Tell us about Jefferson City-based Midwest Independent Bancshares, which you joined July 7.
It is the holding company for Midwest Independent Bank, which is a bank that serves other banks. They also own a bank in Lincoln, Neb., that's also a bankers' bank. We will make loans to help banks be capitalized, and we will also buy loans from them as investments ... loans that are too big for them to keep internally. I'll be working in Jefferson City four days a week and one day a week down here.
What did you do between your state gig and joining Midwest Independent Bank?
I went to work for Central Bancompany, a company that's based in Jefferson City and owns about 12 banks. Empire Bank here in town is one of them. I had an office (in town) and was vice president of risk administration. ... I wasn't looking; (the job with Midwest Independent Bancshares) absolutely fell into my lap, and I'm just so excited about it. Central Bancompany is a first-class company, ... I just had a great opportunity.
What was your role as Missouri Commissioner of Finance?
The primary mission of the state Division of Finance was safety and soundness (of banks). Part of that is making sure that laws and regulations are followed and making sure you identify bad guys and get them out of the system. Most of the time, banks have trouble when they make loans that are bad or there's a tough economy, so we're having some banks fail around the country this year. ... That's primarily due to loans that have gone bad. We tried to run (the division) politically neutral. I'm pretty proud of that. A regulatory party needs to be politically neutral. I worked under governors from both parties. One of the cool things ... was I got to meet all the smart guys in Washington periodically.
How does your state experience translate to your new job?
It's just a perfect fit for me, because I have regulated the 300-some state chartered community banks in Missouri for many years, and I've known many of the bankers as well. And (Midwest Independent Banchares) is owned by all those banks that I regulated. I had those contacts already, and if you're going to make loans secured by banks, it's important to know how to analyze them from a financial standpoint.
What do you think of federal bailout money for banks?
I'm a free-market person. I think banks must have the opportunity to succeed and the opportunity to fail. I kind of put it like tough love - I love you enough to let you make some mistakes and let you fail. I think we might have been better served to let the market take its course. But of course, then I go back to the smart guys in Washington. We're paying them a whole lot of money to give us their best advice. (Federal Reserve Chairman Ben) Bernanke and those guys (said to) do what we've done. But it doesn't feel good to me, and it doesn't feel good to most taxpayers, that we've thrown all this money out there. These banks that are too big to fail, they've got to ... break them up, in my opinion.
Why is community banking important to you?
Community banks serve our local communities so well ... and they are only successful if their communities are successful. My dad was a banker; my uncle was a banker and my granddad was a banker. I just followed some footsteps there. With my public service, I could really see how small businesses get loans because they have a relationship with a community banker. ... Small businesses are the economic engine of our communities. They provide the jobs. I'm proud of our community banking industry.
Tell us about your family.
My wife, Janet, works at Springfield Regional Center, a state division under the Department of Mental Health. We've got three daughters. Shelley just graduated from (Missouri State University) in nursing, and she's got a job at Cox. Carrie will be a senior at MSU, and she's in nursing school as well. Youngest daughter Melanie will start at MSU in the fall. We live out east of Springfield.[[In-content Ad]]
