Ben Crabtree and Jay Tejera: Dain Bosworth Inc., Minneapolis.

As far as Dain Bos-worth analysts are concerned, money-centers may as well not exist. In their territory from the Pacific Northwest to the upper Midwest, analysts Ben Crabtree and Jay Tejera have found reason to believe that small banks can prosper among the giants.

"The banking industry in my markets is very different than in others," said Mr. Crabtree, who works from Dain's Minneapolis headquarters. "Here they are retailers of financial services rather than managers of massive money flows. I pay a lot of attention to positioning and market niches and marketing skills."

Both he and Seattle-based partner Jay Tejera see banking giants in the markets they cover, but find reason to be upbeat about the future of smaller banks and thrifts.

Their close-to-the-ground coverage has earned them kudos as the top analysts covering small regionals.

Mr. Crabtree's top picks this year have been Metropolitan Financial Corp., which Minneapolis-based First Bank System agreed to buy earlier this year, and TCF Financial, a retail-oriented thrift that has a strong No. 3 position in the Twin Cities.

While still recommending TCF, he believes takeover speculation is unwarranted because the thrift's emphasis on middle-to-low income customers generally turns off banks.

His top pick heading into 1995 is Firstar Corp., which Mr. Crabtree says could increase 50% without a takeover in the next year. "This is a good bank trading at a ridiculously low price," he said.

From the West Coast, Mr. Tejera is bullish on Washington Mutual Savings Bank and Sterling Financial Corp., both thrifts that he says stand out in a declining industry. He also likes several Rocky Mountain supercommunity banks, such as Vectra Banking.

Ironically, he says the major players in the Pacific Northwest were hurt more than they were helped by the deposit cap provision of the new interstate banking law.

A dominant player like Portland, Ore.-based U.S. Bancorp. was widely viewed as a takeout prize, but he says the new law changes that.

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