The Thinking Banker's President: Bill McConnell Steers His Bank Carefully and Profitably in an Untraditional World
1997; American Bankers Association; Volume: 89; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0194-5947
Autores Tópico(s)Economic, financial, and policy analysis
ResumoWilliam T. McConnell had his chance to play in banking's big leagues 37 years ago. And he passed it up. The 26-year-old newly minted MBA interviewed with City National Bank, for a job with the Columbus-based institution. But McConnell decided he didn't want to work there. He figured that a with a loan ratio of 20% was too sleepy for him. That was in 1960. Over the next three decades, of course, City National evolved from a yawner into a powerhouse known as Banc One, but who knew at the time? The fact is, once he had decided to work for a bank, McConnell knew he wanted to be a president. So at his next interview, at a small called Park National, when the CEO asked him, Do you aspire to be president? McConnell replied: I'm not certain I have the ability, but I don't want to go to work for a where that isn't a possibility. It was just one of those things one says without thinking that turns out to be the right thing at the right time. The CEO was Everett Reese, the ABA president in 1953-54, and a notable figure in Midwestern banking. He was impressed with the young man's answer (though he didn't let on at the time) and offered him a job as a management trainee. McConnell has been with Park National ever since, becoming president of the in 1979, and CEO in 1983. There's a curious twist to this story. The very same year McConnell joined Park National, Reese, who was also chairman, resigned the CEO title (which he had held since the 1920s!) and became chairman of City National Bank as well. There he worked with John G. McCoy, father of the current Banc One CEO John B. McCoy, to set up the holding company that later became Banc One Corp. Given such an arrangement--no longer permissible--it's a wonder McConnell didn't end up working for Banc One after all. Everyone, he says, assumed Park National would be one of Banc One's first acquisitions. To his credit, Ev Reese always said, `That's not my decision,' says McConnell. Park National remained independent right through Banc One's go-go acquisition years in Ohio, and retains that status to this day. It was, and remains, a strong competitor to be reckoned with in its 15-county market in central and southeastern Ohio, where it goes up against not only Banc One, but also National City, Huntington, Fifth Third, and numerous small banks and thrifts. The invisible holding company There is an unofficial connection between Banc One and Park National, however. Several years ago, the Columbus company attracted attention by renouncing its signature strategy--the uncommon partnership, a concept coined by the elder John McCoy. The essence of this strategy was that acquired institutions were left pretty much intact with a considerable amount of local autonomy. Certain functions such as data processing and accounting were carried on at the holding company level to achieve economies of scale. Banc One existed as a bank for years before the term was coined. As an increasingly large multi-state superregional, however, management concluded that its complex structure had become unwieldy. Park National Corp., with $2.2 billion in assets, also considers itself a supercommunity bank, and has lived by its own version of the uncommon partnership. Each of the four whole-bank and - thrift acquisitions it has made since 1985 has retained its charter, its name, and its board. They were even allowed to keep their own branch automation systems provided they were compatible with the holding company's computer. The holding company might as well be invisible for all the evidence of it. Management actually discourages use of its name by the affiliate banks. Core processing, accounting, investments, and other functions that are transparent to the customer are centralized. Otherwise, the holding company functions like a peer-group facilitator--coordinating ideas and helping solve common problems. …
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