A gentleman who’s made a career out of turning around troubled banks was appointed president and chief executive officer of Oxford Bank and its holding company last week.
C. James Bess is now leading the 125-year-old financial institution as it attempts to become profitable again. He started work Monday morning.
‘This bank needs to and wants to remain an independent community bank very badly and I’m going to do everything I can to help them do that,? said the 71-year-old Jackson resident. ‘I’ll do what I can to try to get them stabilized and get them to a point where they can start doing the normal business of banking again.?
He replaces Jeff Davidson, who resigned May 29 after a 24-year career with the bank, which included a five-year stint as president and CEO.
Bess, who was also appointed to Oxford Bank’s board of directors, brings a total of 46 years experience in the financial services industry. He began his career working for an auto-related finance company called Universal CIT Credit Corporation in 1963.
In 1972, he went to work for his first bank, the now-defunct Midwest Bank in Jackson.
Seven years later, Bess became CEO of a troubled bank and helped turn things around.
Over the next three decades, he’d travel from bank to bank doing the same thing as CEO of eight other financial institutions facing difficulties in Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky.
‘They’re all unique, but they’re all similar in some ways,? Bess explained. ‘There’s always something to learn. No matter how many of these things you do, you never have all the answers. So you have to be a good listener as well as a good leader.?
Fortunately, all of Bess? turnaround jobs were successful.
‘I’ve never lost a bank,? he said. ‘Some of them stayed independent and some of them merged with other banks . . . But I’ve never had a bank close.?
The last bank where Bess served as president and CEO was North Country Bank & Trust, now known as mBank, in Manistique. He held those positions from 2003-05 and served on the bank’s board until the end of 2007.
‘This was a troubled community bank that had deficient capital,? Bess said.
Like Oxford Bank did in May 2008, North Country Bank & Trust consented to a cease-and-desist order, issued by federal and state regulators, which required the bank take numerous actions designed to correct management and lending practices that contributed to the institution’s problems.
During Bess? tenure, North Country Bank & Trust found a group of investors willing to put up $30 million to ‘recapitalize? the institution because ‘the existing shareholder base wasn’t able to.?
As a result, the bank came under ‘new majority ownership? at the end of 2004.
‘It was a fairly rapid turnaround,? he said. The whole process took about 18 months.
Oxford Bank represents Bess? 10th turnaround job. He was contacted about the position by Austin Associates, a Toledo, Ohio-based consulting firm that advises financial institutions.
The bank’s ‘asset quality problems? coupled with the state’s bleak economic situation make this potential turnaround a ‘formidable challenge? in his opinion.
‘If we still had full employment with the auto companies, we probably wouldn’t be talking about a troubled bank there. At least not to the extent that it is now,? Bess said.
Since May of last year, Oxford’s been operating under a formal agreement with federal and state regulators to its improve performance following a sharp increase in mortgage delinquencies.
In late April this year, the bank announced a 51.4-percent improvement in operating results for the first quarter ending March 31.
Despite this good news, last week, Oxford Bank received zero stars in the quarterly five-star ratings report issued by Bauer Financial, Inc., a Florida-based rating service for financial institutions. It was one of seven banks based in southeast Michigan and one of 10 in the entire state to get zero stars.
‘We’ve got our work cut out for us,? Bess said.
In a nutshell, Bess described his leadership style as ‘very open? and ‘communicative.?
‘Everybody needs to know what the plan of attack is and what their role is, so that we can all work together efficiently as a team,? Bess explained. ‘I don’t set myself up on a CEO pedestal. I ask the staff to partner with me in this effort and begin pulling that rope together because we’re going to need all of the resources we’ve got to effect a change there as soon as we can.?
‘I try to be fair, decisive, respectful and have a high energy level,? he noted. ‘You’ve got to work hard. Everybody does.?
Besides reading stacks of paperwork and reports to get acquainted with the bank, Bess plans to talk to all the department heads and evaluate the staff.
‘The most important part of any company is the people you employ. A CEO is usually no better than the people he employs,? he said. ‘We need to make sure we have the proper resources in place, the expertise in place, so that we can carry out our mission and get this bank rehabilitated.?
This is the second time Bess has come out of retirement to help a bank in need.
‘I get kind of bored with retirement sometimes. I guess I miss the hunt,? he said. ‘You can only play so much golf. I’m anxious to get back in the saddle again for a while.?
On a personal note, Bess was born and raised in Mt. Pleasant.
He met his wife, Patricia, while the two were attending Central Michigan University and the college sweethearts have been married for 47 years. The couple has two grown sons plus three grandchildren.
Bess plans to work and stay in Oxford during the week, then return home to Jackson on weekends.
‘I don’t have any immediate plans to relocate,? he said.