Bid for a California Banking Giant : PROFILE: WILLIAM E.B. SIART : First Interstate CEO Unlikely to Go Without Fight
Those who know First Interstate Bancorp Chairman William E. B. Siart well agree that he will not go gently in what may become a knock-down, drag-out battle with Wells Fargo & Co. for First Interstate’s independence.
Having grabbed the coveted brass ring only last January, when he was named First Interstate’s chief executive at the age of 48, work-obsessed Siart is of no mind to relinquish it, despite the attractive terms of Wells Fargo’s hostile buyout offer announced Wednesday.
Siart also became chairman May 1 after his predecessor, Edward M. Carson, retired.
Siart--and Carson before him--have been fending off Wells Fargo’s unwanted overtures for more than two years, and few expect Siart to fold now without at least lining up a friendlier merger partner, analysts said.
Norwest Corp. and First Bank System, both headquartered in Minneapolis, are two of the names mentioned as such partners.
Siart, who was unavailable for comment Wednesday, is commonly perceived as a bright, play-to-win executive--attributes you would expect from a man who rose quickly to the top of Los Angeles’ only remaining major home-based bank.
But Siart has all those attributes to the nth degree, say those who know him. He is also a pentathlete and an intense competitor who on the tennis court exhibits the tenacity of Jimmy Connors.
He is an admitted workaholic who works into the night and on weekends.
“His work has been his hobby,” one former associate said.
“Siart’s an objective, rational manager who will do what’s best for shareholders, and I think he’ll take a dispassionate view of his options,” said Brent Erensel, a bank analyst with UBS Securities.
“I also don’t think he’ll be railroaded into a hasty decision on anything,” Erensel said.
In doing battle with Wells Fargo, Siart will be fighting not just for his job, but for those of most in First Interstate’s top management, whose jobs would be most at risk in a takeover.
Many of those executives now in top positions bonded with Siart when he led First Interstate’s California operations.
“With a friendly merger, there is an effort by the buyer to spread the pain on both sides,” said Paul A. Mackey, banking analyst at Dean Witter Reynolds. “But not when it’s a hostile takeover. You don’t have to worry about the niceties.”
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Siart was an essential member of the team Carson assembled to save First Interstate from the brink of catastrophe in the early 1990s, when the bank was in danger of being engulfed by a tide of bad loans and high costs.
Siart got the top job at First Interstate despite Carson’s lobbying efforts on behalf of William S. Randall, now First Interstate Bancorp president. Siart prevailed because of his abundant talents and his close alliance with former First Interstate Chairman Joseph J. Pinola, who still wields much influence on the First Interstate board, insiders said.
Siart joined First Interstate in 1978 as a vice president in the chairman’s office, coming over from Bank of America along with his mentor, Pinola. Siart had risen rapidly at Bank of America, leaving as a manager of corporate finance in the Brussels office.
The once-divorced Siart, who has two daughters, last year married Lauren Morse, a First Interstate corporate attorney. They live in Pacific Palisades.
Siart is a native of Los Angeles and received an undergraduate degree in economics at University of Santa Clara and an MBA in finance from UC Berkeley. Coincidentally, the business school at Berkeley on Wednesday named Wells Fargo Chief Executive Paul Hazen its alumnus of the year.
“Both Siart and Hazen want to make their statements as CEOs and only one will survive,” said a former First Interstate executive who asked not to be identified.
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Tough, New Execs . . . Now at Odds
* Name: William E.B. Siart; chairman, CEO First Interstate Bancorp
* Age: 48
* Birthplace: Los Angeles
* Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics from University of Santa Clara, 1968; MBA from UC Berkeley, 1969
* Family: Married, two daughters
* Resume: Joined Bank of America in 1969. Became vice president of corporate banking for Bank of America, Brussels, in 1977. In 1978, moved to Western Bancorp in Los Angeles and was named senior vice president in charge of marketing. Named chief operating officer of First Interstate of Nevada in 1981; promoted to president and chief executive in 1982. Elected president and chief executive of First Interstate Bank in 1985. In 1990, was named president of holding company, First Interstate Bancorp; now chief operating officer and chairman.
Source: Times, wire reports
Researched by DAVID NEIMAN / Los Angeles Times
