
Sept. 30-Oct. 3 : Bank Administra­
tion Institute Cash Management
Conference, Philadelphia, Belle­
vue Stratford Hotel.

4


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

IN THIS ISSUE
Volume 80, No. 8

August, 1984

6 T H E B A N K IN G S C E N E

Learning to pose the tough questions
8 B A N K -L E N D IN G P R O B L E M S

Can they be solved?
21 F D I C G IV E S V IE W S ON L E N D IN G P R O B L E M S

B ro ad er pow ers could help banks diversify risks
S/2 KANSAS R E G IO N A L M E E T IN G S S E T

Strategic planning, selling are topics
S/8 N E W S A B O U T B A N K S /B A N K E R S

M erger, prom otion, H C -form ation news
2 7 W H A T IS M Y B A N K W O R T H ?

An investment b an k er’s view
30 A /L M A N A G E M E N T A S S IS T A N C E

W here ban kers can get it
4 0 U S E F U L T O O L IN P L A N N IN G C A P IT A L A D E Q U A C Y

F o r community banks
45 M IS S O U R I BA P L A N S F A L L F E S T IV A L S

Eight meetings set f o r Septem ber, O ctober
Editorial/Advertising Offices
Ralph B. Cox
Publisher
Lawrence W. Colbert
Vice President, Advertising
Rosemary McKelvey
Editor
Jim Fabian
Senior Editor
John L. Cleveland
Assistant to the Publisher
Marge Bottiaux
Advertising Production Manager
Nancy Gilbreath
Staff Assistant
Shelia Humphrey
Subscriptions

408 Olive St., St. Louis, Mo. 63102. Tel. 314/
421-5445.
MID-CONTINENT BANKER is published monthly
by Commerce Publishing Co., 408 Olive St., St.
Louis, Mo. 63102.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MID­
CONTINENT BANKER at 408 Olive St., St.
Louis, MO 63102.
Printed by The Ovid Bell Press, Inc., Fulton,
Mo. Second-class postage paid at St. Louis,
Mo., and at additional mailing offices.
Subscription rates: Three years $2 7 ; two years
$ 2 0 ; one year $1 2 . Single copies, $ 2 .5 0
each. Foreign subscriptions, 50% additional.
Commerce Publications: American Agent &
Broker, Club Management, Decor, Life Insur­
ance Selling, Mid-Continent Banker and The
Bank Board Letter.
Officers: Donald H. Clark, chairman emeritus,
Wesley H. Clark, president and chief executive
officer; James T. Poor, executive vice president
and secretary; Ralph B. Cox, first vice president
and treasurer; Bernard A. Beggan, David A.
Baetz, Lawrence W. Colbert and William M.
Humberg, vice presidents.

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

Before your
problems get the best of you
get the best of them.
First National Correspondent Consulting Services offers educational and
training opportunities that deal with vital issues and problems facing bankers today.
Each of these “ hands-on” courses
features experienced instructors
from First National Bank of Louis­
ville—the region's largest and
strongest bank. You'll gain valu­
able information and skills that
can help you make your bank
stronger and more profitable.
Credit Analysis School and Work­
shop. Gives you the skills and
expertise to analyze, structure,
document, review and adminis­
ter commercial credits. September
24-25, November 20-21.
Loan Review School and Work­
shop. A must for those whose
responsibilities require adminis­
tering and monitoring individual
credits, industry segments or your
entire loan portfolio. September
4-5, November 12-13.

Professional Sales School. A
required course for our own
officers. A must for professional­
ism in selling products, cross­
selling services and developing
customer contacts. October 2224, December 10-12.

Officer Call Program. A completely
organized program that can be
easily implemented, monitored
regularly and enhanced as needed.
Addresses the issues of training,
motivation, documentation and
individual call-management. Fea­
tures individual goal-setting by
each officer, use of a customized
manual, implementation of cus­
tomized forms for advance prepa­
ration and the reporting of call
results. Includes training sessions
and a quarterly officer meeting
conducted by First National Bank.
This program has been imple­
mented in banks ranging in size
from $70,000,000 to $270,000,000.
Call for a presentation.

Personnel Administration Seminar.
Addresses such issues as salary
administration, regulatory require­
ments, policy manuals and affirm­
ative action plans. Dates To Be
Announced.
Agricultural Lending School and
Workshop. Focuses on the credit
analysis, cash flow and loan review
procedures required for agri-busi­
ness and farm production loans.
October 25.
Problem Loan Seminar and Work­
shop. A systematic approach to
identifying and evaluating poten­
tial problem loans prior to the
loss stage. October 2.

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Put it to w ork for you.

For additional information call
Correspondent Consulting
Services: Direct-(502) 581-7791,
Kentucky WATS-(800) 292-2272.
In neighboring states-(800)
626-6515.

MEMBER F.D.I.C.

5

THE BANKING SCENE
By Dr. LEWIS E. DAVIDS
Professor of Finance
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

Learning to Pose Tough Questions
IKE most academics, I have found
in and replace the lost board member
that one of the most difficult ques­ on short notice? Are you prepared to
tions a student can pose is one startinghandle the related estate changes and
with “what if?”
potential shift in stockholder control?
Television reporters love to pose
These are important questions if you
that question, especially when inter­ suddenly find yourself in that situa­
viewing political figures. It’s a great
tion. Posing the question before such
way to catch a politician off guard and
get him to say som ething he/she
perhaps did not intend to say. Politi­
cians are becoming more adept at
fending off such ploys, however. The
Good bankers learn to pose
public generally is less enlightened by
a noncommittal response, but for the the tough 'what-if questions.
politician, it is probably wiser to wait They know that while the future
until all ramifications of a “what-if
scenario have been considered. Many is a mystery, even catastrophic
a political ship has been torpedoed by events can be planned for.
an ill-considered response to a “whatif” question.
Bank management can hardly afford
to wait to pose serious “what-if” ques­
tions today. Recent events in the bank­
ing industry have stirred clouds of an event actually occurs may not spare
doubt about the safety of the banking you all the pain if your speculations
system. No banker can claim to be run­ become reality, but it can make the
ning a safe institution unless most of transition period smoother.
what conceivably could go wrong has
L et’s say you came in the bank one
been postulated and contingency plans day and discovered that all of your loan
have been developed.
officers had been pirated by an aggres­
No banker can foretell the future sive S&L now intent on grabbing a
with any degree of accuracy, of course,
slice of your commercial-lending pie.
and no one expects a banker to act as Are you prepared to live with the loss
though his/her institution constantly of your personnel? What percentage of
operates at the edge of an abyss. Such a your customer base might follow your
banker soon would fall prey to paranoia lending officers over to the S&L, and
and create more doubts about the could you sustain such a loss safely?
soundness of the banking system than
Many banks are confronted with the
the most reckless of his/her peers.
problem of having about 20% of their
But good bankers learn to pose the customers account for 80% of their
tough “what-ii” questions. They know loan portfolios. What if one day finan­
that while the future is a mystery, even cial calamity struck a number of your
catastrophic events can be planned for. best customers and the bank regulator
What if a major shareholder current­ ended up classifying a significant seg­
ly serving on your board suddenly ment of your portfolio?
died? Banks typically replace at least
Lately, there have been some dis­
one board member per year due to quieting rumors about daylight over­
retirement provisions in the bylaws. drafts. On an average day, more than
But the unexpected loss of a key board $500 billion is cleared through the two
member due to illness or fatality can be major international wire-transfer ser­
traumatic for an institution. Can you vices, the Led Wire and the New York
locate another director who could step Clearinghouse Interbank Payment

L

6


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

System.
Banks routinely run large overdrafts
during the day as this money moves
across the wires, and the concern has
been that a weak institution with sig­
nificant overdrafts suddenly could find
itself unable to make settlement at the
end of the day. A domino effect could
pass destructively through the banking
system. You could be on the short end
of such a development. Are you pre­
pared to handle it?
Some time ago, a major midwestern
bank suffered what normally would
have been a catastrophic fire, but for­
tunately, it had recently revised its
contingency plans and was able to con­
tinue operations with minimal inter­
ruptions in service. Would your in­
stitution be able to survive such an
emergency?
When a hurricane damaged an ex­
tensive section of the Gulf Coast, some
banks were fortunate in that they’d
planned ahead and put their computer
operations in secured areas. Other
banks had kept computer operations in
highly exposed areas where broken
glass and torrential rains did consider­
able damage.
Which class would your bank be in if
a hurricane or tornado struck? If this
happened, could you somehow man­
age to reproduce your data base if the
damage was so severe that there was
no other choice?
Acts of nature can be destructive
enough, but sometimes the acts of men
can be even more so. Most bank merg­
ers or consolidations are rather gen­
tlemanly affairs during which manage­
ment has ample time to plan for possi­
ble consequences.
What if your institution suddenly
should become the target of an un­
friendly takeover attempt? There’s a
lot of talk in the press these days about
“greenmail,” a legalized form of black­
mail wherein a raider besieges a com­
pany with no other aim than to force
management to buy out his stock. The
(Continued on page 46)

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

WHEN yo u WANT TO
G ET IT DONE,
CALL A CORRESPONDENT
WHO H AS
BEEN THERE.
There are only a handful
of correspondents who can
say they’ve learned the
needs of community banks
firsthand.

And his knowledge is now
channeled into providing
services like fast, efficient
transit operations, bond
and investment services
and bank stock loans. The
same responsiveness he
provided to his bank cus­
tomers is now offered
to you.

Ernie Yake is one of them.
He successfully man­
aged Commerce Bank of
Moberly. And before
that, he headed a subur­
ban Kansas City bank
on the Kansas side.

So give Ernie a call at
234-2483. He knows how
to get it done for you,
because he’s already done
it himself.

Today, Ernie runs the
Correspondent Depart­
ment at Commerce Bank
of Kansas City. Ernie
knows what bankers need.

¡i'Com m erce Bank
f

W T

i

NA

of Kansas City

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

MEMBER FDIC

GETTING IT DONE
7

Bank-Lending Problems:
Can They Be Solved?
What Are the Answers?
HAT has happened to bank­
lending policies? How did so
many banks become saddled with
performing loans? Did the so-called
“troubled” banks get that way only be­
cause they made loans they should not
have made? Or are they victims of the
economic downturn of a few years ago?
How can these banks, short of being
closed or sold, climb out of their pre­
dicam ent? And how can “ nontroubled” banks keep from landing in
the same situation?
M id -C ontinent B anker editors
contacted bank regulators for answers
to these questions and for advice in the
bank-lending area.
One regu lator — E u g en e W.
Kuthy, com m issioner, M ichigan
Financial Institutions Bureau — says
that, from his experience, commercial­
lending problems usually create a
number of other problems for a bank.
He lists — in order of their seriousness

W

— major problems his office finds
banks have encountered as a result of
maintaining a high volume of nonper­
non­
forming loans. Mr. Kuthy points out
that any one of the items by itself could
have a more serious impact than others
on a particular bank.
1. Loss of earnings as a result of addi­
tional provisions to allowance for possi­
ble loan losses and added expense of
increased collection efforts.
2. Declining capital because of loss
of earnings.
3. Elimination of cash dividends.
4. Management changes that cause a
disruption to a bank’s operation.
5. Management/board efforts to
solve lending problems cause neglect
in other areas, such as asset/liability
management, planning, marketing,
etc.
6. Pressure from shareholders for
change as a result of poor performance
and lack of return on investment.

What can banks do to avoid or alleviate lending prob­
lems? Suggestions made by various bank regulators (see
accompanying article) include the following:
1. Implementing and following an adequate lending
policy.
2. Involving bank directors in the lending process.
3. Requesting management to update present loan
policies to more adequately address specific types of
loans, collateral requirements, financial information,
etc., and monitoring strict adherence to such policies.
4. Requiring that loans be extended mainly in a bank's
trade area and limiting types of loans to those within
management's expertise.
5. Constantly updating financial information on bor­
rowers, as well as operating information on businesses
and cash-flow statements on farmers.
6. Retaining qualified senior lending officers and sup­
port personnel.
8


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Mr. Kuthy suggests some sound
lending practices, which he lists in
order of their seriousness:
1. Implementing and following an
adequate lending policy.
2. Properly structuring a loan to con­
sider repayment capacity, cash-flow
projections and collateral value.
3. Adequate collection procedures
and obtaining adequate outside coun­
sel to assist on workout loans.
4. Diversification within a particular
industry, e.g., farming, oil drilling,
automotive.
5. Monitoring financial progress of a
credit during its term.
6. Maintaining current adequate
financial information.
7. Involving bank directors in the
lending process.
8. Adopting an adequate internal
loan-review system.
9. Proper reliance on the primary
lending officer.
10. Strict loan-extension policies.
11. Proper reliance on collateral/
character.
“ C orrective action coidd take a
number of different forms depending
on the severity of the problem, Mr.
Kuthy continues. “Generally, when a
lending problem is discovered, the ex­
aminer reports the extent of the prob­
lem to the board, along with some
basic recom m endations. Usually,
these recommendations involve re­
view and strengthening of the loan
policy as well as a review of the ade­
quacy of lending personnel. If the
problems persist or the recommenda­
tions are not followed, we usually will
enter into a memorandum of under­
standing with the board. This memo­
randum, signed by all board members,
sets forth certain items to be achieved
and a timetable for accomplishing the
objectives. If the memorandum of
understanding does not achieve the
desired changes, our actions become
progressively more severe. Options, at
this stage, include issuance of a ceaseand-desist order or officer and/or
director removal.

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

The response of Kenneth W. Little­
field, Missouri banking commissioner,
is influenced by the fact, as he puts it,
that a majority of state-chartered banks
in his state are small, rural ones. He
lists four major problems he believes
banks have created and are encounter­
ing in connection with nonperforming
loans:
1. Bankers have been collateral
lenders rather than cash-flow lenders
during the past (inflationary) decade.
This has resulted in a number of non­
perform ing loans where collateral
values have decreased (farm real estate
and machinery/equipment) as much as
25% to 30%, and banks now are faced
with under-collateralized loans that
also are cash deficient.
2. Banks often find their documenta­
tion inadequate or too deficient to pro­
tect their collateral interest or to moni­
tor adequately the borrower’s chang­
ing financial condition. This often
leads to unnecessary losses when liq­
uidating a line of credit or prevents a
bank from taking a more timely action
to shore up weak credit.
3. Another problem is failure to de­
velop a well-thought-out, workable
lending policy, which could be valu­
able in preventing nonperform ing
loans and could provide guidelines for
dealing with nonperform ing loans
once they occur.

4.
Still another problem is failure to
deal with nonperforming credits at an
early date so as to prevent collateral
dissipation, financial deterioration
and, importantly, bankruptcy. A num­
ber of banks don’t have adequate inter­
nal loan-review/rating systems, which
would enable them to identify prob­
lem credits early enough to renegoti­
ate, restructure or liquidate problem
loans without loss.
Ohio’s superintendent of banks,
Linda K. Page, lists fO major causes of
nonperforming loans in order of their
seriousness:
1. Loans have been extended based
on collateral values with little regard to
purpose or repayment ability.
2. Depressed industries, such as
agriculture.
3. All classes of borrowers have had
economic problems brought about by
recession, inflation, etc.
4. Concentrations of credit to indus­
tries — such as agriculture, oil and gas
— have exposed some banks.
5. Many banks have inadequate
credit information and loan review by
management.
6. Lending without realistic repay­
ment terms based on the loan’s pur­
pose has created numerous workout
loans.
7. Out-of-area lending has caused
servicing/collection difficulties.

8. Insider transactions.
9. Relaxation of bankruptcy laws and
changing attitudes of borrowers.
10. The large volume of credits ex­
tended to developing nations.
In terms of corrective actions, Ms.
Page says the following are some of the
steps her department has taken to im­
prove loan administration:
1. Requesting management to up­
date present loan policies to more ade­
quately address specific types of loans,
collateral requirements, terms, finan­
cial information, etc., and monitoring
strict adherence to such policies.
2. Requiring that loans be extended
mainly in a bank’s trade area and limit­
ing types of loans to those within man­
agement’s expertise.
3. Monitoring, on a periodic basis,
all large and problem loans in those
banks where asset quality is deemed a
concern.
4. At problem banks, recommend­
ing — and sometimes requiring — that
a board examine management strength
and capabilities in loan departments.
5. Constantly updating financial in­
formation on borrowers, as well as
operating information on businesses
and cash-flow statements on farmers.

(Continued on page 10)

Loan Problems From Federal Regulators' Viewpoint
HE VAST majority of bank failures
credit review/loan-approval processes
in the past few years, says Comp­ and profitability measurement. These,
troller of the Currency C. T. Conover,Mr. Conover points out, are things
were caused not by problem foreign
well-managed banks will continue to
loans, which have attracted the most
do well.
media attention, but by domestic-loan
The F ed ’s Opinion . It’s clear from
losses.
events that have transpired in the last
The fundamental, recurring reasons
few years that some banks have gotten
for these loans, he believes, can be
into difficulty with loans in such areas
read straight out of the C om ptroller s as real-estate trusts, oil-drilling proj­
H an dbook f o r N ational B ank Exam in­ ects and in making loans to foreign bor­
ers. They include:
rowers. So says Frank O’Brien Jr.,
• Excessive concern about provid­ deputy assistant to the Board of Gov­
ing income.
ernors, F ed eral R eserve System ,
• Compromise of credit principles.
Washington, D. C. There’s nothing
• Complacency about supervising wrong, per se, with lending in any of
loan performance or obtaining credit
these areas, Mr. O’Brien continues,
information.
and, indeed, in each case at the outset
• Poor selection of credit risks.
of the growth of lending in them, they
• Self dealing.
were profitable lending areas. Difficul­
• Over-lending.
ties arose from extension of large-scale
There’s no substitute for the basic
lending in such areas after surrounding
principles and processes of commer­ economic circumstances changed and
cial lending, Mr. Conover continues.
made them less profitable or unprofit­
They include: weighing risk against re­ able. Mr. O’Brien adds that other
ward, diversification, ensuring ade­ problems have been created by viola­
quate collateral, maintaining internal
tions of insider-lending rules and of
controls, asset/liability management,
other safe-banking practices.

T

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He emphasizes that the great major­
ity of banks in the U. S. — big and
small — have conducted themselves
prudently and responsibly and have
served the public well.
Mr. O’Brien points to corrective ac­
tions such as enactment by Congress
— with concurrence of the regulators
— of the International Lending Super­
vision Act of 1983. The Fed, Comp­
troller and FD IC have taken the fol­
lowing steps to implement the act with
the objective of strengthening the sys­
tem of supervision of international
lending by U. S. banking institutions:
• Began a strengthened system of
country-risk evaluation by the agen­
cies.
• Instituted prudential measures,
including maintenance by banking in­
stitutions of adequate minimum capi­
tal levels and establishment of special
reserves against international assets in
countries experiencing severe and
protracted debt-service problems.
• Require more frequent reporting
to the banking agencies on country ex(C ontinued on page 39)

9

With All Eyes on Foreign Countries,
Who Is Watching Domestic Lending?

Bank-Lending Problems
(Continued fr o m page 9)

HAT does one financial observer think about present banking
“Diving for garbage.” This is an
problems? Here’s what was written by Herbert S. Gruber, presi­
Arkansas colloquial expression, which,
dent, Heller Mortgage Corp., Miami, a real-estate-lending unit of according to M arlin D. Jackson ,
Walter E. Heller & Co., Chicago. Mr. Gruber writes a weekly syndi­
Arkansas banking commissioner, de­
cated column (for the general press), called “On Balance,” and here’s
scribes activities of banks that, to sup­
what his readers saw recently in more than 40 metropolitan newspapers.
port the ever-increasing cost of their
D ollars an d S en se. With all eyes on Mexico, Brazil and Poland, who is
liabilities, either purchase loans out­
watching domestic lending? Our banking system can get by with its
side of their areas, purchase participa­
international loans because those countries somehow always will be
tions out of their areas or make direct
there and probably will find a way to roll over, reschedule or repay their
extensions of credit to borrowers out­
obligations with help from the World Bank, International Monetary
side of their trade territories.
Fund or Bank for International Settlements. But when domestic com­
In the oldest writings of the Bible,
panies can’t pay their bills anymore, Chapter 11, Chapter 7 or just
Mr. Jackson points out, accounts are
straight liquidation close the books for the banks and write-offs take
given whereby warriors fighting in a
place. In 1975, as we came out of the latest recession, banks took their
foreign land were paid “extra measures
lumps writing off real estate investment trusts, the Penn Centrals and
of grain” because of the increased risk
their real estate loans. They will find the same things facing them this
incurred when one engages in combat
time, except that some of the new fatalities will be our large smokestack
a great distance from home. The same
industries along with oil- and energy-related companies.
is true of banking, he continues. The
greater the distance of the underlying
* * *
asset of a loan from a bank, the greater
Banking on I t . Penn Square Bank, Oklahoma City, was the tip of the
the risk.
iceberg, which alone turned up $2 billion in bad loans, shaking up
Mr. Jackson believes a great many
Continental Illinois National, Chicago, and driving Seattle First Nation­
banks that have tried to increase their
al into the waiting embrace of Bank of America, San Francisco. Obvious­
earnings either did not have the skills
ly, a lot of earnings will be needed to overcome those write-offs. Banks
and abilities or failed to use skills and
have been keeping unprofitable firms in operation, giving an unfair
abilities that are imperative when ac­
advantage to these companies. By waiving interest and not requiring
quiring “out-of-the-area” assets, i.e.,
principal repayment, they allow the firms to compete unfairly against
loans.
the strong ones.
F o r e m o s t among inadequ acies
The well financed have to make up for the weak in the industrial
among out-of-area loans, says Mr.
sector. It’s better to bite the bullet in a rising economy, which now is
Jackson, is a borrower’s inability to re­
taking place in our country. The time has come for banks to stop
pay. Second among the inadequacies is
spoon-feeding the walking wounded and let them tiptoe into liquida­
the excessive loan to true current mar­
tion. Restructuring of a company’s debt can go only so far, and then the
ket value of assets. T hird is inability of
examiners step in and you either can write it off or turn the debt into
the bank to properly supervise on an
future equity by taking stock that may have some value down the line in
ongoing basis the underlying collateral
a reorganization. Bank growth has had its eras of highs and lows. Banks
of the loan.
get caught up in the go-go highs that say put out more money; make
On a scale of one to 10, Mr. Jackson
more profit, and let’s be another Citicorp. Now with money sloshing
ranks out-of-the-area loans as the most
around banking institutions from all the cash deposited through moneyprevalent problem facing banks in
market accounts or whatever new account is available that month, they
Arkansas. He cites particularly those
again are out on the street pushing loans.
banks characterized by regulators as
* * *
“requiring more than ordinary regula­
tory
supervision.”
G et the M oney B ack. Banks don’t have to call a bad debt a bad debt.
Mr. Jackson says that as state bank­
They operate by rules of their own. Loan losses may be known, but they
ing commissioner, he has spoken to his
can be written off whenever they see fit. Bad loans can be made good
state’s bankers on 10 different occa­
magically by lending the delinquents more money — then, they can pay
sions within the last year. On each
the interest and be current. Technically, they can have all the bad loans
occasion, he cautioned them against
they want, as long as the auditors and examiners don’t squeal. Since the
the temptation to “dive for garbage”
depositors aren t alerted, they keep putting their money into the bank,
and has reminded them of the inherent
and everything goes merrily along, with assets increasing on the banks’
increased risk involved in acquiring
statements. If depositors want their money back, the bank doesn’t call
out-of-the-area loans without regard as
their loans; they just go out and pay to get deposits. What hurts banks is
to whether they are direct placements
a shortage of liquidity — ready cash to pay off those demanding their
of the lending bank or whether they
money when they appear at the door. In years past, banking normally
are purchased from loan packagers or
was done on lending short 30-60-90-day notes and getting long-term
participations bought via banks, S&Ls
deposits. But this trend was turned around when banks started making
or other financial institutions. Addi­
10-year loans to Poland and others, taking in 90-day CDs along with
tionally, he has issued a policy state­
getting O PEC dollars that were so volatile. Banks were borrowing short
ment to the banks covering this matter
and lending long, getting their big deposits concentrated in fewer and
and, No. 2, ranking activity common
fewer hands. Never have so many banks been owed so much by so few.
among banks “requiring more than

W

10


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11

average regulatory supervision,” that
being churning the bond account.
According to Mr. Jackson, his de­
partment has taken a variety of correc­
tive actions when it has been deter­
mined that banks engaged in out-ofthe-area lendings have done so in such
a manner as to constitute “unsafe and

unsound” banking practices. Actions
taken ranged from issuance of formal
cease-and-desist orders with tight time
perimeters for elimination of the outof-the-area loans to memorandums of
understanding and “jawboning” with
managements and directors at exit in­
terviews.

Existing Regulatory Framework
Is Adequate in Bank Lending

Obviously, says Mr. Jackson, ac­
tions implemented were dependent
on severity of the problems. In severe
cases, he issued official cease-anddesist orders. In moderate cases, he
issued memorandums of understand­
ing (informal agreements). In slight
cases, he merely “jawboned” bankers
during their exit interviews.

