William Davis Hussey, who spent a lifetime building up the Florida League of Financial Institutions, is trying to dismantle the savings and loan trade group before he retires in January.
Mr. Hussey joined the Orlando-based league after graduating from college in the summer of 1958. He's retiring in January as president, but first he wants to merge the group he helped build with its former rival, the Florida Bankers Association.
So why is he siding with the "enemy"? Because industry-wide consolidation has blurred the lines between banks and thrifts, he said.
Seen as Time for a Single Voice
"The division between the S&L industry and the commercial banking industry is getting narrower and narrower," said Mr. Hussey. As a result, "We need to start talking with a single voice on banking issues. That is the only way we are going to get anything passed."
According to Savings and Community Bankers of America, the national thrift trade group, the proposed merger of the Florida thrift and bank groups is part of a larger trend.
Over the past few years, such mergers have taken place in half a dozen states, a spokesman for the national group said.
"You are going to continue to see S&Ls merged or bought," he said. "And on the banking side, the same thing is happening. Our likes and our needs are pretty close together."
A Question of Size
Whether banks or thrifts, the industry will be soon polarized depending on the size of institutions, Mr. Hussey believes.
Giant banks will be at one end of the spectrum, he said. There will be few medium-sized institutions, but at the other end of the spectrum, there will be a slew of smaller ones, from the tiniest community bank or thrift to institutions with up to $400 million in assets, he foresees.
But he is by no means predicting that smaller institutions won't be able to compete. He believes that customers wih demand the personal services they provide.
"The small financial institutions can run circles around the big ones when it comes to services," Mr. Hussey said.
Mortgage bankers should look out, he warns. For thrifts, home loans are "still their niche, and they are good at it."
Although he believes thrifts are competitive on loan pricing, that is not the most important point.
"It is tough competition," Mr. Hussey acknowledges. "But again, you get down to service, which they can perform."
Dwight D. Eisenhower was President in 1958 when Mr. Hussey joined the Florida league - then called the Florida Savings and Loan League. "The league was just beginning in those days," Mr. Hussey said. It had become a full-time organization in 1955, although it been run on a part-time basis since 1924.
Was Nation's Youngest
In 1962, just four years after Mr. Hussey joined the league, he was named its chief executive officer. At 29, he was the youngest savings and loan trade executive in the nation, and has run the league ever since.
When he joined the league, it had 103 members; membership swelled to a high of 153 in 1986. Now, just 63 thrifts belong.
Although the Florida League is strong now, Mr. Hussey predicts that further industry consolidation would make it difficult for it to continue to operate alone after a few years.
"Right now, the thrifts and the league are dealing from a stronger negotiating position," Mr. Hussey said. That should enable them to bargain for a bigger voice as they merge with the bank group, which has 373 members.
If all goes smoothly at a Dec. 20 meeting of the two groups, documents for the merger will be drawn up and details of the agreement will be announced, he said. The groups could merge as soon as early next year, and although Mr. Hussey will retire from his post in January, he will stay on at the new organization as an adviser.
I don't think there is any strong opposition," from league members, he said. "Economy of scale is what we are talking about."
Will Probably Keep Bank Name
The combined organization is likely to be called the Florida Bankers Association, the name of the bank group. And its headquarters will be in Tallahassee, the state capital.
Thrift members will get more educational services in the new group for about what they now pay in dues, Mr. Hussey said.
The organizations share positions on most issues, but Mr. Hussey acknowledges that that may not always be the case. But he believes the thrift faction of the new group should be strong enough to hold its own.
"We knew going in that we would have to have strong representation," Mr. Hussey said. "We will have a voice."
When thrifts and banks advocate different positions within the new group, "You're going to have to take them as they come along," he said.
Mr. Hussey is sure the merger of the trade groups will be good for the thrifts: "It needs to happen because you are going to continue to have consolidation."
As he retires, Mr. Hussey has some parting advice for thrifts. "Find your niche and be good at it, and treat your customers right," he said. "The consumer, in some respects, has been ignored in the past few years.
"In the future, the one who gives the best service" will come out ahead, Mr. Hussey said.
Age: 60
Title: President of the Florida League of Financial Institutions
Education: Florida Southern College, Lakeland, Fla., BS in journialism. Editor of the school paper, "The Southern"
Military: U.S. Army, served in South Carolina and Texas, 1953-55
Job history: Upon graduation in 1958, joined the league as an executive assistant. in 1962, he was named executive vice president and, in 1975, he was named president.
Family: Married to Elizabeth Hussey, has two sons: William D. Hussey Jr., 33, and Jeffrey, 30
Hometown: Lives in Orlando, raised in Gainesville, Fla.
Hobbies: Golf, gardening, fan of the University of Florida Gators and the Orlando Magic
