Chief of First Nationwide S&L; to Retire

The chairman and chief executive of First Nationwide Bank, Ford Motor Co.’s troubled savings and loan unit, will retire April 1.

Robert E. Lackovic, 58, an 18-year veteran of San Francisco-based First Nationwide, said in a telephone interview that “it felt like the right time for me.”

“We’re at a fork in the road for thrifts,” he said. “I didn’t want to go through another metamorphosis. I just wanted to get off the roller coaster.”

His successor will be John M. Devine, 46, who will be named vice chairman and chief executive, effective Feb. 1. Devine will be replaced in his current posts of president and chief operating officer by Jon M. Christoffersen, 48, who held those posts at Rainier Bank in Seattle and most recently was president of Visa U.S.A. Before joining First Nationwide in September, 1988, Devine held a variety of positions at Ford--in the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia. He will assume the chairman’s title April 1, Lackovic said.

Before moving to Rainier in 1981, Christoffersen was chief operating officer of Citibank’s trust subsidiary in Taiwan. While at Citibank, he also worked in New York, Japan, South Korea and Australia. He served as vice chairman of Rainier’s trust, retail and wholesale banking divisions from 1982 to 1985.

In announcing sharply lower third-quarter results last October, Ford noted that problems at First Nationwide exacerbated troubles stemming from the dismal auto market. Ford’s earnings tumbled to $102 million, 78.7% below the previous year’s quarter, partly because the company had to set aside $115 million to cover possible bad loans at First Nationwide.

First Nationwide Financial, the thrift’s holding company, lost $44.8 million in the third quarter, Ford said. The hefty reserve was set aside after federal regulators reviewed the unit’s books. Of the total, $92 million was reserved to cover possible unspecified future losses.

With weak real estate markets forcing the savings and loan industry increasingly to seek a shift to commercial banking, First Nationwide needs an experienced banking executive, said William H. Steele, an associate analyst at Dean Witter Reynolds in San Francisco.

“Instead of having ‘auto’ guys in there to try to turn it around, they’re bringing in someone with experience in the banking industry,” Steele said of Christoffersen, who was born in Coeur d’Alene, Ida.

A Chicago native, Lackovic said he plans to spend more time working for charitable and environmental causes. He is active in the Ocean Alliance, a nonprofit marine education organization, among others. He said his early retirement allows the thrift to have an “orderly” change of management.

In trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange, Ford shares closed down 50 cents at $26.25.