Keith Russell, President of Glenfed, Quits Suddenly
Keith P. Russell Jr., once regarded as the heir-apparent for the top job at Glenfed Inc., resigned unexpectedly Monday as president and chief operating officer of the thrift holding company.
Chief Executive Norman M. Coulson will assume Russell’s duties. “Keith came to Glendale Federal to help us diversify, and we’re not diversifying anymore,” Coulson said.
Glenfed, parent of Glendale Federal Bank, is one of several large Southern California thrifts suffering from problems with commercial real estate loans. After ambitious expansion during the 1980s, Glenfed lost $141 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31 because of such loans.
Coulson, 57, described Russell’s decision to resign as “difficult, because Keith and I were close and we did a lot of things together, and he did a good job for us.” He said Russell, 44, was not forced to resign by federal regulators.
The thrift added $153 million to its reserves for possible loan losses in the quarter ended Dec. 31. Glenfed also announced a “strategic plan” to shed some subsidiary businesses and focus on basic mortgage lending and deposit-gathering.
Coulson said Stephen J. Trafton, who was hired as Glenfed’s chief financial officer last July, “is the architect behind our strategic plan.”
“I think what they’re looking to do is to expand Trafton’s role,” said Campbell K. Chaney, a thrift analyst with Sutro & Co. in San Francisco.
Russell held his current positions with Glenfed since last July, when he was promoted from Glendale Federal, where he also served as president and chief operating officer.
Glenfed first hired him in 1983 as general manager of subsidiaries. He had been senior vice president and deputy administrator of specialized financial services at Security Pacific Corp.
“Those were the talents Glenfed wanted,” said Chaney, but “his talents as a trained commercial banker no longer fit.”
In the third quarter ended March 31, Glenfed said its earnings fell 94% to $1 million as it continued to add to its loan-loss reserves. It also said problem assets increased to $716 million March 31 from $559 million a year before.
