New Chief Operating Officer Expected at Downey Savings

Downey Savings & Loan today is expected to name banker David L. Boyles as its executive vice president and chief operating officer, paving the way for an orderly succession in top management, industry sources said Wednesday.

With his hiring, Boyles, who recently resigned as a senior vice president at BankAmerica Corp., would become the heir apparent to Downey’s two co-founders and operators, according to one source. BankAmerica is the parent of San Francisco-based Bank of America.

Downey would not comment on the pending appointment, but Boyles already has an office at the thrift.

Downey’s president, Maurice L. McAlister, 65, and chief executive, Gerald H. McQuarrie, 67, have built the S&L; into an institution with $4.4 billion in assets and a reputation as one of the best-run operations in the nation. But both men are at retirement age.

While the thrift has a solid middle management, none has emerged as a clear-cut choice to take over the top jobs, industry analysts have said. The appointment of Boyles is aimed at filling that need, a source said.

Boyles, 41, a banker, is also expected to be more adept at working in the beleaguered thrift industry as it is being reshaped more in the image of banks.

Downey is being forced to restructure its operations because of the strict federal law enacted last August to rescue the thrift industry’s deposit insurance system. The new rules caused the S&L; to post a $9.4-million loss for the fourth quarter last year, reducing its annual profit to $13.6 million.

Boyles was a senior retail manager at Seafirst Corp. in Seattle, a BankAmerica subsidiary, before joining the parent company in San Francisco in September, 1987. He was in charge of the company’s bank consumer markets, including consumer loan processing, bank cards and electronic banking services.