Primary Problem Areas

Wisconsin’s banking commissioner,
William. P. Dixon, prefaces his re­
marks on commercial-loan problems
by
pointing out that his state is not
By Jordan L. Haines, Chairman
heavily industrialized; nor are there
Fourth National Bank, Wichita
large population centers outside of the
Milwaukee metropolitan area. Of the
URING 1978, in the wake of some disturbing revelations about
approximately 600 state/nationally
how a small bank in Georgia was transacting business, Congress
chartered banks in the state, an over­
and the regulatory agencies reasserted the need for commercial banking whelming majority are community
to be governed by well-defined rules, particularly in the credit exten­
banks with under $100 million in
sion-area. Formal lending policies were mandated, boards of directors
assets. Only three banks have more
advised of added responsibilities and loan officers subjected to a fresh
than $1 billion in assets. Consequent­
batch of compliance forms.
ly, says Mr. Dixon, commercial lend­
The ensuing period has demonstrated, in certain publicized cases,
ing by Wisconsin banks usually in­
that rules, if not made to be broken, are sometimes made to be ignored.
volves extensions of credit to small and
It seems evident that many of the problem loans now affecting “sophisti­
medium-sized businesses.
cated” lending institutions might have been avoided by greater adher­
Mr. Dixon has seen a noticeable in­
ence to their own internal guidelines. Some of these actions presumably
crease in problem business loans re­
were conscious; that is, taken as a calculated risk to gain market share or
ported in his staffs examinations dur­
profitability when optimism was both credible and commonplace. In
ing the past two to three years, and
this quest for momentum, lines of supervision were blurred, loan docu­
such loans are occurring in all areas of
mentation postponed and a sort of financial horse race conducted. In
the state and in all sizes of banks, in­
some situations, junior officers apparently made judgments well beyond
dicating that contributing factors are
their scope and authority.
not confined to economic difficulties in
We are reminded that these unfortunate events, for the most part,
specific geographical areas. Even
occurred at large banks, whose resources should have permitted de­
though problem business loans are on
tailed procedures for credit extension. They obviously didn’t mean to
the rise, he continues, the number of
have so much go wrong, but it did, and Congress again is questioning
banks with serious loan-portfolio prob­
the ability of an entire industry to manage its affairs.
lems is small. He believes problems
What should those of us with community or middle-market orienta­
with delinquent business loans are
tion take as the object lesson? To be sure, few banks have been immune
more attrib u tab le to loan-adm in­
to ambitious practices fostered by competition and investor pressures.
istration abilities of particular bank
So where is the middle ground between “performance” and peril?
managements than to external forces
In our opinion, most problem loans have been caused by abnormal
such as unem ploym ent and a de­
asset growth and over-reliance on unreliable economic scenarios. These
pressed economy. While a small numfactors appear to be the result of managerial attitude rather than regula­
er of banks are experiencing businesstory deficiency and, as in many professions, have encouraged the
loan problems, Mr. Dixon says a much
thought that high risk-taking by a few is typical of all.
greater number are handling their loan
We believe the existing framework of rules and regulations for com­
portfolios well and are enjoying steady
mercial-bank lending is quite adequate, particularly for the domestic
asset growth and reasonable profitabil­
sector. While Congress has an acknowledged right to investigate and
ity.
correct perceived excesses in any area of banking, such effort should
Lending problems, says Mr. Dixon,
show that a very small proportion of lenders have acted imprudently,
fall into three primary areas in Wiscon­
given economic conditions. What is needed, we suggest, is a review by
sin:
all bankers of sound credit philosophies and fundamentals. In this era of
1. Loan requests are not reviewed
deregulation and intensified competition, cannot the price of growth be
properly at the time of application.
too high? Should not quality in loans and in all asset categories be the
Historical financial information may
overriding objective in any bank?
not be analyzed properly; an appli­
Most of us are aware of existing credit guidelines, both internal and
cant’s management ability may not be
external. A reappraisal of our ad h eren ce to these basic standards would
given sufficient consideration, or
go a long way toward rectifying what the public may believe is inade­
chances for success of the business may
quate regulation. As lenders, whether trainee or senior officer, we
not be weighed properly.
might remember the skilled carpenter’s admonition: “Measure twice;
2. After a positive credit decision is
cut once.”
(C ontinued on page 28)

D

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13

Restating the Principles
O f Good Bank Lending
H IS YEA R marks the 70th
anniversary of R ob ert M orris
A ssociates’ (RMA) form ation in
Rochester, N. Y. Little did our first
members realize back then that, in
1984, RMA membership would grow
to include 2,700 financial institutions,
which account for nearly 90% of all
commercial and industrial loans ex­
tended by U. S. banks. Nor could they
imagine their original membership
core of 64 individuals would grow to
the present nearly 12,000 men and
women devoted to promoting profes­
sionalism in all aspects of the credit
process and in overall management of
risk.
Today, as in 1914, one of the pri­
mary strengths of our organization lies
in our Code of Ethics governing the
exchange of credit information. RMA
membership also affords lending offi­
cers the opportunity to meet with one
another, face-to-face, and to attend
first-rate educational programs. In the
past year alone, thousands of bankers
benefited from the many products and
services produced by the national
RMA organization. In addition, more
than 40,000 individuals attended RMA
educational seminars and meetings
sponsored by its 38 chapters and 39
subchapters nationwide.
I can imagine you saying to yourself,
“That’s all good and well. Rut if the
RMA really is providing so much
education and training, why do many
bankers still have more than their fair
share of bad loans?’’ You probably also
are wondering if we lenders haven’t
learned anything in the 70 years since
the RMA s founding — decades that
brought us from the Great Depression
of the ’30s to the Great Digression vis­
ited on the course of our global econ­
omy by OPEC. Another question you
might ask is whether we have stayed
with the fundamentals of the credit
process. Still another question is
w hether those fundam entals have
changed in 70 years. There are no easy
answers to these questions.
The world has changed. Technology
has shrunk the earth. Today’s banker

14


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By Glenhall E. Taylor Jr.

Glenhall E. Taylor Jr.
is the newly elected
pres., Robert Morris
Associates, and vice
chairman/chief cred­
it officer, Seafirst
Bank/Seafirst Corp.,
Seattle. He joined
both Seafirst orga­
nizations in 1983 as
chief credit officer
and w as given his
present posts later
th at y e a r. Before
going to Seafirst, Mr. Taylor w as executive
vice president/chairman, credit policy com­
mittee, Wells Fargo & Co., San Francisco,
from which he retired after 35 years of
service.

competes for both assets and liabilities
with domestic and foreign financial in­
stitutions. Some of these are reg­
ulated, some not. Competition should
lead to increased productivity in a
macro sense, which is good for all. But
the inefficient or poorly positioned
producer may find his market share
diminished, growth impeded and prof­
its squeezed. This sometimes leads to
unhappy management decisions to
book assets that don’t quite meet ex­
isting quality standards. It also may
induce management to follow the herd
and enter into transactions where the
risk is not fully understood.
The manager who resists temptation
and sticks to the basics may be viewed
as being unaggressive in his market­
place. The adjective “staid” even may
be used to describe his institution. The
same m anager also stands a good
chance of never having to announce
“down” quarters because of loan losses
or huge increases in nonperforming
assets.
Our industry has changed. When
the RMA was formed in 1914, the
Federal Reserve System came into
being. At that time, there were 25,510
commercial banks with total loans of

$13.2 billion. At the end of 1983, there
were 14,796 banks with total loans of
$1.1 trillion. Capital is required to sup­
port these assets, and, as you know,
there has been a tremendous growth in
our capital markets.
Abuses of the 1920s led to securities
legislation of the 1930s. This, in turn,
has brought 50 years of improved dis­
closure and accounting and a new
breed of security analyst. All have
served to heighten attention paid to
earnings perform ances of corpora­
tions. Unfortunately, much of the
focus has been on shorter-term results.
There has been competition for new
equity in the market. To that, add the
fact that most corporate executives to­
day have helpings on their plates of
stock options, restricted share rights
and other bonus plans. These incen­
tive-pay programs are designed to
award the high performer and benefit
the shareholder. Often, the reward is
determined by comparing an institu­
tion’s performance as measured by
price/earnings, return on assets and
return on equity to its peer group.
Once in a great while, the pressure to
continue compounded growth in these
numbers might lead a manager to
abandon the fundamentals — tempo­
rarily.
Individual transactions probably are
much more complex today, and the
officer who is a specialist in lending to a
particular industry is commonplace.
Part of the lender’s fundamentals in­
clude “character, capacity and capital”
— the three Cs of credit. The 90-day
loan to be repaid from liquidation of
trading assets once was one of the more
common products on the shelf. An in­
teresting development in more recent
years has been that those borrowers
with the first two Cs and lots of the
third C can borrow in the market more
cheaply than banks can.
As a result, we either have de­
veloped new or enlarged on old prac­
tices. Many banks are engaged in
asset-based lending or are financing
leveraged buyouts. To make these
deals, bankers have to stress a fourth

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

C, namely, CASH. We finally have
figured out that net profits plus depre­
ciation as derived by accrual account­
ing don’t repay a loan. Only the same
commodity we disbursed will do the
trick — and that’s cash. Some of us
forget that from time to time. The re­
sult often is new additions to our otherreal-estate-owned (OREO) or other
personal-property-ow ned (OPPO)
accounts.
Some things haven’t changed. A
good lending officer still analyzes the
purpose of a loan to see whether it
makes economic sense to him as a
businessman from the perspective of
both the bank and the borrower. He
looks for the primary and secondary
source of repayment and designs a re­
payment program synchronized with
the source of cash.
Next, he looks at the relationship
between the risk he is undertaking and
the reward for that risk. This is a sensi­
tive topic. What is surprising is the
number of transactions in which a bank
has far more at risk than the borrower.
The only upside potential whatsoever
— if it can be called that — is to be
repaid the principal plus interest. The
banker could be viewed in these trans­
actions as a nonvoting limited partner
with deep pockets willing to settle for a
1% or 2% return on his investment if
the loan is repaid or seen as a complete
fool if it is not.
The loan-portfolio manager still
struggles with diversification, and the
performance of some of us in this area
has been less than stellar. The three
basic elements are still there in manag­
ing a loan portfolio once lending and
pricing policies are in place. In a small
bank, the three functions might be
done by two or three persons, in a
m o n ey -cen ter bank, by a cast of
thousands. Regardless, these func­
tions include making the loans, moni­
toring and collecting them. Today,
however, we’ve added a fourth func­
tion that’s on the other side of the bal­
ance sheet: funding the loans at the
right rate.
The risk of an interest-rate mis­
match between the left and the righthand sides of the balance sheet might
be viewed in some respects as a “hid­
den” concentration — and hidden it
was for many institutions. Results of
funding a long-term fixed-rate port­
folio yielding 10% with short-term
money purchased at 15% are well
known to all of us and to the regulators.
W e’ve talked about making loans.
Let’s review the monitoring process
that not only pays attention to how
individual loans are performing, but
polices for concentrations. Concentra­

tions by industry or geography often
are unavoidable for a small unit bank,
but a bank of any size must closely
analyze the risk inherent in the con­
centration .
A well-managed portfolio should
have its risk diversified by industry
and by geographic location. This
should be done so there is no signifi­
cant impact on the capital account or
income stream if unfavorable econom­
ic or political events occur, having a
negative impact on the borrowers in
that segment of the portfolio. This is
more easily said than done. Further,

diversification itself can be risky. The
move to diversify can lead to the car­
dinal sin of doing business in markets
we don’t understand.
D oing business in m arkets not
understood can cause a newcomer
bank to be successful in its drive for
market share. Given the competitive­
ness of today’s markets and the intelli­
gence and enormous resources of some
of the players, this success could be a
sign that a bank is doing something
terribly wrong if its market share in a
given product or industry is soaring
(C ontinued on next page)

Bank's Internal Support System
Must Back Up Lending Activities
By Charles J. Kane
Senior Chairman/CEO
Third National Bank
Nashville

growing, you run the risk of banks tak­
ing undue risks to make up for these
lower spreads.
Has banking gotten “off course?”
We don’t think so. There have been
ITH respect to lending poli­ some well-publicized problems, par­
cies, our bank is taking more ticularly in foreign loans, industry con­
risks today than a few years ago, princi­
centration in lending and some few ob­
pally because of our concentration on vious cases of inappropriate manage­
the “middle m arket,” that is, mid­ ment. Despite these situations, there
sized companies throughout our re­ still is trem endous u ndergirding
gion. While there is greater risk, there
strength in the banking system. It’s my
also are tighter controls. Much of this view that all of us as bankers need to
lending is asset-based, and this type
give more concentrated effort to dem­
activity requires a great deal of docu­ onstrating to our customers and the
mentation and a great deal of supervi­ public at large that we, in fact, deserve
sion. Our marketing effort has been
their confidence. There still is a posi­
aggressive, but we have built the inter­ tive banking story to tell, from the
nal support systems to back it up —
perspectives of our customers, our in­
monitoring, documenting and servic­ vestors and legislative/regulatory au­
ing loans to control quality.
thorities. However, I do think that
The recession has had its casualties,
some of us need to go back and take a
to be sure, but we don’t believe it’s lesson on the basics of our industry and
accurate to blame the situation entire­ try and conform more to what we all
ly on the economy, with the possible
know and have learned from our past
exception of those who by design were
experiences.
into heavy single-industry concentra­
With all that has happened in our
tions, such as the energy industry. We
industry in the past year, it certainly
believe we need to be smart enough to has made the job for legislators more
evaluate credits in the context of the
complicated for coming up with some
economy as it develops up or down.
type of proper legislation. I am afraid
Our bank is fortunate in that it oper­ that if we do get any legislation, it will
ates in a primary marketplace that is be piecemeal and not fully thought
diverse — so our customer base is out. However, I feel strongly that Con­
varied as well, with no inordinate ex­ gress must act as it relates to nonbank­
posure in a given industry group. Pric­ ing entities in the banking field. If ac­
ing has become very competitive, and tion isn’t taken soon, I am afraid it will
in a lot of cases as it relates to the risk be completely out of control. My con­
involved, unrealistic. Coupled with
cern is whether these nonbanking en­
that, most of the large money-center
tities can wholly insulate their banking
banks and large regional banks and, to
businesses from their other businesses
a d egree, ou rselves, are making
and affiliates. I am convinced that the
money available to Triple A credits on
way we are going, the central bank is
a short-term basis, sometimes at rates
losing a certain amount of control, and
of a quarter of a percent or lower over
these people theoretically are going
fed funds. As this type of lending keeps
unregulated. • •

W

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

15

compared to others. The smart port­
folio manager will monitor changes
monthly on an annualized growth-rate
basis and satisfy him self as to the
soundness of the new business being
generated. In doing so, he may discov­
er to his happy surprise that his people
are doing something well and that
management and the board are satis­
fied with the growth in market share.
Market share — a term with an upbeat
sound to it — also eventually may
translate to a term with the connota­
tion of impending doom: to wit, con­
centration!
Yes, the fundamentals still apply.
W hile they haven’t changed, they
have been augmented. As credit peo­
ple, we know that even when the fun­
damental rules are followed, things
still can go wrong. Reasonable assump­
tions by reasonable men “gang aft
agley.” That’s one of the main reasons
we charge interest and set up loan-loss
reserves. Anyone in this business
knows there will be losses, sometimes
on old, valued accounts. What one
really hates to see is a loan loss from a
“dumb deal.” “Dumb deals’’ invari­
ably show on examination that the fun­
damental rules of credit granting were
at best bent and more likely broken.
My final comment is that despite all
the negatives you may hear and read
about, and the classic examples we’ve
all seen of how to “break the bank” by
ignoring the fundamentals, our indus­
try is sound. Of the country’s 14,000plus banks, only 48 failed last year,
which was a difficult year at that. The
RMA annual R eport on D om estic and
In tern ation al C h arg e-offs showed a
composite 42 basic-point net-loan loss

New RMA Officers
Glenhall E. Taylor Jr., author of
the accompanying article, is first vice
president, Robert Morris Associ­
ates, and will advance to RMA presi­
dent September 1. Mr. Taylor, vice
chairman/chief credit officer, Seafirst Corp./Seafirst Bank, Seattle,
succeeds Jack R. Crigger, executive
vice president, American National,
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Other RMA officers, who, along
with Mr. Taylor, were elected in the
association’s annual election August
3, are: first vice president, Patrick L.
Flinn, executive vice president,
C itizens & Southern National,
Atlanta; and second vice president,
Edward J. W illiams, treasurer,
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.,
New York City.
One of the four new RMA direc­
tors is from the Mid-Continent area:
Paul C. Clendening, senior vice
president, Commerce Bank, Kansas
City.
Digitized for 16
FRASER
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

to average loans as reported by 894
banks, an acceptable performance by
any measure given the severity of the
last recession. Energy-related prob­
lems have been recognized and largely
accounted for. Although the economic
outlook for renewed inflation and fu­
ture behavior of interest rates are high­
ly uncertain, international-debt diffi­
culties will be overcome. The borrow­
ers are nations who belong to the world
community. They are managed by
people whose objective is to raise the
standard of living of their citizens by
developing, in some cases, the vast re­
sources of their lands. The purpose of
the loans was productive, and the
primary source of repaym ent will
materialize. • •

Fall-Conference Program
Is Announced by RMA
Panel p resen tation s and smallgroup discussions will be among fea­
tures to be presented at the Robert
Morris Associates’ 70th annual fall con­
ference October 28-31 in San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
Topics to be covered by these pre­
sentations and discussions will in­
clude: strategic/tactical planning of the
total loan function; loan/credit admin­
istration in multi-bank HCs; recent
legislative developm ents affecting
bank lending; innovations in commer­
cial real-estate lending; prime-rate
perspective in 1984; generating/funding loans; agricultural lending; inter­
national-debt restructuring; evaluating/managing interbank risk; pros/cons
of decentralized/centralized credit de­
partments and their effect on the over­
all loan portfolio and continuing education/training for lenders.
The conference also will focus on the
future of in tern ation al lending;
strategies for increasing productivity
in lending; leveraged buyouts; use of
micro-computers in lending/credit;
letters of credit; the director’s role in
loan-portfolio quality; improved ac­
counting standards and their effect on
data supplied to bank-credit grantors
and profitability analysis.
Speakers will include the newly
elected RMA president, Glenhall E.
Taylor Jr., vice chairman/chief credit
officer, Seafirst Bank/Seafirst Corp.,
Seattle; Allan Sloan, senior editor,
F orbes magazine; and Sanford C. Sigoloff, chairman, Wickes Cos., Santa
Monica, Calif.
• Clifford R. Northup has b een
named a federal legislative representa­
tive for the ABA. He formerly held a
similar post with the Credit Union
National Association.

Loan Charge-Off Report
Published by RMA
Results of the 13th annual survey of
dom estic and in tern ation al loan
charge-offs of Robert Morris Associ­
ates’ (RMA)-member banks have been
published.
Statistics for the domestic section of
the report are based on data contrib­
uted by 894 RMA-member banks, in­
cluding 73 of the nation’s 100 largest
institutions.
Total domestic loans charged offlast
year were $4.6 billion, representing
.75 of 1% of the total average loans
outstanding of $616 billion. Dollars re­
covered in 1983 totaled $1,037 billion,
adjusting the ratio of net charge-offs
downward to .58 of 1%.
The domestic section ranks highloss industries for 1983 by bank-asset
size, Fed district and nationwide. The
top three high-loss industries nation­
wide by number of times cited were
investors (individual, personal bor­
rowers), eating and drinking places
and general contractors-residential.
The top three high-loss industries
ranked by dollars charged off were all
in the petroleum/natural gas indus­
tries.
Predictions of high-loss industries
for 1984 were ranked (1) eating and
drinking places, (2) general contrac­
tors-residential and (3) subdividers
and developers.
International-section statistics are
based on data submitted by 144 RMA
member banks, 85 of which are among
the nation’s top 100 institutions.
Total international loans and de­
posits charged offlast year were $1.06
billion, representing .31 of 1% of total
average international loans and de­
posits outstanding of $344.2 billion.
Dollars recovered in 1983 totaled
$124.6 million. After recoveries, ratio
of net charge-offs to average loans and
deposits outstanding was .27 of 1%.
Copies of the report are available
from the RMA Order Department,
1616 P hiladelph ia N ational Bank
Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107 at
$10 each for member banks and $15
each for nonmember banks.

• William C. Conrad, senior vice
president/manager, Detroit Branch,
Chicago Fed, has transferred to Chica­
go, where he is responsible for the
Seventh D istrict’s automation resources/automated-payments systems/
electronic information. Roby L. Sloan,
senior vice president, Chicago Fed,
has transferred to Detroit as branch
manager.

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

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MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CITY
PHONE

STATE

J
17

Enhancing
Loan-Documentation
Efficiency
IX MONTHS AGO, Billie Jean
terest while it promotes consistency
H ensarling, cash ier, Uvalde
through coordination of forms and
(Tex.) Bank, sought a way to enhanceprocess. It also generates management
loan-documentation efficiency. Her reports and complete loan lists.
objectives: to increase the accuracy of
“The LoanProcessor will be able to
loan calculations, accelerate the loan- handle everything we do,” Ms. Hen­
documentation process and stand­ sarling predicts.
ardize loan forms.
Designed for compatibility with the
Today, loan d ocum entation at
IBM PC or IBM PC-XT, the LoanUvalde Bank is completed in less than
Processor requires no complicated
nine minutes with the help of an in­ computer commands or loading rou­
novative software package that Ms.
tines. With only a few hours of on-site
Hensarling describes as “the most training and a working knowledge of
accurate loan-documentation system
the operations manual, a loan officer or
we have ever seen.’
other employee can acquire the skills
“Our employees love it,” Ms. Hen­ necessary to complete any type of loan.
sarling says, expressing her enthu­
siasm about the LoanProcessor®, a
loan-docum entation system from
Bankers Systems, In c., St. Cloud,
Minn. “Now we can process notes
much more quickly and have nice
clean documents for the credit files.”
In addition to being fast and accu­
rate, the LoanProcessor met Ms. Hensarling’s third objective — standard­
ization of loan forms — since it is com­
pletely integrated with forms from the
same vendor, a feature no other loandocumentation system offers. For over Donna Hale, secretary at Uvalde (Tex.)
30 years, Bankers Systems has been a Bank, enters information on LoanProcessor
leading supplier of legal forms for the described in accompanying article. Looking
financial industry. Gradually, the on is Billie Jean Hensarling, bank's cashier.
firm’s progressive line has expanded to
include a variety of related products
and services, such as the LoanProcessor, designed to enhance the
efficiency of banking.
The LoanProcessor combines Bank­
ers Systems’ legal and technical exper­
tise plus years of experience. The re­
sult: those features most valuable to
loan officers. In a single system, the
LoanProcessor’s capabilities include
everything from initial data collection
to storage and retrieval for over 25
categories of consumer, commercial
and real estate loans. It lends flexibility Less than nine minutes after entering in­
to the loan-documentation process by formation into LoanProcessor, Ms. Hale in­
offering several methods to accrue in­ serts loan form into printer.

S

18


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

“The LoanProcessor leads the oper­
ator through the en tire loan-doc­
umentation process,” Ms. Hensarling
explains, referring to the flashing cur­
sor, which travels through the pro­
gram, from section to section, like the
bouncing ball on “Sing Along With
M itch .” And because it is menudriven, the operator progresses
through the program by choosing
among the options that appear on the
screen.
To limit the number of keystrokes
necessary to complete the loan, the
LoanProcessor features automatic re­
call. This allows the operator to indi­
cate, with a single keystroke, that the
material to be entered is repetitive in­
formation, previously entered in the
program. The LoanProcessor then
automatically inserts the correct in­
formation. Beyond time savings, the
benefit of this feature, according to
Ms. Hensarling, is reduction in num­
ber of errors.
“Enter the information once, and it
shows up that way everywhere. Enter
it by hand every time and you leave
more room for error,” she adds.
Ms. Hensarling claims completion
errors are uncommon — “The pro­
gram has built-in protection features
— buffers that stop you from going any
further if you make a mistake.” For
exam ple, if the op erator o v er­
disburses a loan, a bell rings and “over­
disbursement” flashes on the display
screen. Or forget an area code when
typing a telephone number, and the
LoanProcessor recognizes the omis­
sion and leaves open parentheses so it
can be added later.
If information needs to be amended,
the process is quick and easy.
“If the customer has any objection to
the document, we can go back, change
the terms and have an alternative
document within a couple of minutes, ”
Ms. Hensarling points out. By select­
ing one of 10 special-function keys that

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

This announcem ent appears as a m atter o f record only

T h is announcem ent appears as a m atter o f record only

T h is announcem ent appears as a m atter o f record only

T h is announcem ent appears as a m atter o f record only

E is e n h o w e r N a tio n a l B a n k

T h e B a n k o f S an F ra n c is c o

M id w e s t F i n a n c i a l G r o u p

San A n ton io, Texas

H o ld in g C o m p a n y

P e o ria , Illinois

S an F r a n c is c o , C alifo rn ia

F i r s t o f A u s tin B a n c s h a r e s , I n c .
A u stin , Texas

is raising $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 in equity capital

has acquired
has m erged with

B ro ad w ay B a n csh a re s, In c.

is raising $ 1 .8 m illion equity capital

and
T h e undersigned acted as finan cial advisor
in this transaction

T h e undersigned acted as financial advisor

T h e undersigned acted as financial advisor to

in this transaction

B ro ad w ay B ancshares. Inc.

