Chief Executive of CommerceBank Resigns Suddenly
In a move that stunned local bankers, CommerceBank said Friday that Clyde H. Gossert, one of Orange County’s more respected bankers, quit as chairman and chief executive of the bank and its holding company.
Gossert resigned suddenly on Thursday after meeting with a company director, William E. Langston, a general contractor.
Details of the meeting between Gossert and Langston were not available. Gossert issued a statement saying he was leaving to pursue other interests. Neither could be reached for comment.
Raymond E. Dellerba, president of the bank, has been named to the additional title of chief executive. Real estate developer Timothy L. Strader, a former chairman of the bank and its holding company, assumed those duties again.
“It was a shock to me,” said Dellerba, who had worked with Gossert at Imperial Bank and came with him to CommerceBank in 1983. “I had lunch with him on Thursday, but he wouldn’t talk about it. He feels bad, but he’s in good spirits.”
Several bankers expressed surprise at Gossert’s departure.
But recent troubles at the bank, including the loss of key executives and a restatement of third-quarter profits to show a $240,093 loss, set the stage for Gossert’s departure, said Gerry Findley, an Anaheim banking consultant.
“He may not be responsible for lot of things there,” Findley said, “but he’s the hired hand who has to go to the guillotine.”
In a reference to CommerceBank directors, who started the bank on its aggressive construction lending in the mid-1980s, Findley said, “somebody’s got to take the blame, and the politicians in the organization usually never accept blame.”
The bank’s third-quarter earnings plummeted as its bad loans--primarily construction loans--soared. It set aside $1 million for possible loan losses, mainly because of the failure of one major borrower to make payments.
Its restated earnings dropped its nine-month net income to $608,090, down from $2.8 million a year earlier. Bad loans at the end of September totaled 4.78% of total loans, contrasted with 0.83% a year earlier. Regulators don’t like to see that ratio go above 3%.
Long one of the county’s biggest and most profitable banks, CommerceBank’s assets fell 5% to $301.8 million at the end of September, from $317.1 million a year earlier.
