How I Made It: Philip Sherringham
The gig: Chief executive of 300-branch People’s United Financial Inc. of Bridgeport, Conn., the largest regional bank based in New England, with a goal of expanding to California and other potential growth markets.
Personal: 56 years old; married to Marie Helene; one daughter; homes in Fairfield, Conn., and Los Angeles.
Background: Son of a British father and French mother and educated in Paris, Sherringham came to L.A. on a fluke and wound up holding posts at Home Savings of America, Fidelity Federal Bank, California Federal Bank and Sanwa Bank (later renamed United California Bank). Left jobless after a takeover, he joined People’s United as chief financial officer in 2003 and became CEO two years ago.
The bank: Founded in 1842 as a depositor-owned mutual organization, People’s United was 40% owned by public shareholders when Sherringham arrived. Selling the remaining 60% to the public raised $3.5 billion in April 2007. After acquiring a Vermont bank and a New York equipment-leasing firm, the bank still has enough capital to nearly triple its assets, now about $21 billion, said Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Damon DelMonte. The Northeast has limited possibilities for expansion, DelMonte said, “so Philip is looking to acquire banks in places like California, Florida and Texas, with a high population density, wealth and growth opportunities.”
Sherringham on acquisitions: “In every crisis there are winners and losers. The bank sector overall is weakened, but there are a minority of winners -- like us, and like US Bank [which has acquired failed Southern California banks]. We expect to do deals assisted by the FDIC [for failed banks] and non-assisted deals. We’re very active in terms of discussions with other institutions, but it is very competitive. Certainly we’re looking in California.”
On subprime lending, which was booming at other lenders when he joined People’s United: “There was all this talk of the new frontier, how people had discovered a way to get the proper risk-reward trade-off. It never made sense to me. Think about it: Subprime means your credit record demonstrates you can’t handle your debts. Statistically, you are going to default. Basically, the concept of lending hundreds of billions of dollars to people who have a proven inability to pay you back struck me as odd. So we didn’t go there.”
How public service landed him in L.A.: After he received a graduate business degree from Hautes Etudes Commerciales, Sherringham said, “I had British and French dual citizenship, and if Britain picked you in the draft you went to Northern Ireland [for military service]. The French had more Peace Corps-type programs -- if you graduated from a top school you’d work for the government for a year and a half for a pittance, usually in Africa or Asia. I found out that there were a very few openings in a rather well-developed country called the United States, with a French industrial development agency. The purpose was to lure American manufacturers to open facilities and create jobs in France. . . . I knew nothing about California, and left on Jan. 2, 1976, bound for L.A. When I arrived the temperature was 85 degrees. I looked around for about 20 seconds and fell in love.”
On accidentally becoming a banker: “I worked with an L.A. aerospace company, Garrett Corp., but I realized it was run by engineers and I was not one of them. Being ambitious, I figured it was maybe not the best spot for me. Then I got a call from Arco suggesting I try the oil business. Much to my chagrin, I discovered it was run by engineers also. . . . Then a recruiting firm was looking for a head of corporate planning for Home Savings. I knew nothing about banking, but at least there were no engineers running the place. I was interviewed by the CFO, Mario Antoci, who later became head of American Savings. . . . He smiled and said, ‘Do you think your lack of banking experience is a handicap in your attempt to become head of planning for the nation’s largest savings bank?’ I told him, ‘If you hire me I can guarantee one thing: I will bring no preconceived notions to the job.’ ”
On why he keeps his Brentwood home: “If I ever get cold and need my California fix, I can jump on a plane and get there. Actually, I have a great fondness for Los Angeles apart from the weather. L.A. is different than any other world-class city -- London, New York, Paris -- because it was built around the automobile. It’s multicentric, not just the downtown, with this tapestry of cultures and ethnicities. When I lived in L.A. in the 1970s there were three good restaurants. Today it rivals New York in quality and diversity. That’s very important to me.”