P r o s p e c t N a tio n a l B a n k
P e o ria , Illinois

S an A n ton io, Texas

U n iv e r s ity N a tio n a l B a n k
P e o ria , Illinois
The undersigned acted as financial advisor
in this transaction

Sheshunoff

Sheshunoff

Sheshunoff

Sheshunoff

Sh eshu no ff & Com pany, Inc.

Sh eshu no ff & Com pany, Inc.

Sh eshu no ff & Com pany, Inc.

Sh eshu no ff & Com pany, Inc.

Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas

A ustin, Texas

A ustin, Texas

This announcem ent appears as a m atter o f record only

This announcem ent appears as a m atter o f record only

T e x -F irs t B a n c s h a r e s , In c .
H ou sto n , Texas
has acquired

I n d u s t r ia l B a n k

Sheshunoff

H ou sto n , Texas

F irs t F re e p o r t C o rp o ra tio n
F re e p o rt, Illinois
has acquired

M o u n t C a r r o l l N a tio n a l B a n k
M ou n t C a rro ll, Illinois,

T h e F i r s t N a tio n a l B a n k
o f S to c k to n

and

S tock to n , Illinois

N o r th w e s t B a n k & T r u s t
H ou sto n , Texas

The undersigned acted as financial advisor
in this transaction

Sheshunoff
Sh eshu no ff & Com pany, Inc.
Austin, Texas

T h is announcem ent appears as a m atter o f record only

B ra z o s p o rt C o rp o ra tio n
F r e e p o rt, Texas

has acquired

M e r c a n t i l e N a tio n a l B a n k
o f C o r p u s C h r is ti
C o rp u s C h ris ti, Texas

The undersigned acted as financial advisor to
Brazosport C orporation

Sheshunoff
S h esh u n o ff & Com pany, Inc.
A ustin, Texas

For the past decade an important part of our
professional services to the banking community has
focused on providing investment banking, legal and
regulatory services. Of interest, during the past one
and a half years, we have completed over 175 bank
valuations throughout the country. The following is a
brief overview of our services.

INVESTMENT BANKING SERVICES
Bank Valuations
Stock for Stock Exchange Ratios
Fairness Letters
Mergers and Acquisitions

LEGAL AND REGULATORY SERVICES
One-Bank Holding Company Formations
Multi-Bank Holding Company Formations
Capital Planning

W e sla co , Texas
has acquired

T h e F i r s t N a tio n a l B a n k
o f W e s la c o
W e sla co , T exas,

H id a lg o C o u n ty B a n k a n d
T ru st C om pan y

For more information on these services, including
fee schedules for each specific type of engagement,
please call Alex Sheshunoff, Bob Walters or
Mike Morrow at (512) 4 4 4-7722.

E d in b u rg , T exas
and

C itiz e n s S t a t e B a n k
D on n a, Texas

First Freeport C orporation

Sheshunoff
Sh eshu noff & Com pany, Inc.
Austin, Texas

This announcem ent appears as a m atter o f record only

C o h u t t a B a n k in g C o m p a n y
C h a ts w o rth , G eorg ia

has acquired

W a l k e r C o u n ty B a n k
L a fa y e tte , G eorg ia

The undersigned acted as financial advisor to
Cohutta Banking Com pany

Sheshunoff
Sh eshu noff & Com pany, Inc.
Austin, Texas

B a n k In d ep en d en t
S heffield, A lab am a

has acquired

B a n k F lo re n c e

M e rc e d e s, T e x a s,

N a tio n a l B a n k o f C o m m e r c e

W a rre n , Illinois
The undersigned acted as financial advisor to

T h is announcem ent appears as a m atter o f record only

T h is announcem ent appears as a m atter o f record only

T e x a s V a lle y B a n c s h a r e s , I n c .

and

C itiz e n s B a n k a n d T r u s t C o m p a n y

SHESHUNOFF & COMPANY, INC.
P.O. Box 13203 Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711

F lo re n ce , A lab am a

The undersigned acted as financial advisor to
B ank Independent

T h e undersigned acted as financial advisor to
Texas V alley B ancshares, Inc.

Sheshunoff

A D E C A D E O F H IG H P E R F O R M A N C E B A N K IN G L E A D E R S H I P

A ustin, Texas

A ustin, Texas
T h is announcem ent appears as a m atter o f record only

T h is announcem ent appears as a m atter o f record only

C o m m e rc ia l B a n c s h a re s , In c.

T exas C e n tra l B a n c s h a re s , In c.

W h a rto n , T exas

S an A n gelo, Texas

has acquired

has acquired

A re a B a n c sh a re s C o rp o ra tio n

W h a rto n B a n k an d T ru st C o.

T h e C e n tr a l N a tio n a l B a n k

H opkinsville, K en tu ck y

W h a rto n , T exas,

o f S a n A n gelo

T h e S e c u r i ty S t a t e B a n k

S an A n gelo, Texas

N a v a so ta , T exas

and

F i r s t S t a t e B a n k o f M a g n o lia

T h e C e n t r a l N a tio n a l B a n k -W e s t

M ag n o lia , Texas

San A n g elo , Texas

This announcem ent appears as a m atter o f record only

This announcem ent appears as a m atter o f record only

F irs t F re d e ric k C o rp o ra tio n
F r e d e r ic k , O k lah o m a

has acquired

has acquired shares o f its stock

F i r s t N a tio n a l B a n k o f H o b a r t
H o b a rt, O k lah o m a

The undersigned acted as financial advisor

T h e undersigned acted as financial advisor to
C om m en ça i B a n csh a res, Inc.

Sheshunoff
Sh eshu no ff & Com pany, Inc.

S h eshu no ff & Com pany, Inc.

T he undersigned acted as financial advisor

in this transaction

The undersigned acted as financial advisor to
First Frederick Corporation

in this transaction

Sheshunoff

Sheshunoff

Sheshunoff

Sh eshu no ff & Com pany, Inc.

Sh eshu no ff & Com pany, Inc.

Sh eshu no ff & Com pany, Inc.

Sh eshu no ff & Com pany, Inc.

A ustin, Texas

Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas

A ustin, Texas


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Sheshunoff

identify each variable of the program,
the operator can isolate a portion of the
document for amendment.
Simplifying the process to the last
stage, the LoanProcessor indicates
automatically which Bankers Systems
forms are to be used and the sequence
in which they should be inserted into
the printer. It is said to be virtually
impossible to use the wrong forms be­
cause the printed information will not
align with the blanks.
In the printing stage, the LoanProcessor converts numbers to words
automatically. Accurate alpha-con­
version is essential because, if the
alpha and numerical versions of a num­
ber differ, i.e., if 1,000 is mistakenly
written as 100, it is the alpha (written)
version that is upheld. After printing,
the program can be stored for future
reference.
Federal, state and local regulations

can cause the greatest wear and tear on
software. Frequent updates can be
costly, but are necessary if loans are to
com ply with lending guid elin es.
Uvalde Bank combats unexpected ex­
penses and unnecessary Reprogram­
ming delays by purchasing Bankers
Systems annual m aintenance con­
tract, Ms. Hensarling said. This en­
sures prompt software modification for
any changes necessitated by law.
So far, Uvalde Bank has needed the
software update only once.
“When the LoanProcessor was in­
stalled, we had forgotten to give the
programmer some information,” Ms
Hensarling recalled, referring to a 25question form com pleted to assist
Bankers Systems programmers in cus­
tomizing the software. “Bankers Sys­
tems had the updates done and disk­
ettes delivered within a m atter of
days.”

Bank HCs Association
Elects Woods Chairman

Mergers/Acquisitions Study
Is Undertaken by ABA
MAJOR STUDY of steps banks can take to execute mergers/
acquisitions more effectively than they are doing now is being
undertaken by the ABA. Ernst & Whinney, an international accounting/
consulting firm, has been appointed to conduct the research.
In announcing the project, explained Comerica Bank-Detroit Chair­
man Donald R. Mandich, deregulation, increased competition from
both banks and nonbanks and growing complexity of banking that has
accompanied technological change all have contributed to the increase
in the rate of financial-services-industry mergers/acquisitions.
“This study,” continues Mr. Mandich, who heads a banker task force
directing the project, “is not intended either to encourage or discourage
mergers. Rather, it is aimed at making the process, when it does occur,
more beneficial and less painful to all bank personnel, directors, stock­
holders and customers who may be affected.”
The study will provide a complete review of merger-implementation
requirements, starting with an analysis of the driving forces behind a
merger and clearly describing areas where action steps are necessary to
achieve a merger’s objectives.
“Every facet of a merger or acquisition —- including people, planning,
operations, products, distribution and financing -— will be analyzed,”
says Mr. Mandich, who also is chairman of the ABA’s banking profes­
sions council. “End products of the project will be a comprehensive
research report and seminars analyzing implementation issues in each of
these six areas. The project is due to be completed by this year-end.”
M. C. Nelson, Ernst & Whinney s national partner in charge, finan­
cial-services industries, says, “Providing this type of guidance to its
members is an important action by the ABA. Not only has the number of
mergers grown in recent years, but circumstances have varied as well.
Mergers of like-sized institutions such as Sun/Flagship (Florida); ac­
quisitions of nonbank banks by banks such as BankAmerica/Schwab
(California); and troubled-bank mergers such as Republic/First National
Midland (Texas) now are common. We believe the guidance provided
from this project will help bankers accomplish their merger objectives
and avoid many pitfalls.”
The project was initiated by the ABA’s corporate planning division,
but members of its chief financial officer/human resources/operations
and automation divisions and a representative from the Bank Marketing
Association also serve on the merger/acquisition-research-project task
force.

A

20


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Prompt and courteous attention to
Uvalde Bank’s needs after delivery
gives Ms. Hensarling reason to believe
future updates also will be timely,
smooth and productive. Attention to
customer needs has helped to nurture
Bankers Systems’ image in the finan­
cial industry. Now, with a 33-year-old
reputation to uphold, Bankers Sys­
tems is dedicated to supporting and
servicing the LoanProcessor. Indica­
tive of this commitment is Bankers
Systems’ toll-free consultation service
that connects customers to a staff of
experts whose sole responsibility is the
LoanProcessor.
Ms. Hensarling recalls discovering
several operational questions after the
LoanProcessor was installed. “But we
made use of the toll-free hotline . . .
and it worked out great! Any problems
we had were solved by the support
system in St. Cloud. • •

John W. Woods, chairman, AmSouth Bancorp, Birmingham, Ala., has
been elected chairman, Association of
Bank Holding Companies, headquar­
tered in Washington, D. C. He suc­
ceeds Will F. Nicholson J r ., president,
Colorado National Bankshares, Inc.,
Denver.
Other newly elected officers are:
chairman-elect, Kenneth L. Roberts,
chairm an, F irst Am erican C orp .,
Nashville (he will be in line to succeed
Mr. Woods next year); vice chairman,
John P. LaWare, chairman, Shawmut
Corp., Boston; and treasurer (for two
terms), Frank E. McKinney Jr., chair­
man, American Fletcher Corp., Indi­
anapolis.
Donald L. Rogers was reelected
president of the association and is its
chief staff officer.

Isban Named Chairman
O f BAI for 1984-85
Robert C. Isban, executive vice
president, Manufacturers II anover
T ru st, New York C ity, has been
elected chairman, Bank Administra­
tion Institute, for the 1984-85 fiscal
year. He succeeds Rayburn S. Dezember, chairman, American National,
Bakersfield, Calif.
The new BAI chairm an-elect is
Marc J. Shapiro, vice chairman/chief
financial officer, Texas Commerce
Bancshares, Inc., Houston.
Two new d irecto rs-at-larg e are
Ashel G. Bryan, chairman/CEO, Mid­
American National, Bowling Green,
O., and Dean E. Richardson, chair­
man/CEO, Manufacturers National,
Detroit.

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

FD IC Gives Its Views
On Lending Problems
EVERAL FACTORS are cited by
the FD IC as causes for banks’
lending problems; factors that have
affected these banks’ loan portfolios
adversely and placed pressures on
such things as earnings and capital ade­
quacy.
According to Daniel Gautsch, assis­
tant to the F D IC ’s public information
officer, deregulation of interest rates
on bank liabilities has increased fund­
ing costs, placed pressure on bank
profitability and forced banks to look
closer at services they provide and how
they price them. Such concepts as netinterest-margin analysis, cost account­
ing, asset/liability management and
bank marketing have taken on greater
importance as a result of deregulation,
says Mr. Gautsch.
In conjunction with deregulation,
competition for financial services has
intensified as financial intermediaries
and nonbank competitors make in­
roads into traditional banking bus­
inesses.
“We believe,’’ says Mr. Gautsch,
“additional com m ensurate powers
should be granted to com m ercial
banks to allow them to compete ade­
quately in this rapidly changing finan­
cial-service environment. Ry allowing
banks to offer a broader range of finan­
cial services, such as investment bank­
ing and life insurance, they not only
will be better able to diversify their
risks, but also offset costs of liabilityside deregulation.”
Coupled with the structural changes
occurring in the industry, economicevents have placed additional pres­
sures on banks and their loan port­
folios. Inflation, historically high in­
terest rates and the 1981-82 recession
all have had an adverse impact. Prob­
lems in the energy-production sector
are an example of how inflation-based
lending can have a severe impact on
financial institutions that abandon pru­
dent lending principles. Problems in
this sector were created, in part, on
expectations of borrowers and lenders
alike that energy shortages would con­
tinue because of an insatiable demand
and that future prices would increase

dramatically. This, Mr. Gautsch says,
encouraged speculation and over­
lending. The unexpected oversupply
of energy products depressed prices,
and this, in turn, affected borrowers’
cash flow and ability to repay.
This failure to assure sufficient cash
flows for repayment also has been a
problem for agricultural lenders.
Farm income has declined in the last
three years, with rural communities
and industries serving agriculture suf­
fering extensively in the most recent
economic downturn. Land and equip­
ment values actually have fallen in the
past year, causing an impact on lend­
ers’ collateral margins. In many cases,
lenders are faced with the difficult de­
cision of whether to carry farmers

Problem-Bank Statistics
The number of FDIC cease-anddesist actions in force at year-end
1982 to year-end 1983 increased
from 106 to 249. In addition, the
FDIC initiated 26 termination-ofinsurance proceedings in 1983,
bringing to 307 the number of times
it has taken such action since its in­
ception in 1933. This increase in
number of enforcement actions out­
standing is in direct relation to the
increase in number of problem
banks (those banks with a composite
rating of “4” or “5”) identified. For
year-end 1981 through 1983, the
number of problem banks identified
throughout the system has increased
from 223 in 1981 to 369 in 1982 to 642
in 1983 and presently stands at 714.
While the number of problem
banks and bank failures (42 in 1982;
48 in 1983 and 45 year-to-date) are at
historic levels, they still represent
only a small percentage of the 14,800
banks in the system, roughly 90% of
which are rated “1” or “2” on the
FD IC’s rating system. In addition,
the FDIC insurance fund has grown
over this period and now stands at
approximately $16 billion. The
FDIC says it believes the system is
sound and is prepared to deal with
any problem that may arise.

MID-CONTIÏVENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

another season or liquidate their col­
lateral positions and thus further de­
press local land/equipment values.
Historically, high interest rates have
had a great impact on marginal bus­
inesses and stretched what once were
good credits to the limit. Following the
extremely high interest rates of 197980, the U. S. experienced a deep re­
cession, Mr. Gautsch states. While
certain sectors of the general economy
have recovered, others, such as agri­
culture, energy production, forest pro­
duction and real-estate development,
have not. Banks located in areas where
these industries are dominant also
have felt the impact.
Beyond problems associated with
domestic credits, banks that have
made large extensions of credit rela­
tive to their sizes to debtor Latin
American countries, such as Argenti­
na, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela,
already have been impacted by these
offshore credits via declines in re­
ported earnings. In addition, says Mr.
Gautsch, some loans to Argentina re­
cently have been relegated to nonper­
forming status. Fears of a possible
Latin American debtor cartel have
been reported and, if interest rates rise
dramatically, Mr. Gautsch fears such
action could exacerbate the interna­
tional-debt situation.
Mr. Gautsch cites other items that
may be found in nonperforming loans
include: poor selection of risks on the
part of bank management; failure to
establish or enforce liquidation agree­
ments; incomplete credit information/
overemphasis on income; lack of su­
pervision; technical incompetence and
self-dealing.
Pronounced self-dealing practices
almost always are present in serious
problem-bank situations and in banks
that fail, he continues. Typically, such
loans are found in the form of overex­
tensions of credit on unsound bases to
insiders or their interests.
Turning to supervisory tools, Mr.
Gautsch points to one that has been
developed in recen t years — the
F D IC ’s off-site-monitoring system,
developed in conjunction with addi21

tional information banks now are re­
porting quarterly to the supervisory
agencies in reports of condition/income. As a surrogate for assessing risk
in bank-loan portfolios on an off-site
basis, the level of nonperforming loans
has been requested beginning with the
December, 1982, reports of condition
(call report). Call reports and reports of
income are available to the public on

request. To enhance further the pub­
lic’s knowledge of the availability of
such information, the FD IC has issued
for public comment a statement of
policy regarding availability and use of
financial and other information by de­
positors and other creditors of banks
and thrifts. The objective is to promote
better-informed financial/investment
decisions and, thus, more market dis-

Farmers' Financing Needs Must Be Met
During Time Before Turnaround Occurs,
Ag-Lenders Told at Farm Credit Meeting
HE IMPORTANCE of meeting
while credit demand was up slightly in
the current economic challenges of 1984 in the aftermath of the PIK pro­
individual farmers with a single credit-gram, maintaining creditworthiness
delivery system as agriculture moves
remains a number one priority among
toward an inevitable turnaround was
both cooperatives and the St. Louis
stressed at last month’s annual confer­
Bank for Cooperatives.
ence of the Farm Credit Banks of St.
The economic challenges farmers
Louis.
are coping with in the Midwest were
Glenn Heitz, banks’ CEO, charac­ explained by John Schnittker, presi­
terized 1984 as “certainly not the best
dent, Schnittker Associates, Washing­
of times for agriculture.” He added
ton, D. C.-based economic research/
that this year is a time of anxiety for consulting firm. He identified the ma­
most farmers, a time of struggle for jor challenges ahead for agriculture as
many of them and a time of defeat for follows: “To revitalize agricultural
some — but not very many. The situa­ policy in 1985, to make it serve all of
tion is reflected in the fact that lending
agriculture instead of a few giant
in both the Federal Land Bank and farmers; to reach farmers whose sur­
Production Credit systems has de­ vival depends on public programs; to
clined during the first six months of reduce costs; to put farm policy to work
1984, while delinquencies, bankrupt­ on long-term remedial measures in­
cies and foreclosures have increased
stead of stoking the fires of surplus pro­
slightly.
duction and calling for emergency
He reminded the 2,500 agricultural
assistance at the same time; and to re­
lenders attending the conference that
build the public reputation of farm
“well over 90% of the Farm Credit
policy.”
System’s individual borrower-owners
The Farm Credit System is witness­
were meeting their financial obliga­ ing increased competition from com­
tions.”
mercial banks, both on the lending and
The essential problem facing both funding sides of operations, said Peter
farmers and their cooperative Farm
Carney, CEO, Funding Corporation
Credit System was defined by Robin of the Federal Farm Credit Banks.
Lahman, banks’ chairman. He said
He added that, since late 1982, com­
“being tied to the past is an almost mercial banks have been able to offer
guaranteed route to obsolescence in various types of insured deposits that
our current state of rapid and dramatic yield market returns. Bankings’ broad
change.”
network of officers and substantial cus­
He cited the recent reorganization tomer base enables the industry to
of operations in the Farm Credit Banks attract the resources of investors who
of St. Louis as evidence that, in the value market yields with little risk.
midst of difficult economic times for
The increased liquidity of the bank­
farmers, Farm Credit System lead­ ing system means that commercial
ership had recognized the “need to banks, especially those in rural areas,
structure and position the system to be have more money to lend. The result
more effective in serving the expand­ was a substantial increase in farm lend­
ing and changing needs of its member- ing by those institutions. As an exam­
borrowers.”
ple, he said that non-real-estate farm
The impact of the adverse agricul­ loans outstanding at commercial banks
tural economy on farmer cooperatives increased by $3.3 billion, or 9.1%, in
in Arkansas, Illinois and Missouri was 1983, while similar loans held by the
discussed by Douglas Sims, banks’ ex­ Farm Credit System decreased by 7%.
ecutive vice president. He said that, — Jim Fabian, senior editor.

T

22


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

cipline.
C orrective Actions. Use of reason
and moral suasion remain the primary
corrective tools of the FD IC , says Mr.
Gautsch. However, its board has been
given broad en forcem en t powers
under Section 8 of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Act. On an informal basis,
the FD IC may ask a bank’s directors to
adopt a board resolution or enter into a
memorandum of understanding with
the FD IC regional office that outlines
the corrective action the FD IC be­
lieves to be necessary to correct prob­
lems identified at the most recent ex­
amination. Typically, this is in con­
junction with the state authority and
may or may not involve a meeting with
the bank’s directors. O f course, in the
case of problem banks, the FD IC also
coordinates its actions with the Comp­
troller of the Currency and Fed on an
ongoing basis.
On a formal basis, the FD IC s board
has the power to issue case-cease-anddesist actions (Section 8(b)) and, if
deem ed necessary, to invoke im­
m ediately a temporary cease-anddesist action (Section 8(c)). The most
severe action available to the FD IC is
termination of deposit insurance (Sec­
tion 8(a)). In addition, the F D IC ’s
board has been given the power to sus­
pend or remove a bank officer or direc­
tor or prohibit participation by others
in bank affairs when certain criteria can
be established (Sections 8(e) and (g)).
To assure greater uniformity of ac­
tion and help assure that supervisory
efforts are directed to banks most in
need of them, the F D IC ’s board, along
with the other federal financial-insti­
tution regulators, adopted and has util­
ized for several years the Uniform
Financial Institutions Rating System.
Under this system, each financial in­
stitution is accorded a composite rating
of T ” through “5 ,” with “1” represent­
ing the highest rating and, conse­
quently, lowest level of supervisory
concern. Current FD IC policy pre­
sumes that either an informal or formal
administrative action will be taken on
banks with composite ratings of “3 ,”
“4” or “5 ” unless specific circum ­
stances argue strongly to the contrary.
— Rosemary McKelvey, editor.

• Neil P. Thompson has been ap­
pointed senior vice president in charge
of systems/services management at
Master Card International, Inc., New
York City. He is responsible for plan­
ning, design and controls of MasterCard system s developm en t. He
formerly was with Oroweat Foods C o.,
Greenwich, Conn.

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

Planning Profits h as
never b een m ore im portant,”

Or more difficult.
It works better
Deregulation
than other programs
has made every
because it measures
aspect of our
the effect on net
business rate
income of maturity
sensitive. Including
roll-off and the
the already delicate
repricing of assets
job of asset and
and liabilities. Now
Wayne Becker . Vice President. Fourth National Bank
liability management.
The Fourth is making
But if a bank is to survive in
the Profit Planner available
today’s financial environment, it
to other banks. And it’s an
must com e to grips with the new
outstanding opportunity because
realities. And there are few
with the program com es the
things more important than a
on-site training to run it, the
reliable asset and liability
consultation service to make
planning program.
sure it's working for you — and
The Fourth has an enviable
perhaps most important of all,
record of accurately dealing
a ccess to The Fourth’s interest
with the “what ifs” of the new
rate projections for a full year.
environment. A record made
So if you’re looking to
possible by the development and
take the "what ifs” out of your
refinement of a software program
business, give me a call.
called the Profit PlannerSM.
Together, we can plan the future.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

THE FOURTH NATIONAL BANK & TRU ST CO.
CALL (316) 261-4192 / P.O. BOX 1090 / WICHITA, KS 67201 / MEMBER FDIC

Strategic Planning, Selling Are Topics
To Be Presented at KBA Regionals
TRATEGIC planning and selling
in a deregulated banking environ­
ment are the two principal topics on
the programs of the 1984 fall confer­
ences to be sponsored by the Kansas
Bankers Association next month.
The three-concurrent-session for­
mat that’s traditional with the KBA fall
conferences will be followed again this
year. CEOs will meet to hear a report
on the KBA Task Force on Strategic
Planning, presided over by KBA Presi­
dent Don Steffes, president, McPher­
son Bank.
The program will feature a late re­
port on the results of the CEO session
at the KBA Forum ’84 to be held in
Colorado Springs on September 6 and
the progress of the long-range-plan­
ning efforts of the KBA’s Task Force on
Strategic Planning.
Also slated for this session is a de­
tailed report on the latest develop­
ments in the federal and state legisla­
tive arenas.
Other officers and supervisors will
meet for a session titled “Secrets for
Excellence: Banking and Selling in a
D eregulated E nvironm ent,’’ to be
presented by Bob Klockars, Financial
Shares Corp., Chicago.
Custom er-contact personnel will
meet in staff session to hear a presenta­
tion by Bev Lacata, Financial Educa­
tion & Development, Middleton, Wis.
Each of the six programs will begin
with the traditional county agricultural
key-banker luncheon at 11:45 a.m.,
followed by registration beginning at
1:15 p.m. and the general sessions
from 2 to 5 p.m.
A social hour will begin at 5:15 p .m .,
with the banquet following at 6:30

Dodge City. Registration — Dodge
City Community College, Little Thea­
ter Lobby; Key-Banker Luncheon —
H olidom e, Room 1, C onvention
Center; CEO Meeting — Santa Fe
Room; Other Officers/Supervisors —
Student Union Cafeteria; CustomerContact Staff — Little Theater; Social
Hour — Holidome Dome Area; Ban­
quet — Holidome Convention Cen­
ter.

