Sec Pac’s Leader Is Low-Key

Nobody calls Security Pacific Chairman and Chief Executive Robert H. Smith “Mr. Excitement�--unless, of course, they’re kidding.

A tall, quiet banker, Smith stands in stark contrast to his likely new boss, the dynamic Richard M. Rosenberg, the chairman and CEO of BankAmerica Corp.

“They are a study,� acknowledged Dick Warner, a Security Pacific executive vice president. “Bob is big and loose and Dick Rosenberg is this little ball of fire.�

The pair will soon be working together if the proposed merger of BankAmerica and Security Pacific goes through. Rosenberg will remain chairman and CEO of the merged BankAmerica; Smith, 55, will become president and chief operating officer.

Industry officials say that while Smith may be low-key, he is a capable, hard-driving administrator who may serve as the perfect complement to Rosenberg--the noted “front-door man.�

Smith became known at Security as a deft cost cutter, bringing him kudos and promotions. But that didn’t always make him popular with the rank and file. During his reign, hundreds of jobs were slashed at the big Los Angeles-based banking company, and some former employees are bitter.

“I have nothing good to say about him,� a former Security Pacific executive said. “He was one of these young Turks that they brought in to run the company. He didn’t have any idea of what our division was doing and he didn’t really care. He just wanted to know down to the third decimal point how much money we were going to make next month.�

A career banker, Smith started out as a management trainee at Security Pacific in 1961. He slowly worked his way up the ranks, finally being promoted to head a division that oversaw about 100 of the bank’s branches in 1974.

However, he didn’t start to gain the attention of top managers until he was named to head the bank’s trust department in 1977, Warner said. Smith revitalized the division, which had been “notorious for its stodginess� and lackluster profitability, and brought a new market and profit-driven orientation, Warner said.

After that, insiders maintain that Smith shifted his attention from one ailing division to the next, cutting costs, slashing jobs and generally bringing the operations into the black.

“He is very astute in an administrative sense,� said Louis Laughlin, a former Security Pacific executive who now works as a management consultant in Houston. “He could be put in charge of anything and make it work. He had a number of positions where he was left to sweep up the residue of other people’s mistakes. He just did whatever he had to do to get the job done.�

Later, he was named vice chairman and administrator of the bank’s Capital Markets System, where he led the bank into the securities business. He’s also helped orchestrate the bank’s out-of-state expansion, which caused Security to buy banks in Arizona, Washington, Oregon and Nevada.

He was elected president and chief executive of the bank in 1987. He became chief executive of the entire company last June.

Bio: Robert H. Smith Smith is chairman and chief executive of Security Pacific Corp. If the firm merges with BankAmerica as planned, he will be president and chief operating officer of what would be the nation’s second-largest bank.

Age: 55

Born: Glendale

Education: Received a bachelor of science degree from the University of Southern California in 1957 and a law degree from Van Norman University in 1966.

Family: Married, four children

Resume: Started as a management trainee at Security Pacific in 1961. He held a number of operating and administrative positions before being promoted to senior vice president in charge of about 100 Security Pacific branch offices in 1974. He was named deputy administrator of the bank’s financial management group in 1977 and became vice chairman and head of the capital markets group in 1984. He was named president and chief executive in 1987 and gained the top positions at the parent firm last June.

Business focus: Smith’s forte is cutting costs and boosting profits. He helped restructure the bank’s trust department in the late 1970s, and later orchestrated the reorganization of the entire operation, which resulted in hundreds, possibly thousands, of layoffs. He also helped the bank enter the securities business and was instrumental in the company’s out-of-state expansion.