A New Deal fo First Interstate : PROFILE: WORKAHOLIC FIGHTER : Deal Shows Siart’s Tenacity, Hard-Work Ethic
Nobody thought First Interstate Bancorp Chairman William E.B. Siart would go willingly into oblivion after Wells Fargo & Co. announced Oct. 18 that it was launching a hostile takeover of his bank.
Observers expected all along that Siart would come up with a “white knight” or friendly merger partner to preserve at least some semblance of identity for the bank--and authority for himself. Having ascended to the top of the First Interstate heap only this year, the highly competitive Siart would not leave his perch quietly.
And in inking a friendly merger deal Monday with First Bank System Inc. of Minneapolis, Siart revealed the outline of a masterstroke that would preserve First Interstate jobs--including his own--and the bank’s Los Angeles focus. Siart reportedly also courted deals with Minneapolis-based Norwest Corp. and Banc One Corp. of Columbus, Ohio.
If the friendly, $10.1-billion merger goes through, Siart, 48, would be second banana under First Bank System Chairman John F. (Jack) Grundhofer, 56, in the merged hierarchy. As such, he would be in line to ascend to chief executive once Grundhofer retires, possibly in nine years. Analysts said the two banks’ corporate cultures are as compatible as Siart could have hoped for.
Siart has been working day and night over the past three weeks to secure the deal, and while few observers are yet willing to concede Grundhofer and him the victory over Wells Fargo, they say it shows his tenacity, intense work ethic and instinct for self-preservation.
Many who know Siart describe him as work-obsessed, spending long hours, often weekends, at the bank’s Downtown headquarters. After divorcing several years ago, he was remarried last year--to a former First Interstate in-house attorney, Lauren Morse.
“This is a guy whose idea of a good time is playing tennis at a bankers convention,” said one former associate.
Siart was named First Interstate’s chief executive in January and chairman in May after predecessor Ed Carson retired. A protege of former Chairman Joseph J. Pinola, Siart had narrowly lost out to Carson in 1989 as Pinola’s successor because the bank board felt Siart, then only 42, needed more experience.
As a key member of Carson’s team, Siart got that experience--and much of the credit for First Interstate’s turnaround from the brink of disaster. In 1991, awash in bad loans and high costs, the bank lost $283 million. In 1994, First Interstate earned $733.5 million.
Now First Interstate is a top-performing bank whose prospects are steadily improving. Just two months ago, Siart promised attendees at a New York investor conference that First Interstate would generate a 20% annual return on equity and 10% annual growth in per-share earnings over the foreseeable future, well above industry norms.
First Interstate has not been on the sidelines during the recent acquisition craze. The bank has made a dozen purchases over the last several years, paying $340 million for the parent of San Diego Trust & Savings Bank and $102 million for Chase Manhattan’s Arizona unit in 1994. And Siart has told investors that those mergers would continue.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
Bio: William E.B. Siart
Title: Chairman and chief executive of First Interstate Bancorp
Age: 48
Birthplace: Los Angeles
Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics from Santa Clara University; MBA from UC Berkeley
Family: Married, two daughters