S

BECKER
Reg. 1 V.P.

S/2


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

BURGERT
Reg. 2 V.P.

STEFFES
KBA Pres.

KLOCKARS
Speaker

p.m. Kurt Kilpatrick of Birmingham,
Ala., will speak on “Doctor of Jurispru­
dence and a Matter of Humorology” at
the first week of conferences, and
Michael Broome, of Charlotte, N. C.,
will talk about “How to Be a Liver of
Life and not a Gallbladder” at the
second week of meetings.
Following is a rundown on confer­
ence details:

• Region 2 — Wednesday, September
12, Colby. Registration — Colby Com­
munity College, Cultural Arts Center
Lobby; K ey-B an ker Luncheon —
Card Area, Student Union; C E O
M eetin g — G olden/Colum bine
rooms, Colby Ramada Inn; O ther
Officers/Supervisors — Multipurpose
Room, Student Union; Custom erContact Staff — Cultural Arts Center;
Social Hour and Banquet — American
Legion Hall.

• Region 1 — Tuesday, September 11,

Regional Meeting Calendar
Region 1 — September 11 —
Dodge City
Region 2 — September 12 — Colby
Region 3 — September 13 —
Salina
Region 4 — September 18 —
Wichita
Region 5 — September 19 —
Chanute
Region 6 — September 20 —
Topeka

NICHOLS
Reg. 4 V.P.

• Region 3 — Thursday, September
13, Salina. All events at Bicentennial
Center. Registration — Lobby; KeyBanker Luncheon — Room 200; CEO
M eeting — Room 203 A-C; Other
Officers/Supervisors — Room 202 AC; Customer-Contact Staff — Herit­
age Hall; Social Hour/Banquet —
Heritage Hall.
• Region 4 — Tuesday, September
18, Wichita. Registration — Century
I I, South Side O utside M eetin g
Rooms; K ey-Banker Luncheon —
Wichita Royale, Royale East Room;
CEO Meeting — Century II, Room
201; Middle Management/Supervisors
— Century II, Room 101; CustomerContact Staff — Century II, Little

HOFFMAN
Reg. 5 V.P.

CORNS
Reg. 6 V.P.

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

S/3

Theater; Social Hour — Exhibition
Halls 1 and 2, Broadview Hotel; Ban­
quet — Crystal Ballrooms 1, 2 and 3,
Broadview Hotel.
• Region 5 — Wednesday, Septem­
b er 17, C hanute. Registration —
Neosho County Community College,
Administration Building; Key-Banker
Luncheon — Chanute Country Club;
CEO M eeting— Stoltz Hall, Rooms 3
and 4; Other Officers/Supervisors —
Stoltz Hall, Lecure Room; CustomerContact Staff— Administration Build­
ing Auditorium; Social Hour/Banquet
— VFW Hall, West Main Street.
• Region 6 — Thursday, September
20, Topeka. All events at Holiday Inn.
Registration — Gazebo Area, West
Holidome; Key-Banker Luncheon —
Governor’s Room, West Holidome;
CEO Meeting — Versailles A; Other
Officers/Supervisors — Versailles B;
Customer-Contact Staff — Versailles
C; Social Hour — Versailles B and C;
Banquet — Versailles A and B.
Presiding at the regional meetings
will be the following KBA regional vice
presidents: Region 1 — Daryl Becker,
president, State Bank, Meriden; R e­
gion 2 — A. L. Burgert, president,
First State, Pittsburg; R egion 3 —
James L. Darrah, president, Chapman
State; Region 4 — Richard Nichols,
chairm an/president, Home State,
McPherson; Region 5 — C. N. Hoff­
man Jr., chairman/president, National
Bank of America, Salina; and Region 6
— Robert V. Corns, executive vice
president, Greensburg State.
Mr. Becker entered banking in 1959
at his present bank. He was elevated to
chairman/president in 1966.
Mr. Burgert has been a banker since
1935. His first bank position was with
First National, Sterling. He joined
First State in 1950 and was made an
officer in 1951. He has been president/
CEO/trust officer since January, 1973.
Mr. Darrah became associated with
banking in 1962, when he joined the
F D IC as an examiner for western
Oklahoma. In 1968 he moved to Com­
m erce State, Topeka. In 1974 he
moved to Chapman State as a vice
president. That same year, he bought
control of the bank and has been presi­
dent since January, 1975. (No photo
available.)
Mr. Nichols entered the banking
profession in 1957 at H utchinson
National. He moved to Home State in
1969 as its president. He has been
president/chairman since 1979.
Mr. Hoffman has been in banking
since 1954, the year he joined National
Bank of America. He was a vice presi­
dent at that time. He was elevated to

S/4


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

In v estm en t S erv ices S in ce 1 8 9 0

U N D E R W R IT E R S — DISTRIBUTORS— DEALERS

STIFEL, NICOLAUS

& C O M P A N Y INCORPORATED
MEMBERS NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE, INC.
AMERICAN STOCK EXCHANGE, INC.
MIDWEST STOCK EXCHANGE, INC.

National Headquarters:
500 North Broadway, St. Louis, Missouri
(314) 342-2000.
Private Wires to Nash, Weiss & C o ., New York
and Asiel & C o ., New York City.

CONTACT OUR OFFICE MOST CONVENIENT TO YOU:
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
Leawood Corporate Manor Bldg.
4701 College Blvd.
Leawood, Kansas 66211
913-381-7181
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI 63102
500 N. Broadway
314-342-2000
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY 40270
201 West Main St.
502-587-6053

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA 73102
Suite 130 Century Center
100 West Main Street
405-235-5700
TULSA, OKLAHOMA 74104
1924 South Utica
918-743-3361
WICHITA, KANSAS 67202
1 1 1 South Main
316-264-6321

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Suite 1850, Americas Tower
2323 Bryan St.
214-969-1966
A D D ISO N • BRO KEN A R R O W • C H IC A G O • C H IC A G O H EIG H TS • C LA YTO N • C O LU M BU S • D EN VER
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M em ber SIPC

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

S/5

president in 1961 and to chairman/
president in 1976.
Mr. Corns became a banker in 1948,
when he joined Greensburg State. He
was named an officer in 1967 and
assumed his present title of executive
vice president in 1981. • •
Jack G. Galle has joined Hutchinson
National as agricultural loan/correspondent bank officer. He previously
was vice president, Citizens State,
Moundridge. He has been in banking
since 1978.

Died: Claude F. Pack, 93, former
chairm an/president, Home State,
Kansas City, which he served for 47
years. He is a former president of the
Kansas Bankers Association.
Died: Dwight J. Wilson, 94, director,
Kansas State, Wichita. He went on the
bank’s board in 1964. Mr. Wilson
owned oil and drilling firms and also
was involved in ranching. A grandson,
Jon T. Williams Jr., also is a Kansas
State director.

• Merrill T. Miller J r ., senior vice
president, California First Bank, San
Diego, has been elected president,
National Automated Clearinghouse
Association (NACHA). He succeeds
J. Robert Brubaker, executive vice
presiden t, Equibank, Pittsburgh.
Another new NACHA officer is Joseph
P. C oriaci, senior vice president/
cashier, Continental Illinois National,
Chicago, who was elected vice presi­
dent. Garry L. Singer continues as
secretary/treasurer.

'Homecoming '84' to Be Theme
Of Kentucky Convention

ASMANN

GALLE

Robert W. Asmann, executive vice
president, Fourth National, Wichita,
has been chosen as the “banker of the
year, 1983-84” by the Wichita AIB
Chapter. This award recognizes a com­
munity banker for his contribution to
the banking industry, community and
particularly the AIB. Criteria for the
selection included involvement in the
AIB, civic and community involve­
ment and professional career.
Marshall R. Toburen has been named
assistant auditor, Commercial Nation­
al, Kansas City. He was senior auditor.
National Bank of Wichita has broken
ground for a new facility at 8801 West
Central. Scheduled for completion in
the spring of 1985, the new office will
replace the current facility at 8971
West Central in the Westlink Shop­
ping Center.

Scholarship Recipients
GREAT BEND — Six students
have received J. A. Mermisjr. schol­
arships of $600 each for the 1984-85
school year at Barton County Com­
munity College, located here.
Funds to support the total of
$3,600 in Mermis scholarships are
provided by income from a $30,000
contribution from the board of
Security State, Great Bend, to the
Barton County Community College
Foundation in 1981. The gift was
made to recognize the leadership of
J. A. Mermis Jr. as the first chairman
of the BCCC board of trustees, as
well as his achievement as CEO of
the bank from its founding in 1950 to
the present.
Digitized for S/6
FRASER
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

/ / 1—1 OM ECOM ING ’84” will be
I I the theme of the Kentucky
Bankers Association’s 90th annual con­
vention September 9-11 at Louisville’s
Galt House.
James G. Cairns J r ., ABA president­
elect and president, Peoples National
of Washington, Seattle, will be one of
the speakers. Also scheduled to be on
the program are Barry Asmus, Scotts­
dale, Ariz., economist, who will dis­
cuss “The Economics of Reality ’; Jack
Jackson, chairman, LD I, Inc., Oklaho­
ma City, whose topic will be “Dereg­
u lation ”; and U. S. Representative
Harold Rogers, Republican from Ken­
tucky’s Fifth District. Banquet speak­
er will be Charles W. Jarvis, San Mar­
cos, Tex., humorist.
The luncheon Septem ber 10 will
feature presentation of Philip Morris
community-service awards. It will be
followed by two concurrent workshop
sessions. The next day will begin with
the second annual KBA prayer break­
fast. Again that afternoon, there will be
two concurrent workshop sessions.
That evening will feature the pre­
banquet reception and banquet.
On September 9, registration will
be held, with a reception that night.
KBA O fficers. Association officers
for 1983-84 are: president, Clay Parker
Davis, president/C EO , C itizen s
National, Somerset; president-elect,
L. M. M cB rid e, p resid en t, C ity
National, Fulton; and treasurer, I. B.
Utley, president, Farmers Bank, Hen­
derson.
M r. Davis entered banking in 1963
at First National, Georgetown. In
1973, he went to his present bank as
president/director.
M r. M cB ride has been a banker
since 1962, when he jo in ed City
National as executive vice president.
He moved up to president in 1964.

Mr. Utley became a banker in 1959
at Farmers Bank, Henderson, with the
title of executive vice president. He
became president in 1967. • •

ASMUS

CAIRNS

UTLEY

McBRIDE

DAVIS

• Henry S. Poison has been named
director/trust and corporate marketing
departments, Bank Marketing Asso­
ciation, Chicago. He formerly was vice
president/marketing for the U. S.
League of Savings Institutions, Chica­
go.

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

Attention B ank CEO s:

How Does Your Bank
“Introduce” the New Director
To His New Job?
H E N E W L Y E L E C T E D bank d ire c to r p robab ly seem s
o verw h elm ed with th e responsibilities of his n ew job and the
com p lexities of th e banking system . So, you 11 w ant to acquaint
him w ith his “n ew ch a ir” as quickly and as gently as possible.
Y ou r bank u n d ou b ted ly has a portfolio of m aterial to hand to
th e new d irecto r. O u r in stru ction al folder, en titled “ Briefing the
New Bank D i r e c t o r can b e a useful addition to y ou r in tro d u c­
tory m aterial. It is w ritten by D r. L ew is E . D avids, ed ito r of T h e
B A N K B O A R D L e tte r.
“ Briefing the New Bank D irector ” p rovid es th e re cip ie n t with
an overview of th e d ire c to r’s job and responsibilities and also
offers suggestions on “h om ew o rk ” and “read in g assignm ents
that will b ring him quickly u p -to -d a te in his job.
This 8-p ag e folder co n clu d es w ith w hat th e au th or has te rm e d
th e “2 0 C o m m an d m en ts for Bank D ire cto rs startin g w ith Thou
shalt not atte m p t to usurp p rero g ativ es o f m an ag em en t, and
ending w ith “T h ou shalt subm it thy resign ation gracefully and
w ith dignity w hen no lon g er m aking a positive con trib u tio n to the
b an k .”
F o r a F R E E cop y of this folder, fill in th e cou p on below . You 11
re ceiv e this plus o th e r inform ation co n ce rn in g th e bank d ire cto r s
job that can b e useful to him and, of co u rse , to th e bank.

T

r ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- r
i The BANK BOARD Letter
I 408 Olive St., St. Louis, MO 63102
j

Please send me a F R E E copy of “Briefing the New Bank Director’’
along with other information about The BANK BOARD Letter.
N am e_________________________T itle -------------------------------------

;

Bank ____________________________________________ __________

| Address ______________________________________ ________ _____
,\ City __________________ S ta te ______________ Z ip --------------------MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

|
S/7

About Banks & Bankers
ALABAMA
FirstGulf, AmSouth HCs
Announce Merger Plan;
Completion in 1985
D irectors of F irstG u lf Bancorp,
Mobile, signed a definitive merger
agreement July 2 with AmSouth Ban­
corp, Birmingham. The merger is sub­
ject to shareholder/regulatory approv­
al.
Under m erger term s, F irstG u lf
shareholders will receive, when the
merger is closed sometime after mid1985, 2.1 shares of AmSouth common
stock for each share of FirstGulf stock,
or a shareholder may elect to receive
$47 in cash for each share of FirstGulf
stock held, or a combination of cash
and stock. However, the cash portion
of the total consideration, as valued
near the closing, must make up a mini­
mum of 40% and a maximum of 49% of
the total consideration.
In addition, FirstGulf has granted
AmSouth an option to buy shares of
FirstGulf common stock.
FirstGulf Bancorp, formerly First
Bancgroup-Alabama, operates bank­
ing offices in Birmingham, Huntsville,
Dothan, Eufaula, Guntersville and
Russellville. Its lead bank is First
National, Mobile. Total assets of the
HC as of last March 31 were $1.1 bil­
lion.
The $3.8-rbillion-asset AmSouth
Bancorp operates 117 offices through­
out Alabama and also owns AmSouth
Financial Corp. and Engel Mortgage
C o., In c., with 22 offices in eight
southeastern states, and AmSouth
Bank International, Alabama’s only
Edge Act Bank devoted solely to inter­
national banking.
Joseph A. C arrera has joined Central
Bank of the South-Birmingham as vice
president, administrative services. He
was vice presid ent, Bank of New
Orleans/First National Bank of Com­
merce, New Orleans. He has been a
banker since 1959.
SouthTrust Bank of Alabama, B ir­
mingham , has prom oted C harles
S/8


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Picard to senior vice president, W il­
liam H. Pitts Jr. to vice president and
D aniels. Boyd and William W. Griffin
to assistant vice p resid en ts. Mr.
Picard, with the bank since 1971, is its
personnel director. Mr. Pitts went to
the bank in 1979 and is in the corre­
spondent banking department. Mr.
Boyd, a bank employee since 1980, is
manager, C entennial Branch. Mr.
Griffin joined the bank in June.

He succeeds W. R. Benton Jr., who
died in May. Katy Graves has been
elected senior vice president, Fordyce
Bank, which she joined in 1951. She
formerly was vice president. Suzette
Crutchfield has been promoted to vice
president/cashier at the bank. She has
been on the staff since 1972.

Going up in Malvern

ARKANSAS
Holly Eddins Named Head
Of Young Banker Section
Holly Eddins is the new president,
Young B anker Se ctio n , Arkansas
Bankers Association. She is assistant
vice president, Worthen Bank, Little
Rock. She succeeds William C. Wisener, assistant vice president, Warren
Bank.
Other new officers of the section are:
senior vice president, Paul Nipper,
assistant vice president, First Nation­
al, Ashdown; vice president, Robert
D. Huff, installment loan officer, First
National of Phillips County, Helena;
and secretary-treasurer, Cathy Hast­
ings Owen, secretary/treasurer, First
State, Sherwood.
Brett S. Smith has joined Clark Coun­
ty Bank, Gurdon, as vice president,
loans. He formerly was loan officer,
Bank of Holly Grove.
Curtis H utchins, p resid en t, F B T
Bancshares, Inc., and Fordyce Bank,
has been named to the additional post
of chairman/CEO of the HC and bank.

Corning Bank Closed
CORNING — Deposit liabilities
of Corning Bank, which was closed
June 15, have been assumed by a de
novo bank, also called Corning
Bank. The latter is a wholly owned
subsidiary of First Paragould Baneshares, Paragould.
The failed bank was closed by
Marlin D. Jackson, Arkansas bank
commissioner, and the FDIC was
named receiver.

This is an artist's sketch of Bank of M al­
vern's future home. The 12,000-squarefoot banking facility/professional office
building will be erected on the site of the
bank's current branch at Highway 270 and
Moline Street. Completion is scheduled for
early 1985. It will have natural wood and
brick construction with a sloping metal
roof, four remote drive-up service windows
and a drive-up automatic teller machine.

ILLINOIS
Continental Illinois National, Chica­
go, has promoted the following: to vice
presidents — Robert F. Dieli, ec­
onomic research; Mary Ann Lain,
com m ercial-ban king operation s;
Michael A. Chiarito, check processing;
Jam es A. K lu te, co n tro llers; and
Eduardo M onteagudo, p erso n al­
banking services; and to second vice
presidents — Steve A. Saratore and
Claudia Schultze, corporate planning/
research/development; and Peter Katrein, commercial-banking operations.
Gordon B. B enkler and Leo A.
Knowles have jo in ed C ole-Taylor
Financial Group, Northbrook, Mr.
Benkler as a senior vice president/product development manager and
Mr. Knowles as corporate controller.
Mr. Benkler formerly was with Con­
tinental Illinois National, Chicago, and
Mr. Knowles was senior vice president/controller, G eneral Finance
Corp.
Bruce Hoover has joined Devon Bank,
Chicago, as vice president/auditor. He

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

Where should you be September 13?
Join John J. Detterick, Gerald Greenwald, Alfred E. Kahn, Allan Munro, John
Naisbitt, Joseph Pinola, John S. Poelker, Charles E. Rice, F.G. "Buck" Rodgers,
Charles Schwab, Robert Townsend, and others - plus hundreds of your colleagues
- in Denver, Colorado for a landmark meeting of the financial services industry.

►MINISTRATION INSTITUT!

In Denv<

A cro ss th e C o n tin e n t
S e p te m b e r 1 3 ,1 9 8 4

An unprecedented meeting for executives who listen.

A satellite teleconference broadcast live to over 30
convenient sites across the continent.

For three days this September, the U.S. financial commu­
nity will turn its attention to Denver, Colorado. Hun­
dreds of executives - from bankers to brokers - will meet
to examine success stories of industry leaders who are
parlaying today's market conditions into profit.

MONEY TALKS is a landmark meeting. A conclave so sig­
nificant and timely, that no single meeting site can ac­
commodate all those who can benefit from hearing about
what it takes to succeed in today's financial environment.

It's MONEY TALKS, Bank Administration Institute's An­
nual Meeting, an unprecedented assembly of decision­
makers from virtually every sector of the marketplace:
banks, savings and loans, brokerage houses, insurance
companies, investment firms, and credit unions.

Recognizing this, the Institute has drawn upon its exten­
sive experience as the industry-leader in teleconference
programs. The result is the MONEY TALKS teleconference,
broadcast live from the assembly floor to key locations
across the continent.

In addition to hearing prominent general session speak­
ers, participants will be able to choose from among some
30 concurrent sessions. Each features a national author­
ity who will address a topic critical to understanding
today's changing environment. The latest in products
and services will be on display in the Exhibition Hall.
And there will be numerous spouse attractions, plus a
special Barbara Mandrell show.

Now, everyone can view the key general sessions and
profit from the business and money-making insights of­
fered by the forum's outstanding selection of speakers.
Call for times and locations nearest you.

Program Registration Fee:

Program Registration Fee:

Institute Member: $455 (Spouse: $190)
Nonmember: $500 (Spouse: $210)

Institute Member: $135
Nonmember: $170

Wherever you are - whether in Denver or at one of the
teleconference sites - you should be listening when, on
September 13, MONEY TALKS to you.

For im m ediate registration or information, ca ll the Education Hotline:
1-800-323-8552 (In Illinois, 1-800-942-8861), or 1-312-228-6200.
DANK ADMINISTRATION INSTITUTE
60 Gould Center, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

MONEY TALKSSMis a service mark owned by Bank
Administration Institute, Rolling Meadows, Illinois 60008, U.S.A.

There's only one locally-owro
If you’re an independent bank,
you’ve probably noticed it’s harder
to keep your head above water
these days.
According to a 1983 survey by
a leading consulting firm, 74% of
CEO’s in banks with assets of over
$100 million expect their banks to
acquire another bank within five
years.
In this period of deregulation,
mergers and acquisitions have
become a common occurrence. So
so that in Rochester, New
Digitizedmuch
for FRASER
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

York, the only remaining locallyowned commercial bank is First
National Bank of Rochester.
Deregulation is here to stay. To
help make sure you are, consider
the proven alternative: a franchise
with First Interstate Bancorp.
Franchising:
the profitable partnership.
Currently, the First Interstate
Bank system is the 7th largest in
the nation, with assets of over
$43 billion. Together with our fran-

chisees, we have over 1,000 fullservice banking offices in 14 states,
making us one of the largest retail
banking systems in the country.
As a franchisee of First Interstate
Bancorp, you have access to these
vast resources.
First Interstate’s goal is to use
technology and product innovation
to deliver unmatched financial
services all over the United States.
As a franchisee, you’ll benefit
from many of these services. For
example, you’ll be included in the

1bank left in Rochester today.
Teller Item Processing System
(TIPS), an on-line multi-office
information system which gives
customers check cashing privil­
eges in any First Interstate office.
In addition, you’ll gain access to
specialized services such as mort­
gage banking, discount brokerage,
international trading and data
processing.
Franchising:
the success story.
Our success in the market­
place
speaks for itself. Currently,

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

First Interstate Bancorp has
franchise agreements in 6 states,
including Colorado, Hawaii,
Alaska, Montana, Wyoming
and Wisconsin.
Operations in these states
represent a total of 21 banks
with 68 offices. By the end
of 1984, their combined
m
assets will total $2.5
m
billion.
Find out more about
how you can become part
of First Interstate Bancorp’s

successful franchise program by
calling John Dean, President,
First Interstate System, Inc.
(213)614-3043. '

Brokerage service
from the bank
you already take stock in.
You met us as Memphis Bank & Trust, and came to know us as the bank that
offered you more correspondent services from a more experienced staff.
Now we have a new name to reflect the whole area we serve,
Midland Bank & Trust, and a new service to help
you grow with us.

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Take advantage
of the Bankers Investment
Exchange, from the same correspondent
bank department you’ve always been able to take
stock in. Give Lynn Hobson, Gus Morris, Jim Newman,
Ron Ireland or Tom McKelroy a call, toll-free, at 1-800/238-7477.
In Tennessee, 1-800/582-6277.

26


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

formerly was a private consultant and
also is a retired partner, Peat, Mar­
wick, Mitchell & Co., Chicago.
Midwest F in an cial G roup, I n c .,
Peoria, has elected David R. Leitch a
vice president. Mr. Leitch, a vice
p resid en t, C om m ercial N ational,
Peoria, will be responsible for the
HC’s public affairs/press relations/government relations.

INDIANA
Restructuring Announced
By South Bend Bank
SOUTH BEN D — 1st Source Bank
has announced creation of five regional
headquarters, expansion and improve­
ment of automated-teller-machine ser­
vice and realig n m en t of several
branches. The program will cost $1
million.
Im plem entation of the program,
being directed by Senior Vice Presi­
dent W. D. Jones III, personal bank­
ing group, will be completed by D e­
cember. New ATMs will be operation­
al at several locations in September,
with existing 1st Source ATM locations
upgraded to incorporate the newer
units, using the latest in 24-hour­
banking technology.
The regional centers, which were
designated on the basis of population
and business volume in surrounding
areas, will offer a full range of financial
services. In addition to main offices in
downtown South Bend and Mishawa­
ka, services will be expanded at the
Airport, Roseland and Maple Lane
branches.
Branch realignm ent will include
consolidation of lower-volume branches
into more regionally located facilities.
The plan also calls for physical reloca­
tion of the branch building at U. S. 20
and Bittersweet Road to a new location
at U. S. 33 and Bittersweet. This new
location will serve as the Osceola
Office when it opens later this year.
Michael F . M cW hortor has been
named vice president responsible for
investments/funds management, Lin­
coln National, Fort Wayne. He was
with BancOhio National, Columbus,
as vice president responsible for finan­
cial planning. In other action at Lin­
coln National, three assistant vice
presidents were named: Stephen W.
Demaree, Michael C. Marhenke and
John L. McArdle. Mr. Demaree went
to the bank in 1975, Mr. Marhenke in
1977 and Mr. McArdle in 1976.

