Askew Named Pacific Inland Bank CEO

Veteran banker Ronald L. Askew was named chairman, president and chief executive of Pacific Inland Bank in Anaheim, the bank’s holding company said Thursday.

Askew, whose appointment completes a shake-up in the holding company’s operations, replaces Melvin Miller as chairman and John Britt as president and chief executive. Askew also was named executive vice president of the parent firm, Pacific Inland Bancorp.

Miller, the bank’s first president when it opened in 1984, was moved to chairman emeritus. Britt resigned in October after a dispute with the holding company’s board, said Richard W. Meyer, the Pacific Inland Bancorp’s chairman.

In October, the parent firm fired Sidney Hansen as president of another subsidiary, Trident Investment Management Inc., and hired Philip Bourdillon to replace him. At the same time, the holding company refocused Trident’s asset management activities to regional companies. Previously, Trident, which operated originally out of New Jersey, had tried to provide services nationwide.

Money-losing Trident has long been a drag on Pacific Inland Bancorp’s consolidated earnings, Meyer acknowledged. He said last year’s results were the company’s best, but he declined to estimate its annual profit. For the first nine months, the bank earned $175,000, excluding nonrecurring events, such as an acquisition.

Pacific Inland Bank, with $86.6 million in assets at the end of September, intends to continue building up its business clientele, Meyer said.

Askew, 46, was the Orange County regional vice president for Imperial Bank, a $3-billion asset Los Angeles bank, for the last five years. He previously was president of Coast Bank in Long Beach for three years. Askew, of Tustin, also has worked in senior management positions at Union Bank and Wells Fargo Bank.