WHO’s WHO IN BANKING: V. Charles Jackson

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V. Charles Jackson was preparing for a career in diplomacy when he got bitten by a bug. The bug was called banking, and he’s never been the same.

Born in Egypt, Jackson whose father was an airline pilot didn’t come to the United States until the age of 14. He had just graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Washington D.C. when he heard about a training program offered by First National City Bank to help recent graduates learn the ins and outs of banking.

“When I discovered how much you got paid by the Foreign Service compared to how much you got paid by these private companies, my ears perked up,” recalls Jackson, 64, who was accepted into the program and trained for six months in New York before being sent to Dubai.

“That was back in the days when you really went to school. You started out posting ledgers, then became a teller for a while and finally graduated to being a loan officer.”

Since then, Jackson held senior executive positions with a variety of large financial institutions, wealth managers and community banks experience he is putting to use amid the worst banking crisis in modern history.

Last August, shortly after leaving his post as head of Community Bank in Pasadena, he was hired to be chief executive of First Private Bank & Trust, which provides customized private banking and wealth management advice to high-net-worth individuals and privately owned businesses in Southern California.

With offices in Burbank, Encino, Granada Hills, Santa Monica and Westlake Village, it’s a member of the Boston Private Wealth Management Group, which has more than $30 billion in managed client investments and $6 billion in banking assets.

But First Private has met its share of troubles. The bank has a large number of problem loans, defined as those 90 days or more past due. To remedy the situation, the bank in the middle of 2008 took the dramatic step of discounting many of its loans and attempting to sell them. Thus far, the bank has managed to unload more than half of the portfolio.

“We basically wrote down the entire land and construction portfolio by a very substantial amount and put the portfolio up for sale,” he said. “We took a very, very severe discount on the portfolio.”

At the same time, the bank got an infusion of $140 million from its parent company. Already, the bank’s loan portfolio is improving and it has remained well-capitalized.

On a more fundamental level, Jackson said the bank has transitioned away from a transactional focus to one geared toward

private banking and wealth management. In doing so, he said he hopes to bring a more personal touch to the banking process at First Private. That, he said, will help restore confidence at a time when it is hard to come by.

“Too often, banks aren’t doing enough to make sure their customers feel secure and

confident about their financial options,” he said. “Now is the time that banks must increase the amount of personal attention given to customers and listen even more closely to their needs.”

Despite the industry’s turmoil, Jackson said he has strong faith in his industry, though he believes it should return to the kind of training that gave him his start.

And at 64, he can’t even imagine retiring from his profession.

“I can’t think of anything more depressing. I don’t think I’ve ever been better at my job than I am right now. I know more than I ever did and know how to use it better than I ever did,” he said. “It’s like a personal perfect storm, but in a good way; I’m probably intellectually happier than I’ve ever been.”


V. Charles Jackson


Chief Executive

First Private Bank & Trust, Encino

Appointed August 2008

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