W illiam N. M cCallum has b een
elected president, Lafayette Bank,
which he joined as manager, install­
ment loan department, in 1961. Most
recently, Mr. McCallum was execu­
tive vice president/secretary to the
board.

KENTUCKY
Joseph J. Crawford Jr. and P. Daugh­
erty Murphy have been promoted
from senior banking officers to vice
presidents, First National, Louisville.
Both joined the bank in 1973. Mr.
Crawford is in the liability-p rod ­
uct-management area.
James S. Mahan III has been named
president, Citizens Union National,
Lexington. He succeeds Arch G.
Mainous Jr. Mr. Mahan formerly was
vice chairman/chief operating officer.
At 33, he is said to be Lexington’s
youngest bank president.

LOUISIANA
Louisiana's Largest HC
To Result From Merger
A proposed m erger of th ree
Louisiana H Cs, announced last
month, will result in a new organiza­
tion that is expected to rank as the
state’s largest bank HC.
The three firms are First Bancshares
of Louisiana, In c ., Baton Rouge;
Ouachita National Bancshares, Inc.,
Monroe; and First National Bancorp,
Inc., Shreveport.
The combined organization is ex­
pected to have assets totaling about
$2.6 billion, which would rank it in
first place, replacing Whitney Holding
Corp., New Orleans, as the state’s
largest bank HC.
The merger, which would take place
early next year, was made possible by
passage of a multi-parish law by the
state legislature in June.
The new HC will be called
Louisiana Bancshares, Inc. Charles
W. McCoy, chairman, First Banc­
shares, is expected to be president/
CEO. Chairman will be J. Hugh Wat­
son, currently chairman, First Nation­
al Bancorp. Chairman of the executive
committee will be R. Lee Vanderpool
Jr ., currently president, Ouachita
National.
Each share of First Bancshares will
be exchanged for one share of the new
HC. Each First National Bancorp
share will be exchanged for 1.6 shares

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

of the new HC. And each share of
Ouachita National Bancshares will be
exchanged for 2.2 shares of the new
firm.
Louisiana National, Baton Rouge;
F irst N ational, Sh rev ep ort; and
O uachita N ational, M onroe, sub­
sidiaries of the three HCs involved in
the merger, are expected to retain
th eir cu rren t m anagem ents. The
board of the new HC will be composed
of six directors from each of the three
banks.

SWEATT

W. David Sweatt has joined First
National Bank of Commerce, New
O rleans, as senior vice president,
corporate development. He formerly
was with First National of South Caro­
lina, Columbia, where he was vice
president/manager, commercial loans,
and managed the international depart­
ment. In other action, First NBC has
added municipal-unit trusts to secur­
ities it has available for its investment
customers. The Nuveen tax-exempt
bond fund and Van Kampen Merrit
insured-municipals-income trust are
the two new funds being handled by
the bank. Common stock of the bank’s
parent HC, First Commerce Corp.,
now is included in NASDAQ (National
Market System or NMS).
American Bank, Norco, has promoted
the following: from senior vice presi­
dent to executive vice president, Les­
lie Gray; from vice presidents to senior
vice presidents, Linda Dean, IraCazenave and L. J. Richard; and from bank­
ing officer to assistant vice president,
Ernest Rodrigue Jr.

MISSISSIPPI
Merger plans have been announced
by F irst N ational, Jackson , and
Brookhaven Bank. The plan is subject
to approval by stockholders and reg­
ulators. No change in the name of
Brookhaven Bank is expected and local
personnel will remain at the acquired
bank. First National is awaiting regula­
tory approval to merge with M er­
chants & Planters, Hazlehurst, and
State Guaranty Bank, Magee. The
three mergers will give First of Jackson
S/9

12 banks with 63 offices in 22 cities,
with total assets of approximately $2
billion.
First National, West Point, has been
acquired by First National Corp., a
newly chartered HC. Fed approval of
the HC’s charter was announced in
June.

MISSOURI
Boatmen's Agrees to Buy
CharterCorp, Kansas City
An agreem ent in principle that
could result in creation of the largest
commercial-banking organization in
Missouri has been announced jointly
by Boatmen’s Bancshares, Inc., St.
Louis, and CharterCorp, Kansas City.
The agreement provides for the ac­
quisition of CharterCorp by Boatmen’s
via a statutory merger. Basic terms of
the proposed m erger provide that
CharterCorp shareholders would re­
ceive for each of their common shares
$5 in cash and nine-tenths of one share
of Boatm en’s common stock. As of
June 30, CharterCorp had approx-

Bankers Bank to Open
Independent State Bank of Mis­
souri, a “bankers’ bank, ” is expected
to begin operating in Jefferson City
by October 1. Initial services will
include check clearing and trading of
overnight fed funds.
The bank has been in the planning
stage for about a year, according to
Donald Thompson, one of two cochairmen. He’s president, Peoples
Bank of Lincoln County, Troy. The
other cochairman is Bob Hawkins,
president, Southern Commercial,
St. Louis.
More than 100 of Missouri’s 425
independent banks have purchased
stock in the new bank, which will
have at least $1.5 million in capital
when it opens.
Mr. Thompson says the bank is
being established so that indepen­
dents can deal with a correspondent
that is not a competitor. “We’d like
to do the business ourselves instead
of sending it to our competition, ” he
says. Mr. Hawkins says independent
banks in Missouri have been treated
as “stepchildren” by major corre­
spondents.
Cam Fine, a former official of the
state Revenue Department, has
been named president of the new
bank.
According to the ABA, indepen­
dent bankers’ banks are operating in
Texas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Min­
nesota, Colorado, Florida, Pennsyl­
vania and Louisiana. Bankers’ banks
are being considered for Ohio,
Arkansas and Tennessee.

Commerce Makes Application
For Nonbank in Kansas
WELLS

BRANDIN

imately 7.8 million shares of common
stock outstanding. Total acquisition
cost is expected to be approximately
$230 million.
The transaction is subject to execu­
tion of a definitive merger agreement,
shareholder approval and approval of
appropriate regulators. It’s anticipated
that the merger would be consum­
mated in the first quarter of 1985.
The merger corporation would con­
sist of 45 subsidiary banks operating in
99 locations with total assets in excess
of $6 billion. It would give Boatmen’s
capital of more than $400 million and
enable it to raise its lending limit to
about $60 million from the present
approximately $27 million.
It’s expected that Donald N. Brandin would remain as chairman/CEO of
Boatmen’s, with Gordon E. Wells,
C h arterC o rp ’s cu rren t chairman/
CEO, becoming vice chairman. Mr.
Wells is expected to retain his position
as chairman of First National CharterBank, Kansas City.
S/10


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Commerce Bancshares, Inc., Kan­
sas City, has made application to the
Comptroller of the Currency for au­
thority to open a “consumer” bank in
Overland Park, Kan., a suburb of Kan­
sas City.
Commerce banks have about 35,000
customers in Johnson County, Kan.,
location of Overland Park. About
30,000 of these customers hold credit
cards issued by Commerce banks. The
banks also have about 7,500 depositors
and 4,000 loan customers in the sub­
urban county, according to T. Alan
Peschka, vice president/secretary/
treasurer and general counsel of Com­
merce Bancshares.
Overland Park currently has eight
banks, each of which is permitted two
facilities. In addition, Citicorp, New
York City, operates a finance com­
pany, Citicorp Financial, in the com­
munity.
Action on the Commerce applica­
tion hinges on disposition of banking
legislation now in Congress. The
Comptroller has put a hold on all ap­

plications for nonbanks until Congress
acts, or, if it doesn’t act, until the end
of the current congressional session.

Two More Banking Centers
Opened in Venture Stores
By Mercantile, St. Louis
Simultaneous ribbon-cutting cere­
monies were held July 23 to open more
Mercantile Convenience Banking cen­
ters in Venture stores. The new loca­
tions are the second and third such
cen ters M ercan tile B ancorp, St.
Louis, has opened in Venture stores in
the St. Louis area this year. The two
that opened last month are located in
Kirkwood and in north St. Louis Coun­
ty. The first one is operating in the
Cave Springs Venture Store in St. Pe­
ters.
The banking center at the Kirkwood
Venture Store is a facility of Mercantile
Bank of South County and the one at
the Venture Store in north St. Louis
County is operated by Lewis & Clark
Mercantile Bank.
The ribbons at the openings were
made up of MasterCard/Visa charge
tickets. The openings kicked off a
week-long celebration of the “Great
M ercantile at-V enture.” The latter
featured sweepstakes drawings, with
each banking location offering these
prizes — five $100 gift certificates for a
shopping adventure, a balloon-ridefor-two adventure, an Ozark-weekend-for-two adventure, a seven-course
dinner with limousine-service-for-two
adventure and a dinner/theaterevening-for-two adventure. The draw­
ings were held at the end of the weeklong celebration.
Throughout the week, Mercantile
personnel met customers and other
shoppers to introduce them to services
available at the banking centers.
The banking locations, adjacent to
the stores’ customer-service desks,

This is type of M ercantile convenience
banking centers now operating in three St.
Louis-area Venture stores.

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

Precision teamwork
pays off. Where?
Our customers know.

To the casual fan, baseball is a game of
random events, but to the men who play for
a living, it is one of strategy, planned well
and executed precisely.
Strategy is equally important in banking.
Centerre offers correspondent banks new
and innovative consulting services in
strategic planning, asset/l¡ability
management, estate planning, executive
compensation, general business insurance
and a wide range of personnel-related
services. We’re working to help each
correspondent customer successfully meet
today’s challenges through effective planning
and management.
Precision teamwork is one reason why
Centerre is among the nation’s most
respected correspondent banks. Our
customers know we can serve their needs.
Work with us—we can serve yours, as well.

C E N T E R R E RANK
One Centerre Plaza
St. Louis, MO 63101
314-554-7737

9th & Walnut Streets
Kansas City, MO 64106
800-892-2472

Member FDIC
MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

s/n

offer such Mercantile products as de­
posit services, personal-loan applica­
tions and Fingertip Banking. Finger­
tip, Mercantile’s automated-teller sys­
tem , also is part of BankM ate, a
shared-ATM system that enables cus­
tomers to gain access to their accounts
through ATMs of any financial orga­
nization participating in the network.
The banking centers are open the
same hours as the Venture stores.
Centerre Bank, St. Louis, has elected
John R. Small and Jesse E. Neymanjr.
vice presidents and Wendell T. Bollin­
ger, Lorraine H. Greene, Warren G.
Ude and Carlos E. Uribe assistant vice
presidents.

M erger of M ercantile Bank of St.
Charles County and Mercantile Bank
of St. Peters, as well as establishment
of M ercan tile Bank of N orthw est
County in St. Louis County, has been
approved by regulatory authorities.
James R. Finks will be president of the
new bank, which will be located at the
present site of the Brown Campus
Banking Center of Lewis & Clark M er­
cantile Bank. The bank is expected to
open during the third quarter.
M ercantile T ru st, St. Louis, has
elected William C. Glaser, Daniel E.
Ray and James K. Viviano vice presi­
dents and Dennis R. Block, John P.

Municipal Bonds
c lx c iu ó iv e lu

H ecker, Jen n y Sm ith Kade and
Richard W. Metz assistant vice presi­
dents. James W. Hill, assistant vice
president, has been named manager,
credit-review department, succeeding
Michael G. Groves, who has been
elected senior vice president/area ex­
ecutive, international banking.
Reuben M. M orriss III has been
elected chairman/president/CEO,
Boatmen’s Trust Co., Clayton, suc­
ceeding Hugh M. F. Lewis, who re­
tired recently as chairman/president of
Boatmen’s Trust Co. and as executive
vice president, Boatmen’s National,
St. Louis. Mr. Lewis was with the
bank for 37 years. Mr. Morriss con­
tinues as head of the trust division,
Boatmen’s National, where he also is
senior vice president/senior trust offi­
cer. He joined Boatmen’s in 1965. In
other action, Boatmen’s National has
elected John F. Otting Jr. vice president/operations; Robert L. Finder Jr.
assistant trust officer; and Rodney K.
Kerner assistant vice president/retail
banking.

Specializing in

KANSAS

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R e v e n u e a n d G e n e r a l O b lig a tio n
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ONE TWENTY SEVEN WEST TENTH

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 64105
(816) 221-4311

S/12


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CALLAWAY

Commerce Bancshares, Inc., Kansas
City, has elected A. Bayard Clark ex­
ecutive vice president and Gary L.
Callaway senior vice president. Mr.
Clark was executive vice president,
Commerce Bank of St. Louis, which
he joined in 1980. He joined the Com­
merce system in 1976 and served as
president/CEO, Commerce Bank of
University City, 1979 to 1980. Mr.
Callaway formerly was vice president
of the HC. He joined Commerce in
1974 at Commerce Bank of Joplin. He
served that bank as president/CEO
from 1979 to 1983. Mr. Clark will
handle strategic/financial planning and
MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

We believe a service
is only as good
as the people behind it.
Jerald L. Fleschner

Owen D. Hendrixson

At Mercantile you’ll find one
of our greatest services is our
correspondent bankers. They
have the authority to help you
with any loan or investment. Start
to finish.
Loan Services. From simple
commercial loans to overline and
bank stock loans, your correspon­
dent banker has the authority to
approve your loan. And knows
the full responsibility for your
satisfaction falls on him.
Investment Services. Fed
funds, bonds, securities, BAs,
CDs. It’s a big job keeping up
with all the domestic and interna­
tional money markets. Your cor­
respondent banker has access to
the latest communications and
computer equipment. And knows
how to use them to help you
make decisions wisely.
Check Clearing Services. Are
you paying too much for your
clearings? Why aren’t you getting
better availability? If you have
questions like these about your
check clearing services, you can
find the answers at Mercantile
bank.
Just call any of our corres­
pondent bankers for a quote on
an investment or more details on
any of our services.

We’re w ith you

RcnrrniE
BRIK

Member FDIC

Correspondent Banking Division

Richard G. Ross

Mercantile Trust Company N.A.
St. Louis, MO 63101
Please feel free to call us
collect at (314) 425-2404.
Matthew A. Favazza

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

S/l 3

Lasater Receives Award

Died: Robert E. Finley, 57, vice chair­
man, Colonial Bank, Des Peres, of a
heart ailment.

Paul Knoblauch Dies

Donald E. Lasater (r.), ch./CEO, Mercantile
Bancorp., Inc., St. Louis, is shown receiving
Right Arm of St. Louis award from Ted C.
W etterau, ch., St. Louis Regional Com­
merce & Growth Association. Award hon­
ors Mr. Lasater for his "practical and untir­
ing efforts to improve the lives of citizens in
his community and for his effective lead­
ership in revitalizing St. Louis through both
new construction and redevelopment of
older neighborhoods."

bank administration; Mr. Callaway
will continue in retail banking administration/product development and
will take on responsibility for the in­
surance operation.
Sharaon Hinderks has been promoted
to vice president at First National, St.
Joseph. She manages the residential
real estate department at the bank’s
Northeast Facility. She has been with
the bank for 18 years.
Joyce Holt has been elected president/
CEO, Home Bank, Savannah. The for­
mer vice president joined the bank in
1959.
Died: Cyril A. Niehoff, 69, retired
chairman, Centerre banks of Floris­
sant and St. P e te rs, on July 13,
apparently of h eart d isease. Mr.
Niehoff, with Centerre Bank, Floris­
sant, and its predecessors since 1935,
retired last January.

AIB Officers Elected
Robert J. Helfrieh, vice president,
County Bank, Webster Groves, has
been elected president, St. Louis
AIB, for 1984-’85.
Other new officers include: vice
president/programs and planning —
Gary J. Harris, assistant vice presi­
dent, Boatmen’s National, St. Louis;
vice president finance/treasurer —
Bernard E. Berns, manager, St.
Louis Fed; associate vice president
— Jacqeline Boehringer, Lindell
Trust, St. Louis.
Ilissa M. Staadeker has been
appointed executive director. She
had been acting director for almost a
year.

S/14


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

ST. CHARLES — Paul H. Knob­
lauch, chairman/CEO, First Nat l,
St. Charles, died of a heart attack
July 16. He was 57.
Mr. Knoblauch was Region Five
vice president, Missouri Bankers
Association, in 1973-74. He joined
First of St. Charles in 1945, became
a director in 1966, president in 1967
and chairman/CEO in 1981.

for the bank’s retail-product development/management. Mr. M iller has
eight years’ experience in real-estate
lending in New Mexico. Mr. Sutton
formerly was assistant vice president/
senior product m anager, Bank of
America, San Francisco.
F irst National, Albuquerque, has
promoted four senior vice presidents
to executive vice presidents: Noel D.
Behne, J. Paul Boushelle Jr., Don K.
Padgett and Philip W. White.

OKLAHOMA
NEW MEXICO
Moncor, Inc., Albuquerque, has held
ceremonies marking the beginning of
construction of its new downtown
headquarters cen ter. W hen com ­
pleted in 1986, according to an HC
spokesperson, the new Moncor Cen­
ter will be the tallest building in New
Mexico. The 16-story structure will
span a two-block area and will be the
gateway to the 22-sq u are-b lo ck
McClellan Park Metropolitan Rede­
velopment Area. The building will
have exterior water features and sculp­
tures in the plaza area, along with a
five-story brass and marble interior
atrium.
Steven L. Allen has joined Moncor,
Inc., Albuquerque, as a vice president/loan review officer. He was vice
president, credit administration, Unit­
ed Central Bancshares, Des Moines,
la.
James P. LeBlanc Jr. and Joan Olson
have joined Moncor Bank, Hobbs, Mr.
LeBlanc as senior vice president/commercial loan officer and Ms. Olson as
assistant vice president/loan quality
control officer. Mr. LeBlanc was with
Jefferson Guaranty Bank, Metairie,
L a., where he was a commercial lend­
er. Ms. Olson was with Moncor Bank,
Ruidoso. Also at M oncor Bank,
H obbs, Joyce C onnolly has been
promoted from consumer loan secretary/administrative assistant to assis­
tant cashier/consumer loan officer.
First National, Santa Fe, and First
State, Taos, have combined their logos
with that of their HC, New Mexico
Banquest Corp., Santa Fe, to become
Banquest/First National of Santa Fe
and Banquest/First State of Taos, re­
spectively. At the Santa Fe bank,
J. Wayne Miller has been appointed
assistant vice president, real estate
loans, and Allen K. Sutton was named
an assistant vice president responsible

Fidelity Bank, Oklahoma City, has
appointed Julia A. Nye, vice presi­
dent, to direct the newly formed met­
ropolitan accounts department. Ms.
Nye formerly was a vice president/
commercial loan officer and, prior to
joining Fidelity in 1983, was with
Chemical Bank, New York City. David
G. Moore has joined the bank as assis­
tant vice president/special assets. He
formerly was with First Continental,
Del City. Kevin Lackner has been
promoted to assistant vice president/
metropolitan lending and Jeffrey Scog­
gins has been promoted to assistant
cashier. Jere W. McKenny and Mac
Maguire have been elected to the
board. Mr. McKenny is president,
Kerr-McGee Corp. and Mr. Maguire
heads a general contracting firm.
United Oklahoma Bank, Oklahoma
City, has elected Marlene Disney per­
sonal banking officer and Anthony J.
Mirrione investment officer. Keith D.
Allison was promoted to commercial
loan officer. Frederick F. Drummond
has been appointed to the boards of the
bank and its HC. He is chairman/vice
president, Cleveland Bank.

Bank Receives Ad Award
First National of Oklahoma City’s
participation in B a n k A d v e r t i s i n g
N e w s ’ first annual Golden Eagle
Advertising Awards Competition
has resulted in a first-place win for
the bank and its advertising subsidi­
ary, Bank Marketing Systems, Inc.
The bank’s award-winning entry
was a black and white full-page ad
titled, “Neither a borrower nor a
lender be. ” It placed first in the con­
sumer-magazine category. Object of
the ad was to portray the bank’s
loyalty as a constant in good times
and bad.
First National was the only Okla­
homa bank to receive an award in
this year’s competition.

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

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MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

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S/15

GREER

McLEAN

Liberty National C orp., Oklahoma
City, and First Tulsa Bancorp., Inc.,
Tulsa, have jointly announced a pro
forma realignment of executive officers

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in their two subsidiary banks in antic­
ipation of consolidation of the HCs.
William A. Bowen and K. Gordon
Greer will serve as chairman/CEO and

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president/CEO designate, respective­
ly, in a new office of the chief execu­
tive. They also will serve as cochair­
men of the executive committee. The
term “CEO designate” indicates that
Mr. Greer is next in line to be CEO.
Mr. Bowen currently is president,
First Tulsa, and Mr. Greer is presi­
dent, Liberty National. Liberty Vice
Chairman W. M. Bell was named
cochairman, managing committee; Ex­
ecutive Vice President W. K. Bonds
was named a vice chairman/executive
vice president; and Executive Vice
President F. M. Moses was elected
president to succeed Mr. Greer, effec­
tive at the consolidation date. As pre­
viously announced, Liberty Chairman
J. W. McLean will be chairman/president of Banks of Mid-America, new
parent company of the consolidated
organizations.

CORPORATION
PO. Box 684
Wichita, KS 67201

WINGATE

DOUD

Central National, Enid, has appointed
Fred K. Doud senior vice president/
operations and promoted Danny R.
Wingate to senior vice president/data
processing. Mr. Doud formerly was
with First National, Oklahoma City.
Mr. Wingate formerly was vice presi­
dent/data processing.

