Jackson specializes in helping wobbly banks regain their competitive edges. Credit-crunched First Private Bank & Trust, a Los Angeles-based affiliate of Boston Private Financial Holdings (BPFH), has a new CEO in Charles Jackson, formerly CEO of Security Pacific Bancorp. He replaces James Dawson, head of BPFH's private-banking business and president and COO of its Boston Private Bank & Trust affiliate, who stepped in as CEO of First Private early this year as a temporary substitute for Richard Taylor.

Jackson "brings decades of experience in all types of economic environments, an exceptional working knowledge of the current economic climate in southern California and a stellar track record of success in the banking industry," says Dawson. "His integrity and ethics make him an excellent fit for First Private [and] his sound judgment and strategic vision will serve First Private well as it completes the resolution of its loan-portfolio challenges and focuses on future growth by providing high-quality private banking services to the southern California market."

Loan-loss reserve

Taylor left First Private at the end of March 2008, about a month after BPFH said that First Private would increase its loan-loss reserve to between $16 million and $19 million for its quarter ended 31 December 2007. The holding company linked the reserve boost to potential weaknesses in First Private's portfolio of residential construction and land loans, mainly in California's Inland Empire, an area that spans the state's Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

This and related adjustments would result in "an after-tax impact" of between $10 million and $12 million on BPFH's Q4 2007 earnings.

BPFH's share price was 73% off its 52-week high in intraday trading yesterday.

Last month, after seeing its stock price dip below $5 a share for the first time in nearly 12 years, BPFH offered 16 million shares of its common stock at $6 a share. It said it would use the $90.2 million so raised (after expenses) "to strengthen its capital base, including providing future capital for potential resolution of its classified loans, to provide growth capital for its affiliates and for general corporate purposes."

Around the same time, Washington, D.C.-based private-equity firm Carlyle said it would buy as much as $75 million of BPFH's preferred stock at $5.52 a share in a deal that could ultimately give Carlyle a 25% stake in BPFH.

Specialist

First Private's new CEO Jackson specializes in revamping mid-market banks. The board of Los Angeles-based Security Pacific brought him in as CEO in 2007 to lead a restructuring effort to make the bank more competitive. Previously, as it's president and CEO, he focused on accelerating Pasadena, Calif.-based Community Bank's growth "while achieving superior credit quality in its loan portfolio," according to BPFH.

Jackson says that "there are excellent immediate and long-term prospects in the southern California marketplace for the kind of personalized, relationship-centered private-banking services that First Private offers." In the meantime, he adds, First Private "will focus on continuing to provide outstanding service to our customers and realizing additional opportunities for growth."

Boston-based BPFH started out as Boston Private Bank & Trust (now one of its 16 affiliates). In the mid 1990s it became a holding company for private banks, private-client advisories and institutional money managers.

BPFH's firm-wide assets under management increased 16% last year for a total of $37.8 billion at the end of 2007. -FWR

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