SDT Notes on Thrifts Mid-80's

From 1986 to 1995 (with a hiatus in New York City between 1988 and 1991) I was a player in the thrift industry. This period was at the height of the thrift crisis as described in "S and L Hell," by Kathleen Day.

"S and L Hell" by Kathleen Day | Stephen DeWitt Taylor

For three years, from 1986 to 1989, I was CEO of Citicorp Savings of Florida (at CSF), a troubled thrift acquired by Citibank with government financial assistance in 1984. By purchasing thrifts held in government receivership Citibank was able to gain coveted but then prohibited interstate branch banking permissions in California, Illinois and Florida.

Beginning in 1986, I headed the second wave Citibank management team assigned to the failed Biscayne Federal Savings Association. Biscayne, name changed to Citicorp Savings of Florida (CSF), had assets of $2.1 billion and deposits of $1.7 billion, with thirty branches at time of acquisition. After Citi's purchase of Biscayne, the thrift had plenty of capital. We were not trying to save an institution from bankruptcy, but to render it a profitable contributor to Citibank's interstate banking effort.

During my three years at CSF, we improved the bank's profitability through a combination of cost reductions, new loan programs, and improved interest rate risk management. I was proud of the team I put together at CSF which included a former Citibank boss of mine, Charlie Kelly. I had worked for Charlie, CEO of Citicorp Australia, as his Credit Policy head, from 1974 to 1976.

Responding to an outside recruiting initiative, I left Citibank in 1991 and became CEO of American Savings of Florida (ASF). I worked at ASF for four years, until ASF was sold to First Union Corporation. The four years spent at American Savings of Florida was an altogether a successful effort... for the Enstar Bankruptcy Trust... for the minority shareholders and for the turn-around team. Over the course of four years (1991 to 1994) we took ASF from a regulator supervised institution under an OTS Cease-and-Desist Order, selling at $0.17 a share to an acceptably rated (by OTS) institution, sold in 1994 to First Union Corporation, for $21 a share. Many lives were changed for the good due to ASF's successful turnaround.

A more comprehensive account of the life of American Savings of Florida can be found incorporated into this book review under Addendum.