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Box 684
Wichita, KS 67201

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S/16


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Phone

S ta te

Z ip

Murel Hunter has rejoined Commu­
nity Bank, Tulsa, after a year’s ab­
sence. He is senior vice president/
commercial loans.
Dennis R eecher has been named
senior vice president/com m ercial
lending, Sunbelt Bank, Tulsa. Also
promoted was Janet Gotwals, who now
is commercial loan officer.
Bert Olah has been elected executive
(C ontinued on page 43)
MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

W hat Is M y Bank W orth?
FE W years ago, I gave a sympo­
sium on one-bank holding com­
panies, and near the end of the m eet­
ing, one of the members of the audi­
ence asked, “What is my bank worth in
this multi-bank environment?” This
question had crossed my mind before;
so my answer was not irresponsible. I
told him that banks in Illinois are very
cheap compared to banks in Texas and
California, which are known to sell at
three or four times book value. I said
that an excellent earning bank located
in a market area that will have good
solid growth probably will sell at two
times or more book value.
Naturally, everyone in the audience
throught his bank was worth two times
book value. This may be one reason
multi-bank activity has been slow to
date.
But why the fascination with book
value? Book value, unfortunately, has
become an industry standard in eval­
uating and pricing bank mergers/acquisitions. The general feeling is that
the higher the book value, the lower
the return to the purchaser and the
better the offer to the seller. Consul­
tants, investment bankers and secur­
ities analysts have attempted to make
comparisons of mergers/acquisitions
by using book value. Because all banks
have a book value, advisers continue to

By Robert O. Dunkel

A

Exhibit 1
Bank A
Asset size
Equity-toasset ratio
Equity
Return to assets
After tax earnings
Purchaser pays
150% • o f bank
Target bank's
earnings
Financing 12%
(pretax)
G o o d w ill over 40
years
Retained by
purchaser on
investm ent

Bank B

$50,000,000 $50,000,000
6%
10%
$ 3,000,000 $ 5,000,000
1%
1%
$ 500,000 $ 500,000
$ 4,500,000 $ 7,500,000
$

500,000 $

500,000

-291,600

-486,000

-37,500

$-62,500

$170,900

$(48,500)

3.8%

(0.65'

R o b e r t O . D u n k e l is vice president, corpo­
rate finance, Howe, Barnes & Johnson,
Inc., Chicago. His article is reprinted with
permission from Illin o is B a n k e r .

use book-value ratios rather than the
price/earnings ratio, which is mean­
ingless if the target bank is operating at
a loss. Many sellers contemplating the
sale of their banks have reasoned that if
the bank across the street sold for
125% of book value, their bank (a bet­
ter bank, of course) is worth at least
150% of book value.
In spite of the current interest in
purchase accounting and valuation of
assets/liabilities, including a valuation
of the deposit base, stated book value
is not fair-market value. A bank that
has a third of its assets in 25-year, 10%
mortgage loans and another third in
15-year municipals may report the
same book value as a bank with a third
of its assets in fed funds and another
third in flo atin g -rate com m ercial
loans. When all other balance-sheet
items are identical, the second bank
certainly is worth more in today’s er­
ratic and high-interest-rate environ­
ment, whether purchase or pooling
accounting treatment is used.
The most compelling evidence for
abandoning book value is detailed in
Exhibit 1. Bank A and Bank B, identi­
cal in size and earnings, are different
only in their equity accounts and equity-to-asset ratios. Bank A has an equity-to-asset ratio of 6%, and Bank B has
an equity-to-asset ratio of 10%. Assum­
ing the hypothetical purchaser pays
150% of book value, incurring the
financing cost of 12% at a 46% tax rate
and amortizing goodwill on a straightline basis over 40 years, the resulting
return of the purchase-price invest­
m ent will vary from —0 .6 5 % to
+ 3.8%.
One conclusion that can be made
from Exhibit 1 is that it is harder to buy
an overcapitalized bank than an under­
capitalized bank. However, an over­
capitalized bank should earn more
than an undercapitalized bank or its

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

owners probably shouldn’t be in the
banking business. A second conclusion
is that the price-to-book-value ratio is
not a suitable yardstick for pricing
banks with different level-of-equity
strength.
Exhibit 2 removes the equity dif­
ferentiation from the two banks of
identical size and presents them all
with book-value ratio of 8%. These
banks, however, differ in their profita­
bility. Bank X earns 0.75% on assets,
and Bank Y earns 1% on assets. A
hypothetical purchaser pays 150% of
book value, incurring the same financ­
ing and goodwill expenses as those in
Exhibit 1. In this variation, a return on
investment to the purchaser will vary
significantly.
The price-to-book value again is not
a suitable yardstick for pricing banks
with different levels of profitability.
Because book value has no relationship
to fair-market value and because equi­
ty strength and profitability dramati­
cally affect the return of the purchaser,
the book-value ratio is a meaningless
standard for evaluating and pricing
mergers/acquisitions.
W ill we stop using book value?
Probably not. But rem em ber that
earnings and market location are the
keys to valuation. Book value does not
count. • •

Exhibit 2
Bank X

BankY

Asset size
$50,000,000 $50,000,000
Equity-to-asset ratio
8%
8%
$4,000,000 $4,000,000
Equity
Return on assests
.75%
1%
After tax earnings
$375,000
$500,000
Purchaser pays
150% o f bank
Target bank's
$375,000
$500,000
earnings
Financing 12%
-388,800
-388,800
(pretax)
G ood w ill over 40
-50,000
-50,000
years
Retained by
purchaser on
investm ent

$(63,800)

$61,200

(1.06%)

1.02%

27

lem is the most serious, especially dur­
ing the recent recession, when a num­
ber of long-time successful businesses
(C ontinued fr o m page 12)
ceased to exist, due primarily to high
interest rates and declining sales. Mr.
Dixon suggests that proper monitoring
made, many loans are not structured of these credits would have alerted
properly at their inception. Realistic banks to existing problems in many
amortization programs may not be instances when there still was time for
established relative to the borrower’s the banks — and often the borrowers
cash-flow cap ab ilities, and, many — to liquidate businesses without loss­
times, sufficient thought may not be es or with reduced losses.
given to secondary repaym ent
To correct these procedural prob­
sources. Adequate collateral, includ­ lems, Mr. Dixon’s office has encour­
ing personal guarantees and assets, aged banks, both informally and for­
may not be obtained regularly, and, mally through enforcement orders, to
when it is obtained, improper or in­ retain qualified senior lending officers
complete documentation may result in and support p erson n el, to adopt
a bank’s losing collateral.
meaningful loan policies adequate for a
3.
A loan, once placed on a bank’sbank’s size and type and to implement
books, may not be monitored properly detailed loan-review systems.
during its term. Failure to obtain and
Mr. Dixon summarizes: “The sever­
analyze periodic financial statements ity of commercial- or business-loan
and to make on-site visitations at the problems experienced by banks often
borrower’s place of business may re­ is inversely related to the knowledge
sult in a bank’s not being aware that a and expertise of bank management.
problem loan exists until the borrower Loan portfolios have deteriorated
defaults or the situation has become rapidly in recent years in banks admin­
hopeless. Litigation and liquidation istered by weak management; yet,
usually result, and all the errors dis­ problem-loan portfolios often have
cussed in these three areas are magni­ shown significant improvement once
fied.
placed under the guidance of capable
Mr. Dixon believes the third prob­ management.” • •

Lending Problems

Howe, Barnes & Johnson, Inc.
Investment Bankers Since 1915
We are specialists in:
One-bank holding companies
M ergers and acquisitions

Brookhart Scheduled
To Be Installed
As BMA President
Smith W. Brookhart III, president/
CEO, Centerre Bank, Branson, Mo.,
will be installed as Bank Marketing
Association president during the asso­
ciatio n ’s 69th annual convention
September 16-19 in New Orleans.
Other new officers are: first vice
president, John A. Russell, vice president/marketing director, Banc One
Corp., Columbus, O.; and second vice
president, Michael P. Sullivan, vice
president, corporate communications,
F irst Union N ational, C h arlo tte,
N. C.
The BMA’s current president, Barry
I. Deutsch, senior vice president,
Mellon Bank, Pittsburgh, will serve on
the BMA’s board and executive com­
mittee as immediate past president.
A M id -C o n tin en t-area banker,
James B. Watt, will serve a three-year
term on the board. He is chairman/
CEO, MidAmerica Bancsystem, Inc.,
Fairview Heights, 111.

St. Joseph Market Day
Set for September 5
ST. JO SEPH , MO. — First Nation­
al and First Stock Yards banks’ 28th
annual “Market Day at the Yards” will
be held September 5.
Activities will begin with a tour of a
St. Joseph industry. Guests will have
lunch in the stockyards area before ad­
journing to the St. Joseph Country
Club for an update on the agribusiness
economic situation/forecast. This will
be followed by the annual grain/livestock panel discussion moderated by
James F. Reynolds, president/general
manager, St. Joseph Stockyards. The
usual “attitude-adjustm ent period”
and steak fry will conclude the day.
The two host banks are affiliates of
F irst Midwest Bancorp, In c ., St.
Joseph.

Valuations
Tax planning

Call Bob Dunkel at
312/930-2900
Howe, Barnes & Johnson, Inc.
135 S. LaSalle
Suite 2040
Chicago, IL 60603

28


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Benjamin Ryan Sr. Dies
Benjamin H. Ryan Sr., former
pres., Independent Bankers Asso­
ciation of America, died June 10. He
headed the Illinois Bankers Associa­
tion in 1951-52. At the time of his
death, he was ch., Middle State Ban­
corp, East Moline, 111. He also was a
two-term mayor of East Moline.
Mr. Ryan joined State Bank, East
Moline, after World War I and be­
came its pres, in 1941. He retired as
an active banker in 1965, but con­
tinued as a director. His son, Ben
Ryan Jr., is pres, of the bank.
MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

U.S. banks are losing about $8 billion a year in bad
loans. The causes are as numerous as they are varied:
Mismanagement
Bankruptcy Laws That
Favor Debtors
Government Regulations
Shallow Credit
Analysis
Overtrading

Shoddy Loan
Documentation
Product Obsolescence
The Three B’s
Fraud
Carelessness
And So On...

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“The Worst Loan I Ever Made” will teach your loan
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benefit from this show and gain from it a greater appre­
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“The Worst Loan I Ever Made” creates a new standard
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A/L Management:
Where Can Bankers
Go for Help?
AXIMIZE income; control risk.
Interest-Sensitivity Report, outlines
Essentially, this is what asset/ the development of a hypothetical
liability m anagement is all about.
$150-million commercial bank’s sensi­
However, a brief definition like the tivity report. The RMA says such re­
above doesn’t begin to tell how to ports have become increasingly impor­
match assets and liabilities, a task tant to bankers because, since June,
th at’s extrem ely im portant in the
1983, in reports of condition/income,
rapidly changing rate and regulatory all federally regulated banks are re­
environment in which banks must quired to submit data on the interestoperate today.
rate sensitivity of their assets/liabiliHere are sources to which bankers ties.
can turn for help in A/L management:
The booklet offers descriptions of re­
* * *
lationships among such elements as
R o b e r t M orris A ssociates (RMA) rate maturity, loans/leases, net-in­
offers:
terest-bearing deposits and compo­
1.
A monograph, “Asset/Liability nents of the zero-rate core.
Management From the Credit Per­
Copies are $7.50 each for RMAspective.” This booklet is designed to m em ber-banks and $10 each for
help commercial lenders/credit offi­ nonmember-banks.
cers understand the implications of
3. A session of the RMA’s 1984 loanA/L management as it applies to their management seminar September 23banks. It’s divided into two sections:
28 will be devoted to A/L manage­
The first section deals with the
ment. Harry Blythe, finance profes­
evolution and current status of A/L sor, Ohio State University, Columbus,
management, including definitions of will discuss “Asset/Liability- and
its primary problems and components.
Capital-Management Policies and Sys­
The second section discusses the tem s.” His talk will be followed by a
distinction between the way core bank lecture by Thomas C. Hosier, vice
deposits and managed bank deposits president, Chemical Bank, New York
are handled, dynamic (long-term) ver­ City, on “A Banker’s Perspective of
sus static (short-term) approaches to A sset/Liability M an ag em en t.’ A
rate sensitivity and roles played by group discussion will be held after the
each of the major functional areas of talks. This portion of the seminar will
the bank, as well as major segments of be held in the afternoon of September
the loan portfolio in relation to the A/ 24. The seminar is designed especially
L-management process.
for senior-level commercial bankers.
C opies are $20 each for RMATuition payment for the seminar is
member-banks and $28.50 for non$1,150 per student for RMA-member
member-banks.
banks and $1,350 for nonmembers.
2.
A booklet, “Zephyr National 4. An audio-cassette tape on “Asset/
Rank: A Case Study for Preparing an Liability Management and Funding

M

Asset/liability management plays
an extremely important part in the rapidly changing
regulatory environment of today. Help for
bankers in this area can be found in programs, publications,
seminars, workshops and conferences offered
by trade associations and A/L specialists.
30


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

C onstraints of Loan P ricin g and
Term s,” recorded in 1982 during the
RMA’s fall conference. The speaker,
Harvey N. Gillis, executive vice presi­
dent, Seattle-First National, focuses
on how interest-rate sensitivity/funding considerations can be translated
into action for loan pricing/maturity
determination.
Tapes are $12.50 each for RMAm em ber-banks and $15 each for
nonmembers.
For information on any of this RMA
m aterial, con tact: R o b ert M orris
Associates, 1616 Philadelphia National
Bank Building, P hilad elp h ia, PA
19107. Telephone: 215/665-2850.
*

*

*

The In depen den t B ankers A ssocia­
tion o f A m erica (IBAA) is conducting a
spread-analysis and asset/liabilitymanagement workshop September 2627 at the Omaha (N eb.) M arriott
Hotel.
Primary focus is the practical ap­
plication of spread-analysis, liquiditymanagement and A/L-management
techniques to each registrant’s bank.
Participants will plan investment
portfolios to assure more liquidity and
earnings, control the cost of opera­
tions, develop product pricing and
evaluate methods of automating the
A/L -management process. Ways to
improve the interest spread and re­
duce the impact of interest-rate fluc­
tuations also will be presented.
Registration fee is $395 for IBAA
members and $495 for nonmembers.
Contact: Independent Bankers Asso­
ciation of America, P. O. Box 267,
Sauk Centre, MN 56378. Telephone:
612/352-6546.
*

*

*

The A m erican B ankers A ssociation
(ABA) offers these publications on A/L
management and related topics:
1. C o m m u n ity -B a n k F in a n c ia lP erform ance G u id e. The ABA says this
guide is a comprehensive financialperformance/planning tool, giving
techniques and step-by-step instruc­
tions on how to improve bank perform­
ance. Worksheets, exhibits and charts
help calculate key measurements (gap,
spread, interest sensitivity and more)
and assist in peer-group comparisons.
Order No. 271500. Prices are $47.50
for ABA m em bers and $72 for
nonmembers.
2. M icro-C om puter M odeling to Im ­
p r o v e C om m u n ity -B an k F in a n c ia l
P erform an ce. Designed as a compan­
ion piece to the preceding publication,

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

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We assign a team of experts
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together. We review your rate sen
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Then we come back to
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It demonstrates steps
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that can strike a chord
between your banking objec­
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For example, we might
show you how to reduce your
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creasing performance. Or how
to gain some tax advantages
through bond exchanges.
We also offer two other inno­
vative products that complement
your BANK SERVICE® analysis.
Our Portfolio Managers System
monitors your portfolio, does its
accounting, values all holdings
and more. Then there's a Fixed
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To learn how we can be instru­
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this pu blication leads the read er
4. Funds M anagem ent Under D e­
through the steps of formatting work­ regulation. This publication contains
sheets and formulas up on a micro­ information the ABA says is valuable to
computer, using VisiCalc T software. funds managers, investment commit­
The book is described as a handy and tees and bank staffs. It discusses in full
useful reference tool in using a micro­ the Depository Institutions Deregula­
computer to streamline the A/L-man- tion and Monetary Control Act of 1980
agement decision-making process.
as well as the impact of deregulation
Order No. 020900. Prices are $47.50 and changing economic environment.
for ABA members and $72 for non­ It’s a collection of articles by leading
members.
authorities, with a section on “Asset/
3.
F u n d s -M a n a g e m e n t-S o ftw a r e Liability Management for the Fu ­
R esou rce D ir e c to r y . This directory ture.”
Order No. 271000. Prices are $20 for
lists management-consulting firms, re­
search organizations, banks and asso­ ABA members and $30 for nonmem­
ciations and includes a description of bers.
5. M an ag em en t o f C o m m ercia lth eir services. Such inform ation,
according to the ABA, will provide Bank F u n d s. Designed for bank mana­
bankers with a handy resource en­ gers and lending/investment officers,
abling them to identify which firms can this publication discusses sources and
be of assistance in various aspects of uses of funds, loan portfolio/policy, in­
the b ank investm ents/funds-m an­ vestm ent portfolio, money-market
agement-planning process. Specific assets/liabilities, determining/managareas of interest to ABA members in­ ing liquidity needs, coordination of A/
clude, but are not limited to: (A) A/L L-management spread, capital man­
m anagem ent; (B) financial/funds- agement and managing the moneymanagement decision-making models; position and funds-management poli­
(C) bond-swap models, both govern­ cy.
Order No. 052900. Prices are $22 for
ment and municipal securities; (D)
financial-futures hedging models; (E) ABA members and $33 for nonmem­
bers.
arbitrage; (F) economic forecasting.
No catalog number as of presstime.
6. The Use o f Personal C om puters in
Prices are $25 for ABA members and Conducting B ank-P erform ance A naly­
$37.50 for nonmembers.
ses . This report summarizes results of a
recent study on use of personal com­
puters as an aid for bank-performance
analysis. It covers buying tips and
measuring bank financial performance
and has examples of A/L-mandgement
models for personal computers.
Order No. 271600. Prices are $3 for
ABA members and $4.50 for nonmem­
bers.
7. A s s e t/L ia b ility M a n a g e m e n t.
Written by James Baker, chairman/
president, James Baker & Co., Okla­
homa City, this publication analyzes
utilization of A/L managem ent to
achieve bank goals. The book contains
tactics and strategies to enable banks
to cope with the dramatic forces that
confront them, including changed de­
CALL THESE SPECIALISTS j posit composition, increased cost of
time deposits, growth of non-interest
Harold E. Ball • Carl W. Buttenschon
expense, improved management in­
John E. King • M ilton G. Scarbrough
formation and volatile interest rates.
Five A/L-management methods are
1- 800- 527-5511
detailed: experience; asset allocation;
conversion of funds; liability man­
agement; and Baker. A leader’s guide
for seminar format is available.
Order No. 169100. Prices are $18 for
ABA members and $27 for nonmem­
bers.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

8. The ABA will hold a conference
on bank investments/funds manage­
ment February 12-15, 1985, at the
W estin Bonaventure, Los Angeles.

The ABA says this is the only such
conference designed for commercial
bankers. The program will consist of
general sessions and topical work­
shops, which will be focused on such
subjects as A/L management, invest­
ment strategies and sources/uses of
funds. Individual topical workshops
relating to the funds-management
function will be directed toward var­
ious-sized banks. Audience participa­
tion will be encouraged following each
workshop discussion.
The price before January 1 is $455
for ABA m em bers and $595 for
nonmembers.
9.
An ABA chief-financial-officer
seminar is planned for September 2426 at New York City’s Waldorf Astoria
Hotel. This program is designed for
executive officers responsible for the
totality of bank-financial management.
A/L management will be the topic of
the final general session.
Prices are $425 for ABA members
and $550 for nonmembers.
For information on any of these ABA
publications, conferences or seminars,
contact the ABA’s Banker Education
Network at 202/467-6738.
*

*

*

National Bank o f C om m erce, Mem­
phis, offers:
1. ALMS Asset/Liability Manage­
ment System, which is available in
separate modules and enables users to:
• Determine the highest incomeproducing mix of fund sources and uses
by using ALMS Optimization.
• Establish monthly balance sheet
and income budget, adjusted for sea­
sonal and trend factors by using ALMS
Simulation.
• Measure the gap between ratesensitive assets and rate-sensitive
liabilities and determine financial ex­
posure to interest-rate changes.
• Exam ine bond-swapping strat­
egies to increase bond yield and in­
terest income and reduce rate sensitiv­
ity.
• Determine an effective hedge to
reduce income exposure and rate sen­
sitivity.
• Produce daily, monthly, quarterly
and yearly financial statements to re­
port balance sheet and income position
and determine the variance between
actual and budgeted balances.
2. ALMS periodically holds semi­
nars covering topics such as What is
A/L management? Why is A/L man­
agement important? What information
does a bank need to effectively manage
rate sensitivity? How are A/L manage­
ment and budgeting related? and How

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33

IRA
One Day Workshop

can a micro-computer software pack­
age help perform these functions in a
tim ely, accurate and cost-effective
manner? Seminars are held on de­
mand, about every six weeks.
For additional information, tele­
phone ALMS at 901/523-3330.
*

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34


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

*

*

S y stem e C o r p ., O rlando, F la .,
offers an A/L-management system that
runs on an IBM PC XT and contains
the following features:
• Interfaces with Systeme’s other
financial applications (general ledger,
etc.) to extract input data.
• A full set of financial statements,
including balance sheets, income
statements, ratios, cash-flow summa­
ries and gap reports that analyze both
the current gap and future gaps result­
ing from projection data.
• Ability to test numerous operating
alternatives by running “what-if” sce­
narios.
• User-defined account names tai­
lored for each institution’s financial
statement.
• User-defined multiple-base rate
for simplifying calculation of interest
income and expense generated by
changing market-rate forecasts.
• A target-balance approach that
allows the model to calculate the new
volumes necessary to reach a predeter­
mined growth, including an adjust­
ment for seasonality trends.
• Production of a file of model re­
sults that can be accessed by other soft­
ware, such as LOTUS or VISICALC,
to generate user-defined reports and
graphics.
• Ability to consolidate the pro­
jected financial statements of multiple
companies.
• A service whereby a major eco­
nomic research firm will feed its latest
projections of rates directly into the
model, for a fee.
• Use of a modeling language that
allows the user to build his own
spreadsheet calculations.
• Ability to produce a report for the
user’s fiscal year, combining historical
months with projection months.
• A forecasting section allowing the
user to enter five years of historical and
projection data for up to seven years.
For additional information, call 305/
298-8180.
*

*

*

A dvanced Planning Systems, Inc.,
Arlington Heights, 111., offers:
1. BancPlan, a profit-planning sys­
tem utilizing a computer profit-plan­

ning model designed for small and
medium-sized financial institutions
that want a comprehensive planning
system.
Features include a report package
designed to enhance the profit-plan­
ning process; capacity to review
alternative strategies; profit planning
for the institution, its departments and
branches; monthly variance and analy­
sis reports; and a summary program to
consolidate affiliates into a group plan.
Other services from the firm include
pricing policies and strategies, communication/reporting systems, cost/
operational control systems, merger/
acquisition analysis and sales/leaseback analysis.
2. This firm offers regional one-day
planning seminars and personalized
in-bank consulting on planning from
formation of an A/L com m ittee to
establishment of written policies and
mission statements through imple­
m entation of a form al A/L-man­
agement program.
For additional information, call 312/
392-1744.
*

*

*

Union Planters National, Memphis,
has a Prophet Financial Software Divi­
sion that will hold four seminars in
1985 on risk management.
The following topics will be in­
cluded in the seminars:
• Traditional risk management.
• Financial futures to hedge gap.
• The duration theory of A/L man­
agement.
• Basis risk.
• Credit risk.
D ates and locations will be an­
nounced by the end of 1984.
*

*

*

Olson R esearch A ssociates, Greenbelt, Md., offers:
1. Advanced financial planning,
profit planning and A/L cases at state
and national banking schools, includ­
ing the ABA’s Stonier Graduate School
of Banking at Butgers University and
the Bank Administration Institute’s
School for Bank Administration.
2. Workshops/conferences at var­
ious locations. The next workshop,
sponsored by Norwest Bank, Min­
neapolis, will feature profit planning
for commercial banks. It will be held
September 20-21. The firm’s annual
Advanced Financial Planning Work­
shop is scheduled for October 17-19 at
the College of William and Mary, W il­
liamsburg, Va. Private workshops can

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

:- -

jim Stanley,
Kelly Mason
and Lauren Kingry.

See you at the
KBA Regional
Conferences.

m

m

The First Team will be traveling
to each of the KBA Regional
Conferences. We look forward to
these meetings where we can
answer your questions and discuss
how our correspondent services can

fit into your bank's profit-oriented

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be arranged.
3. The National A/L Management
Competition, jointly sponsored by the
Business and Management Founda­
tion of Maryland and Olson Research
Associates. It offers bankers an oppor­
tunity to compete against a national
group of participants in a computersimulated A/L-management case.
4. Financial texts are available
through a subsidiary, Ivy Press, Inc.
Titles include “Advanced Financial
Planning for Commercial Banks” and
“Asset/Liability Management: A Mod­
el for Commercial Banks.”
For additional information, contact
Christine Stewart, manager, educa­
tional services, 301/982-0400.
*

*

*

Financial Technology, In c., Chica­
go, offers:
1. An A/L Management System with
Interactive Financial Planning, a mi­
cro-computer-based program.
2. A/L-management seminars that
are “hands-on” workshops that over­
view the concepts of the complete
planning and the A/L-management
process; A/L-management presenta­
tions at trade shows and education
program s; a continuing-education
A/L-management system that’s avail­
able on a monthly basis; an annual user
conference; and A/L-management/
profit-planning courses offered in con­
junction with the Bank Administration
Institute.
For additional information, contact
Wendy M. Stockland at 312/280-0643.
*

*

*

CiSi N etw ork C o r p ., Van Nuys,
Calif., offers an A/L package called
ASTEK that is said to be capable of
implementing virtually any A/L-man­
agement strategy and simulate its im­
pact on the balance sheet and income
statement for up to 60 periods ahead.
The system produces three kinds of
reports: (1) standard, (2) customized
generic and (3) special.
Standard reports include balance
sheet, income statement, rate, balance
mix, income mix, delta balance and
delta income reports. Customized
generic reports include liquidity,
ratio, gap, spread analyses and dura­
tion analyses reports.
Reports can be printed at the ter­
minal or personal computer or at a
computer center for next-day delivery.
Additional information is available
from David McClintock at 602/2488822.
* * *

36


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

F in a n c ia l T ren d s M a n a g em en t,
Bakersfield, Calif., is participating in
“Hedging Revisited” conferences in
Denver and Los Angeles on August
27-28 and September 10-11, respec­
tively.
These two-day seminars provide indepth reviews of the ways a financial
institution can utilize hedging to pro­
tect itself against major financial losses
caused by interest-rate fluctuation.
Speakers discuss the development of
an overall hedging program and the
liabilities and assets of both short- and
long-term programs.
Seminars utilize case studies, pre­
sentations, a course workbook, how-to
examples and actual examples from the
field.
F or more inform ation, con tact
Financial Managers Society at 312/
938-2576.
*

*

*

A p ach e E lectron ic Systems, In c.,
Oakbrook, 111., offers its MiniMax A/L
Management System, said to be a liter­
al model in its orientation to the details
of daily transactions. A data base re­
flecting the bank’s current position can
be updated with each day’s transac­
tions, including repricing and maturity
or runoff information. Transactions
from independent workstations can be
input into temporary files. A file mana­
ger then checks to see that the data
prove to the general ledger before
merging them into the master data
base. Interest rates can be input on a
daily basis. Quality and frequency of
data entry give the system the capabil­
ity to produce nearly u p -to -th emoment interest-sensitivity reports.
For additional information, contact
the firm at 312/789-3330.
*

*

*

J . Keith Hughey 6- C o., Houston,
has A/L-management services that
offer process organization/im plem entation, subsystems review/enhancement, sensitivity monitoring/reporting, risk analysis/funds manage­
ment, asset (credit services) pricing
and managed-liabilities pricing.
The firm specializes in developing
and implementing programs that can
be perpetuated by existing bank staff,
providing continuing management of
all or selected functions and working
with and through a bank to devise and
implant systems. It also can structure a
project-consulting format.
The firm also conducts a Financial
Services Roundtable, which is a forum
for accumulating and disseminating,

through surveys, data needed for dayto-day decision making by community
bank managements.
For additional information, call 713/
531-7500.
*

*

*

InnerLine, Arlington Heights, 111.,
offers two products that work together
to provide A/L-management assist­
ance.
• Powers Financial Futures Hedge
Management offers three areas to
assist in hedge management — educa­
tion, software and consulting. The
education area is geared to both the
novice and sophisticated hedger; the
software section provides information
on futures software packages and its
application, and the consulting section
provides the expertise of experienced
hedgers.
• Funds Marketplace provides rate
information, continuously updated,
nationwide. It is an interactive system;
buyers and sellers are brought to­
gether by providing contact informa­
tion to subscribers. It enables hedgers
to examine rates and see possible trend
developments.
For additional information, call the
Help Desk at 800/323-1321. • •

Swayze Foundation Announces
Fall-Seminar Schedule
The Orrin H. Swayze Foundation
for Advanced Banking Education,
Baton Rouge, has announced its fall
schedule of seminars. The Swayze
Foundation, which also conducts the
School of Banking of the South,
Louisiana State University, Baton
Rouge, was form ed to honor the
school’s founder.
The fall schedule is: August 19-22,
micro-computer applications work­
shop for bankers, Baton Rouge;
September 23-26, strategic planning
— where are you and where do you
want to go?, Baton Rouge; October 710, commercial credit/lending work­
shop, Springfield, 111.; October 28-30,
loan pricing — what is the cost of mak­
ing that loan?, Baton Rouge; Novem­
ber 11-14, commercial credit/lending
workshop, Baton Rouge; and Decem­
ber 2-4, bankruptcies and effective
workout procedures, Baton Rouge.
For further information, contact:
School of Banking of the South, P. O.
Box 17680-A, Baton Rouge, LA 70893
(504/766-8595).

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

Problems of Duration; Other Views
O n A/L-Management Software
O ST bankers with m icrocomputer-based asset/liability
(A/L) software probably would agree
with Lawrence A. Melsheimer, president/CEO of the $22-million Iberville
Trust, Plaquemine, La., who says his
micro-computer “spits out a lot of
answers we’re not sure we have ques­
tions for yet.”
Mr. Melsheimer says the financial
industry has yet to fully “digest” the
software available today and hardly is
prepared for some of the more esoteric
functions being debated in financial
journals. W ith respect to duration
analysis — one of the current buzz­
words of the A/L-management field —
most A/L software suppliers agree.
Duration analysis could be a useful
management tool for bankers one day,
A/L software experts say, but only a
few highly sophisticated financial in­
stitutions presently are calculating
durations and they are doing so pri­
marily as an academic exercise. No
banker appears to be basing manage­
ment of a bank solely on duration con­
cepts, they say. Duration analysis is
where gap analysis was about five years
ago, says one software supplier.
At that time, gap analysis still was on
the fringes of acceptability within
banking circles. Of course, the whole
concept of A/L management only came
of age during the 1970s, a decade of
highly volatile interest rates. In many
ways, A/L management has yet to fully
mature and has undergone a host of
strange permutations during its de­
velopment. Finding bankers who will
agree on a simple definition of what
A/L management is or what a good A/L
model should do is difficult.
Originally, A/L management at­
tracted bankers because is seemed a
method of keeping control of interestrate risk. As software suppliers en­
hanced capabilities of their products,
and some innovative bankers de­
manded improvements of their own,
the A/L management umbrella was re­
quired to shelter a growing range of
uses and abuses of financial modeling.
Today’s A/L software can produce
what-if calculations for any set of time
periods or group of assets or liabilities a

M

banker might designate. Literally hun­
dreds of different A/L reports can be
produced. But are bankers using their
increasingly sophisticated financialmodeling tools to manage their banks
more wisely?
Duration analysis seemingly would
be an important tool in the banking
industry’s quest for sounder manage­
ment. Calculations of duration are not
an especially daunting task, but cap­
turing data to feed the model and using
the numbers the model produces can
be enormously complex.
Duration of a bank’s assets is the
sum of the time-weighted present
values of the associated future cash
flows divided by the non-weighted
present values of the same cash flows.
The ratio thus produced is the duration
of the set of assets in question.
Proponents of duration analysis say
maturity-gap A/L-management ap­
proaches ignore the time value of
money. Equivalent cash flows are pre­
sumed to have equivalent value re­
gardless of their timing. Theoretically,
a bank that mismatched maturities,
but synchronized durations, could re­
duce interest-rate risk to nothing.
M oreover, say proponents of the
theory, a bank that kept durations
matched also should be able to safely
handle higher levels of leverage.
Leveraging advantages of a duration
approach are said to be an especially
important competitive angle for small­
er financial institutions with lower
equity ratios than larger institutions.
Therein lies one of the problems

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

with duration analysis. Smaller banks
presently are among those least pre­
pared to handle duration analysis, soft­
ware vendors say. No criticism of offi­
cers of smaller banks is intended by
that comment. Most software vendors
confirm ed what M i d - C ontinent
B anker ’s research for this article
showed. A number of banks in the $50million-and-below range are doing
some surprisingly sophisticated things
with their A/L models.
Software suppliers speculate that re­
turns from duration analysis may not
justify the expense and time a small
bank with comparatively limited re­
sources would have to invest, howev­
er, especially since bankers now have
more variable-rate instruments with
which to reduce interest-rate risk.
Some bankers who have done research
on duration analysis believe the theory
suffers from a number of other flaws.
Cash-flow assumptions used with a
duration model can’t be seat-of-thepants guesses. Substantial variances in
durations can be created by relatively
small adjustments in cash-flow projec­
tions. This suggests that bankers could
get themselves in deep trouble if their
assumptions about future cash flows
were in error. Most bankers just aren’t
prepared for that degree of fine tuning,
one software supplier said.
With a duration model, the yield
curve for a bank’s assets must stay par­
allel to the liabilities they’re matched
against. O therw ise, duration mis­
matches occur. Another problem with
duration models cited by critics of the
theory is the relative rarity of the zerocoupon instruments the model sug­
gests bankers use to match with longer-m atu rity (but equ al-duration)
assets. Nor are bankers likely to stop
monitoring net-interest margins for
the sake of an as yet unproved theory.
Duration analysis probably would be­
come another layer of effort — not a
substitute for — a bank’s current A/L
management efforts.
“One reason duration isn’t catching
on is that when you put a pencil to the
time and effort required to get the data
you need, you begin to see you are
going to offset any gains you might

37

k

1
H

a .v .p .,
N orw est
Bank, Minneapolis:
Graphics aren't getting attention they
deserve.

get,” says Robert Brown, senior vice
president, Liberty National, Oklaho­
ma City.
Joe Messinger, vice president, First
Wisconsin, Milwaukee, says he’s not
sold on duration because h e’s not
heard of anyone yet who’s using it to
increase profits. He might change his
tune, he suggests, if he starts hearing
of bankers who have applied the
theory successfully. For now, he’d
rather devote his efforts to learning
how to use financial futures in gap
management.
“That’s worth spending time on,” he
says.
Some software vendors suggest
duration analysis is the banking indus­
try’s next great quest for a golden num­
ber — or as one software supplier
called it, a “neutral god” — that will
take the mystery out of bank manage­
m ent in an era of u n certain ty .
Although the in terest in duration
among bankers has been tepid thus far
and the value of the concept is un­
proved, A/L-software suppliers aren’t
ignoring the theory. A few A/Lsoftware firms say their models already
permit bankers to calculate durations,
and other software houses say they are
considering adding such a capability.
Rather than rushing out to take
advantage of such enhancements, A/Lm anagem ent con su ltan t J. K eith
Hughey, president of J. Keith Hugh­
ey, Inc., Houston, says most bankers
need to refine and understand what
their present A/L models are telling
them. He says that as practiced at most
banks, A/L management still is more
“form than substance. ” Unless bankers
feel confident about duration analysis,
they can safely ignore the concept for
the time being, he says.
“If you define your gaps and make
intelligent pricing decisions, you’ll be
all right,” he says. For this level of
analysis, a simple A/L model may work
best, he adds. Adding too many bells
and whistles can distract bank manage­
ment from its central task.
Despite their general antipathy to­
ward duration analysis so far, bankers
are finding uses for other A/L-software
enhancements. Among the more com­

38


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

mon needs cited by bankers MCB
talked to were:
Interfaces With Other FinancialManagement Software. Some bankers
who have discovered the links b e­
tween futures transactions, strategic
planning and other elements of bank
operation to A/L management are find­
ing a need to manipulate the same data
set with different software packages.
Integrated software capable of han­
dling A/L modeling and an expanding
array of other bank micro-computer
applications is available today. Soft­
ware vendors also say they are working
to widen the range of software their
products interface with. The need for
careful planning and purchasing in
buying A/L software has not di­
minished, however.
“I consider A/L-management soft­
ware a 10-year investment,” says John
Searles, vice president, Citizens Bank,
Providence, R. I. “I’m not using all the
capabilities of the software currently,
but over time, I could.”

John
B ru b ak er,
p res./C EO ,
First
N at'l, Sprin g field ,
III.: Whether banker
uses gap or duration
techniques, balance
sheet can't alw ays
be p erfe ctly b a l­
anced.

Micro/Mainframe Links. Initially,
most A/L modeling was done on an
on-premises or data-service-center
mainframe. The micro-computer per­
mits bankers the convenience of A/L
modeling without tying up their main­
frame. Some research suggests, in fact,
that A/L modeling is the primary
reason bankers purchase m icro ­
computers. Despite the convenience
of the personal computer, there still is
a need to transfer data back and forth
between the micro-computer and the
mainframe. Establishing the appropri­
ate communication links is not easy or
cost-free. Even so, progress is being
made on this front, bankers and soft­
ware suppliers agree. Easier micro-tomainframe links are on the horizon,
says Liberty National’s Mr. Brown.
“The mainframe people are starting
to realize they are there to maintain
data for other people to use, not for
them to control,” he says.
Simpler A/L Reporting/More User
T raining. A p ictu re is worth a
thousand words and — it might be
added — numbers. A/L-management
reports sometimes ignore this truism

and innundate their audience with
page after page of columns of numbers.
A/L-software suppliers warn that such
reports often are misunderstood or go
unread. Particularly in presenting A/L
m anagem ent data to persons un­
schooled in the principles of A/L man­
agement, graphic representation of
data can be more meaningful than the
raw alphanumeric data itself. Today’s
technology permits A/L-management
personnel greater flexibility in inter­
weaving graphics, tabular matter and
text in a manner that increases the
reader’s understanding. Some A/Lsoftware packages have b u ilt-in
graphics capabilities; others must in­
terface a general business spreadsheet/
data base package with graphics capa­
bilities like Lotus 1-2-3.
Says Scott Ulbrich, assistant vice
president, Norwest Bank, Minneapo­
lis: “Graphics aren’t getting the atten­
tion they should in community banks.
They could be used to present in­
formation to the board in a form it will
understand. The board doesn’t need to
look at pages of figures when one pic­
ture will present the information it
needs.”
Perhaps the greatest service soft­
ware suppliers can provide bankers is
product simplification and user train­
ing. Some software companies are re­
sponding to that need with regular
user seminars, newsletters and im­
proved on-screen tutorials that tell the
banker not only how to use the model
to extract information, but how to in­
terpret information the model pro­
duces.
Expanded core memories, wider
availability of less expensive hard disks
and other hardware enhancements
give bankers opportunities to utilize
more efficient A/L-management soft­
ware, to access even larger data bases
and to take advantage of improved
user-friendliness. No discussion of A/L
m anagem ent would be com plete,
however, without at least a brief men­
tion of one of the current buzzwords of
the computer industry, artificial in­
telligence (AI).
Although the term too frequently is
misapplied to undeserving software,
diagnostic capabilities of a true A/L-

A/L m a n a g e m e n t
consultant J. Keith
H u g h ey : B an kers
sho u ld refin e a n ­
sw ers they're get­
ting now.

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

management AI system could be ex­
tremely useful to a banker. Imagine
intuitions of the world’s top money
managers integrated into a system ca­
pable of processing masses of data no
human mind could begin to compre­
hend — all available to any community
banker at the touch of a few keys. In
fact, such a system would go a long way
toward meeting requirements of bank­
ers searching for a “neutral god. ’’
Alas, such an AI system likely will
remain a dream for a long time. Vagar­
ies of a global economy so far are too
elusive for a single model or matrix of
symbols to capture, one software sup­
plier says.
Even in a year of less volatile in­
terest rates, good A/L management is a
useful tool to bankers, but probably
never will be a substitute for skillful,
common-sense bank management.
John Brubaker, president/CEO ,
First National, Springfield, 111., says
that even with the most sophisticated
planning tools, bankers have to realize
their plans could “go out the window”
shortly after they are drawn up.
“No one could have envisioned a few
months ago that we’d have the level of
auto sales we re having or that housing
would fall off as rapidly as it has, ” Mr.
Brubaker says.
He adds that whether a banker is
using gap or duration techniques,
there is no way to get the balance sheet
to be always perfectly balanced. —
John L. Cleveland, assistant to the
publisher.

numerous speeches and testimony be­
fore Congress, discussed in detail im­
plications of problems that have arisen
and have warned of problems seen on
the horizon. As for the latter, Preston
Martin, the Fed’s vice chairman, has
voiced publicly warnings of potential
problems in connection with adjust­
able-rate mortgages (ARMs) and realestate tax shelters.
Mr. O’Brien adds that, of course, it’s
not appropriate for the regulators to
dictate how banks should conduct
their business — within safe and sound
limits — or to take actions that allocate
credit.
Press interest in banks’ nonperform­
ing loans may be due to recent regula­
tory changes designating disclosure of
such loans, says an official of one of the
Federal Reserve banks. He points out
that experience with banks supervised
by his Reserve bank indicates the in­
creased volume of nonperform ing
loans generally has resulted from
adverse economic conditions rather
than lowering of credit standards.
Loan losses usually lag behind eco­
nomic recessions, and the recent se­
vere recession had a devastating effect
on a broad sector of commercial-bank
customers. His bank’s records show
that a major portion of current nonper­

forming loans represent workout prob­
lems resulting from the recession.
Another important factor in his Re­
serve district, he says, is the continued
depressed financial condition of the
agriculture industry. Because banks in
this area are heavily involved in agri­
cultural lending, he expects to con­
tinue to see a sizable amount of non­
performing agricultural credits until
farming profitability improves.
This Fed official says most banks su­
pervised by his Reserve bank have sur­
vived the recession in sound condi­
tions, and reserve levels generally are
adequate to support nonperforming
assets. Therefore, while the volume of
nonperforming loans is greater than
desirable, he doesn’t consider the mat­
ter a serious problem for these banks.
• Sandra A. Waldrop has been named
associate director, division of bank su­
pervision for planning/program de­
velop m en t, F D IC , W ashington,
D. C. She succeeds Mary T. Mitchell,
who retired after 20 years with the
FD IC . Succeeding Ms. Waldrop as
Memphis Region regional director is
James E. Halvorson, who had been
regional director in Boston since last
November. He joined the FD IC in
1956 and Ms. Waldrop in 1966.

Federal Regulators
(C ontinued fr o m page 9)

“Setting the Style for Great Little Hotels "
posure and publication of information
quarterly on material-country expo­
sure.
• Implemented uniform accounting
rules for fees on international loans.
Also to strengthen the banking sys­
tem, the Fed and Comptroller, in
June, 1983, announced amendments
to their minimum-capital guidelines,
which originally were made public in
December, 1981. These revisions:
• Established a 5% minimum ratio
of primary capital to total assets for the
17 banking organizations designated
by the agencies as multinationals.
• Expanded the definition of sec­
ondary capital in considering capital
adequacy of consolidated bank HCs.
These guidelines have since been
reviewed and reconfirmed.
Beyond these actions, says Mr.
O ’B rie n , the regu lators have, in
MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

We treat our b u sin e ss travellers
w ith style
...special rates; complimentary airport
transportation; welcome cocktail upon
arrival; homemade donuts and coffee
and the daily newspaper each morning.
“Gracious hospitality . . . perfect location,
every facility and a sincere desire to
p le a se . . . place us above all the rest. ”
The Floridian of Orlando
7299 Republic Drive (International Drive)
Orlando, Florida 32819
(305) 351-5009
U.S Toll Free 800-445-7299
Fla. Toll Free 800-327-0730

39

For Community Banks

A Useful Tool
In Planning
Capital Adequacy
By Douglas V. Austin • Mark S. Mandula • Craig J. Mancinotti

an appropriate
level of capital relative to assets
is critical in today’s highly competitive
com m ercial-banking environm ent.
The definition of an appropriate capital-to-asset ratio for a particular com­
mercial bank varies depending on its
size, but an adequate ratio normally
falls in the 7%-9% range.
In examining reasons banks should
focus on maintaining average capital

M

a in t a in in g

levels, it is imperative to understand
the implications of capital ratios out of
balance with the rest of the industry.
Overcapitalized, as well as undercapi­
talized, depository financial institu­
tions need to develop a capital pro­
gram designed to bring their capital
accounts to appropriate levels. View­
ing the negative factors associated with
below -average and above-average
capital ratios verifies the need to

Douglas V. Austin, BA, MA, PhD, JD , CFA, is professor of finance,
department of finance, College of Business Administration, University
of Toledo, Toledo, O. He has been admitted to the practice of law in
Michigan and Ohio, as well as a federal judiciary. In the early ’70s, Dr.
Austin chaired a government-appointed committee to analyze Ohio’s
banking laws. He has published three books and more than 150 articles
on professional subjects, including banking structure, competition and
performance. He is the senior coauthor of “The Management of Deposi­
tory Financial Institutions,” which will be published in December by
Bankers Publishing Co. Dr. Austin is president, Douglas Austin &
Associates, Inc., headquartered in Toledo, O.
M ark S. M andula, MBA, is a vice president, Douglas Austin &
Associates, Inc., and a former instructor, department of finance, Uni­
versity of Toledo, where he earned his BBA and MBA degrees. Mr.
Mandula has made professional presentations on stock valuation, dis­
senter’s appraisals and bank-merger/acquisition valuations throughout
the country on behalf of the Bank Administration Institute and state­
banking organizations. He has written several works and is considered
an authority on bank valuation. Currently, Mr. Mandula is senior author
of a computerized bank-stock-valuation model entitled “BANKW ORTH,” sold nationally by Douglas Austin & Associates.
Craig J . M ancinotti, BBA, is assistant vice president, Douglas Austin
& Associates. He received his BBA degree from the University of
Toledo and, in June, received his MBA degree. He is research director
for the Austin firm, which is a full-service financial-consultation firm
specializing in banking structures/competition-performanee work for its
commercial-bank/S&L clients nationally. Capital-adequacy studies/
projections for retention of capital in the face of growing depository/
asset demands is a part of the strategic-planning work done on behalf of
the firm’s clients.

40


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

actively manage a commercial bank’s
capital position.
D eclin in g p ro fitability often is
associated with relatively low capital
ratios. This can result from decreases
in nominal earnings, as well as a de­
clining growth in operating profits.
In furthering the declining growth
in profitability perspective, consider
the undercapitalized institution. From
a purely academ ic standpoint, an
undercapitalized bank would refer to
an institution that does not have the
capital base to support the future ex­
pected growth in deposits. For exam­
ple, if a bank expected deposits to in­
crease at an annual growth rate of 15%,
while net profit was expected to rise
10% annually, the bank’s capital-toasset ratio will deteriorate. Therefore,
even though the bank would be earn­
ing a respectable nominal return, its
capital base would be depleted if no
attempts were made to control the
bank’s growth.
To illustrate further the ramifica­
tions of a low capital-to-asset ratio,
consider the bank’s ability to pay di­
vidends. A bank in a low capital-toasset position is somewhat limited in
terms of its ability to pay attractive
cash dividends to its shareholders. In
addition, deteriorating or relatively
low capital-to-asset ratios gain un­
wanted attention from the regulators.
One might expect a capitally strong
bank to not have capital-position prob­
lems. Although they do not encounter
the same problems of capitally weak
banks, they are faced with a different
set of unfavorable conditions.
Commercial banks operating with
relatively high levels of capital under­
state return on equity (ROE). Consid-

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

specifically deposits, relative to equity lar area in which the bank operates.
could be obtained without substantial­ This includes, but is not limited to,
ly impairing the bank’s risk level. Uti­ trends in population, housing, demo­
lization of these “extra” funds could graphics, per-capita income, retail
generate additional income. There­ sales, agricultural sector, employ­
ment, unemployment and manufac­
fore, additional incom e could be
generated without increasing equity turing. This analysis entails determin­
capital whatsoever, thereby increasing ing nominal changes as well as per­
centage changes in each of the specific
shareholder wealth.
For these reasons, implementation areas. Also, it is of equal importance to
of a capital program, with the primary analyze surrounding areas in this same
objective of bringing the bank’s capital respect. For example, if your bank is
position to an appropriate level, be­ located in the center of a particular
comes critically important. Should a county and it considers the boundary
bank choose not to continually monitor of its primary service area to coincide
its capital ratios, it’s exposing itself to with the county border, it’s imperative
to scrutinize the economics of each of
several potential problem s in the
the counties contiguous to the county
th ree-to -fi v e-to -sev en -y ear tim e
in which your bank is based, as well as
frame.
Following is an outline of a meth­ the state in which your bank is located.
odology that enables a bank to project This is important because it provides
its capital for a specified time, under the analyst with information as to the
relative economic performance of the
varying assumptions, and therefore
allows a bank to continually monitor its particular county, and it enables one to
estimate future growth patterns within
capital position.
1.
E conom ics o f M arket A rea. To a particular market area more accu­
determ ine an appropriate level of rately.
2.
Analysis o f C om petition. In de­
capital to attempt to maintain, it is im­
perative to have an in-depth under­ termining future capital needs, it’s im­
standing of the economics of a particu- perative to have the capability to pro­
ject deposit growth accurately. Asset
and deposit growth are closely related,
and being able to estim ate asset
EXHIBIT 1
CAPITAL ADEQUACY ANALYSIS
growth will serve as a base from which
to project capital needs. In this phase
HYPOTHETICAL BANKING COMPANY
of gathering information, compilation
1984-1995
of commercial-bank, savings-and-loan
association and credit-union deposit
figures is essential. It’s necessary to
accumulate depository-figure informa­
12.002
ASSET GROWTH RATE (1979-1983)
tion over the most recent five-year
1.002
R.O.A.A. (1979-1983)
period, at a minimum. Again, this in­
8.002
REQUIRED CAPITAL I
cludes depository financial institutions
25.002
DIVIDEND PAYOUT RATIO (ASSUMED)
located within the particular bank’s
primary service area, as well as for
those institutions located in the sur­
rounding areas (specifically, munici­
DOLLARS IN (5000)
palities located within 20 to 25 miles of
150,000
DECEMBER 1983 ASSETS

er a bank with $50 million in assets and
$6 million in capital (12% capital-toasset ratio), which earns 1% on assets.
Earnings for this institution would
equal $500,000, which equates to a re­
turn on equity figure of 8.33%. Alter­
natively, if the industry average capital-to-asset ratio measured 8%, result­
ing return on equity, utilizing the
same 1% return-on-average-asset fig­
ure, would equal 12.50%.
Further, the internal growth rate of
capital for banks with relatively large
capital positions would be understated
when compared to a peer group of
banks. Again, consider two banks of
the same asset size, generating the
same earnings from those assets, yet
having different capital levels. The
bank with the greater amount of total
capital would experience a lower in­
crease on a percentage-change basis
than would a bank having a lower
amount of actual capital.
This adverse effect on rate-of-return
ratios is a function of the leverage em­
ployed by particular financial institu­
tions. A relatively high capital posi­
tion, as measured by the capital-toasset ratio, indicates that more debt,

13,000

DECEMBER 1983 CAPITAL

PERIOD
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

DATE
31-Dec-84
31-Dec-95
31-Dec~36
31-Dec-37
31-Dec-B8
31-Dec-39
3l-Dec-?0
31-Dec-?1
31-Dec-?2
31-Dec-93
31-Dec-94
31-Dec-95

ASSET
GROWTH

TOTAL
ASSETS

12.002
12.002
12.002
12.002
12.002
12.002
12.002
12.002
12.002
12.002
12.002
12.002

$56,000
$62,720
$70,246
$78,676
$88,117
$98,691
$110,534
$123,798
$138,654
$155,292
$173,927
$194,799

RETURN ON
AVG. ASSETS

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1.002
1.002
1.002
1.002
1.002
1.002
1.002
1.002
1.002
1.002
1.002
1.002

EARNINGS
$530
$594
$665
$745
$834
$934
$1,046
$1,172
$1,312
$1,470
$1,646
$1,844

BEGINNING
CAPITAL
$3,000
$3,398
$3,843
$4,341
$4,900
$5,525
$6,226
$7,010
$7,889
$8,873
$9,976
$11,210 »

CASH
DIVIDEND
$133
$148
$166
$186
$208
$234
$262
$293
$328
$367
$412
$461

ENDING
CAPITAL

AMOUNT
DESIRED (SHDRT)OVER
CAPITAL OF DESIRED
8.002
CAPITAL

$3,393
$3,843
$4,341
$4,900
$5,525
$6,226
$7,010
$7,889
$8,873
$9,976
$11,210
$12,593

$4,480
$5,018
$5,620
$6,294
$7,049
$7,895
$8,843
$9,904
$11,092
$12,423
$13,914
$15,584

($1,083)
($1,175)
($1,278)
($1,394)
($1,524)
($1,670)
($1,832)
($2,015)
($2,219)
($2,44B)
($2,704)
($2,991)

CAPITAL
TO ASSET
RATIO
6.072
6.132
6.182
6.232
6.272
6.312
6.342
6.372
6.402
6.422
6.452
6.462
41

your bank’s centrally located office).
After analysis of the growth of your
bank as compared to growth experi­
enced by other depository financial in­
stitutions, in addition to the economic
analysis, a reasonable projection of fu­
ture deposit/asset growth can be
made.
3. Analysis o f Bank P erform an ce .To
integrate the relevant economic and
competitive factors prevalent in the
market area into the development of a
specific capital plan, it is essential to
analyze the bank’s past performance
objectively. This includes, but is not
limited to, analyzing trends in rate-ofreturn ratios, efficiency ratios, assetutilization measures, spreads, mar­
gins, growth trends in terms of deposits/loans/assets and capital ratios.
Understanding the relative per­
formance of the bank with respect to
the economy in which it has operated
and the competition it has faced is
essen tial to developm ent of an
appropriate capital plan. Consider a
bank operating in an area that recently
has experienced dramatic economic
grow th. In addition, d epositoryfinancial-institution assets have in­
creased at a rate approximating 12%
over the preceding five-year period.
Alternatively, the bank for which you
are developing a capital plan has exhib­
ited a lackluster performance. Growth
in deposits has been 6% annually; loan
growth has been 15% in each of the
past two years, and profitability, in
terms of return on average assets, has
declined moderately from 0.90% to
0.80% during the past five years.
Further, economic growth is expected
to continue at significant levels. D e­
velopment of an appropriate capital
plan may entail projectin g future
growth of the bank, in terms of deposits/loans/assets/profitability, at a
growth rate below what may be consid­
ered an average growth rate for com­
mercial banks located within the par­
ticular market area. Depending on cir­
cumstances specific to a particular
bank, this scenario may or may not be
appropriate, but nonetheless illus­
trates the importance of integrating
economic variables, competitive fac­
tors and relative bank performance
into development of an appropriate
capital plan.
4. Analysis o f B ank Policies/Future
P lan s. Generally, a bank’s capital posi­
tion can be influenced to a great de­
gree by managerial decisions reflect­
ing bank policies and future plans of
the bank.
The most recognizable subjective
determ inant of a bank’s internally
generated capital is the dividend poli­

42


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

cy. Other managerial factors affecting thetical bank would be 6.27% as of D e­
the bank’s capital position are of a less cember 31, 1988, if past five-year per­
explicit nature.
formance ratios are repeated. This pre­
It is imperative to model a bank’s sentation demonstrates the strength of
capital plan to its overall long-term a projection model, as even though the
strategic master plan. Does the bank relative performance of the bank dur­
desire to maximize growth and subse­ ing the 1979-1983 period has been
quent market share or profitability? Is good, a continued trend of that nature
the bank planning a future acquisition would not be desirable.
program? Does the bank plan to utilize
The next step involves altering the
available vehicles by which to diver­ assumptions to conform to the future
sify? Does the bank plan to remain expected economic and depository
independent? Answers to these ques­ growth trends. This, of course, is a
tions will identify a desired end with subjective opinion based on the an­
respect to future capital positioning. alyst’s interpretation of the preceding
However, the means by which to economic and competitive analyses.
achieve that desired end must be a
It should not be inferred that the
specifically outlined capital plan.
capital plan should end when these
5.
Im plem entation. Given results ofvariables are plugged into the Exhibit
preceding analyses, projections of fu­ 1 model. Rather, this should serve as
ture deposit/loan/asset/profitability the starting point by which to deter­
figures can be estimated. Projections mine precisely what needs to be done
then can be organized into a table for­ to achieve a desired capital position.
mat to calculate future expected capi­ This includes changing any or all of the
tal levels, based on given assumptions assumptions. Also, note this specific
example is based solely on perform­
as presented in Exhibit 1.
As can be seen from this example, ance and does not include variables
the capital-to-asset ratio of the hypo­ that would facilitate generation of
additional capital to engage in other
types of activities that may be planned
by the bank.
The specific capital plan put in place
by a particular bank could include, but
Swearingen, Ogden to
is not limited to, revisions of rates paid
Head Continental Illinois
on deposits, bank-lending policies,
dividend policies, projections of future
CHICAGO — john E. Swearin­
gen, former chairman, Standard Oil
internally generated capital, plans for
Co. (Indiana), has been named chairexternal equity financing and/or debt
man/CEO, of a new HC to control
financing. Also, as noted, the capital
Continental Illinois Corp. and its
program must fit within the long-term
primary subsidiary, Continental Illi­
strategic plan of the bank, as well as fit
nois National.
with the economic-growth prospects of
Named chairman/CEO of the
the area and the competitive posture of
bank is William S. Ogden, former
the bank.
vice chairman/chief financial officer,
Chase Manhattan Corp., New York
6. C on trol. Implementation of a
City.
long-term capital program in order to
Messrs. Swearingen and Ogden
meet future goals of the bank is not an
replace David G. Taylor, chairman/
end in itself. Also, it is necessary to
CEO,and Edward S. Bottum, presi­
continually monitor, update and re­
dent, both named bank vice chair­
vise, if necessary, the precise capital
men, effective August 13. The
program put in place. Ghanges in any
changes were made as part of a $4.5of the aforementioned variables will
billion government rescue package
for Continental arranged by the
have an impact on the bank’s ability to
FDIC. The plan had not been final­
achieve its long-term goals. Therefore,
ized at press time.
this monitoring process is ongoing and
Mr. Swearingen is a long-time
critical to the success of the specific
director of Chase Manhattan Corp.
capital program.
He retired from Standard Oil last
7. Sum m ary. An appropriate capital
September. Mr. Ogden was with
program entails not only profitability
Chase Manhattan for 31 years, but
retired early last year to work for the
analysis, but it also must incorporate
Institute of International Banking,
such factors as econom ic-grow th
which he founded.
trends, the bank’s competitive pos­
The FD IC is expected to “na­
ture, overall bank performance and an
tionalize’ Continental by buying as
analysis
of bank policies and long-term
much as $4.5 billion in loans plus $1
goals.
Within
that framework, meth­
billion in new preferred shares, con­
odology presented in this article can be
vertible to an 80% stake in Continen­
a useful tool for outlining a strategy to
tal.
strengthen a bank’s capital position.
MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

State News
(C ontinued fr o m p age S/16)
vice president at Quail Creek Bank,
Oklahoma City. He joined the bank in
1983 and form erly was with F irst
National, Oklahoma City.
First National, Oklahoma City, has
promoted George H. Frank Jr. and
Jerald D. Koehn to senior vice presi­
dents and Nick R. Clark and Fred
Ramos to vice presidents. They joined
the bank in 1948, 1965, 1980 and 1981,
respectively. Mr. Clark is assigned to
the correspondent banking depart­
ment. In other action, the bank has
selected Thomas E. Sherman, senior
vice president, as manager of funds
marketing.

TENNESSEE
Dr. Charles Edward Allen has been
elected to the board of Hamilton Bank
of Upper East Tennessee, Johnson
City. Dr. Allen is a professor of medi­
cin e, Q uillen/D ishner C ollege of
Medicine, East Tennessee State Uni­
versity.

Corporate-Trade Payment
Made Electronically
At Third of Nashville

residential loans office, Knoxville, for
F irst T en n essee Bank, M em phis.
Christine B. Harvey has been pro­
moted at Bank of Roane County to
assistant cashier/loan officer, real
estate lending departm ent, Main
Office. She previously was a teller,
new-accounts desk person and a loan
processor.

NASHVILLE — Third National has
announced the first electronic corpo­
rate-trade payment in Tennessee. The
payment was initiated July 6 by Sears,
Roebuck & C o .’s Dallas office and
credited to the account of Murray Ohio
Manufacturing Co. at Third National.
According to James Robertson, the
bank’s senior vice president, corporate
services, this marks a T en n essee
bank’s first corporate-to-corporatepayment transaction in which both the
payment funds and supporting invoice
information were transmitted elec­
tronically between the two corpora­
tions utilizing the automated clearing­
house system.
Third National has installed and
tested the necessary software to both
originate and receive all kinds of elec­
tronic payments, both debits and cred­
its, including corporate-trade pay­
ments.

A new group, or sub-chapter, of
Robert Morris Associates has been
formed. The new Middle Tennessee
Group is operating under the RMA’s
Southern Chapter. It serves Nashville
and other communities in the Middle
Grand division of Tennessee.
Officers are: chairman, John T.
Flaugher, first vice president, W il­
liamson County Bank, Franklin; vice
chairman, Harold Fogelberg, senior
vice president, First American, Nash­
ville; and secretary/treasurer, Ron
Hays, vice p resid en t, M id-South
Bank, Murfreesboro.

J. Fred “Ted’’ Griffith III has joined
Bank of Roane County, Harriman, as
assistant vice president in charge of the
real estate lending division. He
formerly was a mortgage loan officer,

Union Planters National, Memphis,
has appointed the following to vice
presidents: Wayne T. Breunig, invest­
ment banking group; Alan S. Cohen,
Brenner Steed, Inc.; Randy L. Dob-

Middle Tennessee Group
Is Formed by RMA

Giving Agriculture
The Credit it Deserves.
It takes a combined effort to meet the changing
credit needs of today’s farmers. And the
Federal Land Bank System is proud to work
alongside other financial institutions.
At the Land Bank we specialize in long-term

The
Land Bank

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

loans . . . for land, farm improvements, new
facilities, refinancing and other long-range needs.
Together, with the sound credit and counsel
you provide, we’re giving farmers the credit
they deserve.

The Federal Land Banks of:

Austin, TX
5930 Middle Fiskville Rd 78752

St. Louis, MO
1415 Olive 63103
Wichita, KS
151 North Main 67202

43

son, commercial group; and Kenneth
P. Stalls Sr., Prophet Counsel, Inc.
Named assistant vice presidents were:
Robert J. Arnold, Ron K. Davis and
Ann D. Schwab, commercial group;
Sheri L. Beck and Judy A. Salmon,
financial services division; Richard A.
Brunner, greater Tennessee group
credit; and Ronald M. Leon, invest­
ment banking group.

Bank Closes, Reopens

TEXAS
Edward P. Fahey Jr., international,
Dorothy Hammonds, trust operations,
Lupe C. Jaram illo, automated-ser­
vices support, and Jim Liedka, auto­
mated services, have been promoted
to assistant vice presidents, Frost
Bank, San Antonio. Mr. Fahey joined
the bank in 1981, Ms. Hammonds in
1955, Mr. Jaramillo in 1972 and Mr.
Liedka in 1980.

LONGVIEW — Deposit liabili­
ties of East Texas Bank, closed June
29, were assumed by Texas National,
a wholly owned subsidiary of Long­
view Bancshares, Inc. The failed
bank’s sole office reopened July 2 as
Texas National.
Banking Commissioner James L.
Sexton attributed East Texas Bank’s
closing to a combination of factors,
including substantial loan losses and
a serious liquidity shortage.

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(915) 542-1345 or (915) 542-1461

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P.O. Box 2 0 5 0 • Fort W orth, Texas 7 6 1 1 3 * ( 8 1 7 ) 3 3 8 - 8 1 6 7
Principals O n ly #

44


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

An Eq ual O p p ortu n ity Em p loyer M /F/H

John W. Durbin, manager, national/
international banking department,
Texas American Bank/Fort Worth, has
been elected senior vice president.
E lected vice presidents were: Joe
Barnhart, real estate loan representa­
tive; Gail Burris, public relations man­
ager; Caren Koslow, professional/executive loan representative; and Rick
Piersall, personal trust administrator.
At the bank’s parent HC, Texas Amer­
ican Bancshares, Inc., Fort Worth,
Cheryl J. Bourdier was elected assis­
tant vice president. Ms. Bourdier is
supervisor of wage/salary administra­
tion.
Jeffrey K. W entw orth has been
named a vice chairman/director, InterFirst Bank Fort Worth. He is execu­
tive vice president, Fort Worth bank­
ing division, InterFirst Corp., Dallas.
Mr. Wentworth retains his corporate
title and duties in addition to his new
post in the Fort Worth division’s lead
bank. Jerry D. Minton, vice chairman,
InterFirst Bank Fort Worth, previous­
ly had announced his intention to re­
tire December 31. He continues to be
a vice chairman, acting in a consulting
role until year-end, and will assist Mr.
Wentworth during this transitional
period.
Richard L. Ripley has been elected
chairman/CEO and Alfred W. Bow­
man Jr. president/chief banking offi­
cer, BancTEXAS Dallas. Mr. Ripley
formerly was president/CEO of the
bank, and Mr. Bowman was executive
vice president/regional coordinator of
Dallas/north Texas-area banks for
BancTEXAS Group, Inc. The latter
has banks in Dallas, Houston and Ty­
ler.
Larry Reed has rejoined First Nation­
al, Amarillo, as a vice president,
wholesale/retail group, commercial
loan department. He joined the bank
in 1973 and left last year to join a
Weatherford, Okla., bank.

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

M o.BA Plans Fall-Festival Programs
For September-October Meetings
HIS YEAR’S regional fall festivals
of the Missouri Bankers Associa­
Festival Schedule
tion will be held during September
and October, with the kickoff meeting
Sept. 24 — Region 1 —
set for September 24 at the City Au­
Moberly
ditorium in Moberly.
Sept. 25 — Region 8 —
This will be the third year the MBA
Columbia
has held annual fall festivals, succes­
Sept.
26
— Region 5 —
sors to the former regional meetings.
St.
Louis
The fall-festival format is expected to
Sept. 27 — Region 6 — Cape
be light on business topics and heavy
on food and entertainment.
Girardeau
There will be no business sessions
Oct. 1 — Region 7 —
this year, but an audio-visual presenta­
Springfield
tion is being considered. The pre­
Oct.
2
— Region 4 —
sentation is expected to be made fol­
Kansas
City
lowing the cocktail hour.
Oct.
3
—
Region
2 — Trenton
Each festival will start with a com­
Oct. 4 — Region 3 —
plimentary cocktail hour beginning at
6p .m ., followed by a buffet dinner at 7
St. Joseph
p.m. Entertainment is scheduled to
begin at 8 p.m.
The Four Lads will perform during Banquet Hall, St. Louis; Region Six —
the first week of festivals and the Four Civic Arena, Cape Girardeau; Region
Aces will provide entertainment at the Seven — University Plaza, Springfinal week of meetings.
field; and Region Eight — Good Time
The Four Lads launched their pro­ Country, Columbia.
fessional career in 1950 and hit the big
The following bankers have served
time when they appeared with singer as MBA regional officers during the
Johnny Ray. One of their first hit re­ last year and will conduct the business
cordings was “Little White Cloud That portions of the conferences:
Region One — E. H. Brauer Jr.,
Cried. ’’ The Four Aces have a long list
of successes. The group specializes in president, Shelbina Mercantile Bank;
Region Two — Clithro L. Anderson,
soft-shoe routines and instrumental
president, Ludlow National; Region
numbers.
T h ree — Luther Thompson, presi­
Sites for the festivals are as follows:
Region One — City Auditorium, Mo­ dent, Bank of Atchison County, Rock
Port; Region F ou r — Dayle P. Lind­
berly; Region Two — Starlite Skate
sey, president, Allen Bank, HarrisonCenter, Trenton; Region Three —
ville; Region Five — William H. Jones
Moila Club, St. Joseph; and Region
Jr., executive vice president/cashier,
Four —- Gold Buffet, North Kansas
Meramec Valley Bank, Valley Park;
City.
Region Six — Lawrence H. Rost, ex­
Region Five — Machinists’ Union

T

JONES

BRAUER

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

ANDERSON

THOMPSON

ecutive vice president, Bank of New
Madrid; Region Seven — Virgil D.
H ughes, p resid en t, H um ansville
Bank; and Region Eight — W. Blaine
Luetkem eyer, cashier, Bank of St.
Elizabeth.
Mr. Brauer has been in banking
since March, 1978. He joined his pres­
ent bank — Shelbina Mercantile — in
O ctober, 1978, as president/CEO,
posts he still holds.
Mr. Anderson entered banking in
October, 1975 at Ludlow National. He
was promoted to cashier in October,
1976, and has been president since
January, 1984.
Mr. Thompson became a banker in
July, 1963, at Bank of Atchison Coun­
ty. He began as an agricultural repre­
sentative. His most recent promotion
was to president and took place in
January, 1977.
Mr. Lindsey has been with Allen
Bank since 1959. He was promoted to
assistant cashier in 1960 and has been
president since 1978. (No photo avail­
able).
Mr. Jones is a third-generation
banker and joined Meramec Valley
Bank in 1980. He has been CEO since
last January.
Mr. Rost could not be reached for
biographical information.
Mr. Hughes entered banking in
1960 at Humansville Bank. In 1965 he
was named executive vice president
and he became president in 1979.
Mr. Leutkemeyer started out as a
state bank examiner, serving in that
capacity from 1974-1976. He joined
Bank of St. Elizabeth in 1976, became
assistant cashier in 1979 and cashier/
assistant secretary in 1983. • •

HUGHES

LEUTKEMEYER

45

Banking Scene
(C ontinued fr o m page 6)
raider, of course, makes a profit on the
deal.
Massive lawsuits filed against offi­
cers and/or directors of an institution
can debilitate a financial institution in
many ways. Nine out of 10 banks now
carry D&O insurance, indicating that
most banks have taken some precau­
tions to protect officers and board
members.
Jack Page of J. H. Blades & Co.
wrote in a recent article in Business
Insurance that bank-D&O coverage
should be realigned in event of major
changes in structure. He noted that
when two banks start talking merger,
for example, a possibility exists that
neither institution has high enough
limits on its D&O insurance. Higher
limits could be unobtainable after the
merger, he says.
Legal suits during merger negotia­
tions frequently are started by dis­
gruntled shareholders or staff mem­
bers. If ever there were a good time for
a solid wall of D&O defense, merger
discussions are it. One bank I know of
thought it was well protected and dis­
covered its insurer refused to pay the
claim.
In such critical matters, it isn’t good
enough to “think” you are prepared or
protected. You have to know.
I could go on describing all the terri­
ble things that could happen to a bank,
but I fear I ’d only cause undue worry.
Besides, by now you get the point.
Even if you are the unluckiest bank­
er alive, you are unlikely to have to
face every calamity we’ve described
here. But that doesn’t excuse you from
taking positive action to avoid such
calamities or keep the damage to a
minimum if they are unavoidable.

BANK OPPORTUNITIES
Comml Loan — IA, ND, MO, KS $25-35K
Instl. Loan — KS, MO, IA
$20-25K
AgriLoan — MO, KS, NE, IA
$25-35K
Correspondent Officer— MO, NE $30-'35K
Second O fficer— KS, MO
$30-40K
R .E. Loan — KS, IA
$25-35K
Additional positionsavailable in midwestern
states for experienced bank personnel.

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of KANSAS CITY
P.O. Box 12346/2024 Swift
North Kansas City, MO 64116

816/474-6874
SERVING THE BANKING INDUSTRY
SINCE 197^0

46


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Notice that I said “positive action.”
Worry alone will do you no good. On
the other hand, positive action to avoid
or contain potentially damaging cir­
cumstances eases the mind. If you’ve
done all you can to prepare for a storm
and you still sink, you’re no less dead,
but at least you die with a clear con­
science. The worrier who develops no
contingency plans goes down with a
load of “what-if” questions. This big­
gest question generally is, “What if I’d
taken action to prevent this disaster?”
Of course, by then it’s too late.
For all our sophistication these days,
however, it is good to remember that
bankers are not good seers. How many
bankers can say they accurately pre­
dicted the shape and texture of bank­
ing in the 1980s as long ago as the earlv
1970s?
A few years ago, you could have
been laughed out of a room if you sug­
gested to bankers that the prime rate
could conceivably climb above 20%.
That possibility hardly seems so amus­
ing today.
Who could have predicted that the
demand-deposit ratio possibly could
double to more than 400 times annual­
ly within four years? Some of the major
New York City banks are much higher
than the national average. In fact, the
average for all New York City banks
recently was listed as 1,621 times.
That, remember, is an average. Some
of the big banks probably are ex­
p erien cin g dem and-deposit debit
ratios of more than 2,000 times a year.
Now consider the daylight-overdraft
problem mentioned earlier. Think of
all of that money — actually, electronic
blips — flashing around the world. I ’m
told that errors are not an insignificant
problem for the wire-transfer net­
works.
I wonder if handling all those elec­
tronic blips and computer printouts
representing billions of dollars makes
humans more or less sensitive to the
magnitude of their responsibilities.
Do they see those blips and computer
printouts for what they are — repre­
sentations of real debt obligations that
must be settled daily?
Call me paranoid, but I wonder
about the electronic-fund-switching
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system itself. Can it be compromised?
What would happen if it were?
It gives me great comfort to know
there is a banker out there somewhere
posing and finding more than superfi­
cial answers to these questions. At
least, I hope such bankers exist and I
suspect that the public, troubled by
the recent rash of bank failures, would
be similarly comforted. That, in itself,
would do much to ensure the sound­
ness of the banking system. • •

Correction
The June issue of M i d - C o n t i ­
B a n k e r contained an article,
“How Will the Midwest Be Affected
by Interstate Banking?’ It was
accompanied by a chart headed,
“Thirty Largest Com m ercialBanking Organizations in Midwest.”
Information for the chart supplied
to MCB contained one error. A list­
ing indicated Central Bancorp (Mo.)
had total assets of $2,834,000 in 1982
as opposed to $1,682,000 in 1977;
the HC ranked 25th in both years,
and its capital to assets were 6.67%.
However, these figures were for
Central Bancorp of C in c in n a t i, not
Central Bancompanv (M o .)n en t

•

Ind ex to A d v ertise rs

Arrow Business Services, Inc........................................

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47

Bank Administration Institute ................................... 23
Bank Board Letter ............................................................ S/7
Bankers Systems, Inc........................................................ 11
Bankers Training & Counsulting Co........................... 29
Barclays American/Business C re d it......................... 45
Boatmen's National Bank, St. L o u is ...................... 48
Centerre Bank, St. Louis .......................................... S / l l
Commerce Bank, Kansas City ...................................
7
Computer Fundamentals Group, Inc......................... 34
Federal Land Bank, St. Louis ................................... 43
First Interstate Bancorp., Los Angeles .......... 24-25
First National Bank, Lo u isville ...................................
5
First National Bank, Wichita ..................................... 35
First Oklahoma Bancorp., Oklahoma City . . . . S/15
First Wisconsin National Bank,
Milwaukee ............................................................ 14B-14C
Floridian of O rland o......................................................... 39
Fourth National Bank & Trust Co., Wichita . . . . S/l
Hagan & Associates, Tom ............................................. 46
Heller & Co., Walter E ...................................................... 13
Howe, Barnes & Johnson, Inc...................................... 28
Hutchinson (Kan.) National Bank & Trust Co.
S/3
Industrial Life Insurance Co.......................................... 32
Kansas State Bank & Trust Co., Wichita ............. S/4
Liberty National Bank & Trust Co.,
Oklahoma C it y .................................................................

2

MPA Systems ..................................................................... 44
Mercantile Bancorp., St. Louis................................ S/13
Midland Bank & Trust Co., Memphis .................... 26
Monroe Business Systems .......................................... 17
North Central Life Insurance Co................................. 2-3
Rothschild, L. F., Unterberg, Towbin .................... 31
Schooler & Associates, Don ..............
44
Sheshunoff Co....................................................................... 19
Son Corp................................................................................ S/16
Southwest National Bank, Wichita ......................... S/4
Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc............................................. S/5
Texas American Bancshares, Inc................................ 44
Travelers E xp re ss.............................................................. 14A
Union National Bank, Little Rock ........................... 33
United States B a n k e r.................................................... 14D
Whitney National Bank, New O rle a n s....................
3
Zahner & Co......................................................................... S/12

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

For ibur Bank,
Nothing Less W ill Do.
Arrow Business Services offers you
Kittinger, including the Georgian Series
pictured here. And Baker, Gunlocke, Steelcase, Knoll...the who’s who of office
furnishings. All the prestige names display
their best in our Memphis showroom,
complete with accessories, carpet, window
and wallcovering.
Arrow’s staff of ten experienced bank

designers can make your bank a stunning
and workable showcase from the executive
offices to the customer, operations and data
processing areas.
Give us a call for a professional, costeffective proposal to meet your bank’s
building and furnishings needs.
We offer the best, and we know you expect
nothing less.

54RROI44

BUSINESS SER V IC ES IN C.

r

an affiliate of Midland Bank & Trust
3050 Millbranch, Memphis, Tennessee 38116
901/345-9861

MID-CONTINENT BANKER for August, 1 9 8 4

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

47


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Boatm en’s Ted Sm others.
Operations Assistance
Overline Assistance.
Loan Participations.
Investm ents.

Boatmen’s Vice President Ted Smothers working
with Bob Menz, Chairman and President o f The
First National Bank o f Highland. Whatever your
correspondent needs, Boatm en’s has knowl­
edgeable people to assist you. Call Ted Smothers.
He can help.

C orrespondent Banking Division

THE BOATMEN'S
NATIONAL BANK
O F ST. LOUIS
314- 425-3600

Member FDIC