Big-bank veteran finds small one isn't slow lane.

Life at a small bank doesn't leave much more time for drawing than it did at a bigger institution.

That's what Jean L Tardy-Vallernaud, executive vice president at $300 million-asset Mercantile National Bank in Los Angeles, is finding out.

Mr. Tardy-Vallernaud, who had held executive posts at Banker's Trust New York Corp. and FirSt Interstate Bancorp, joined the bank six months ago as executive vice president in charge of private banking international, financial services, and consumer banking. And he has found little time for his hobby - drawing - other than to squeeze in a Tuesday night class and quick sketches between flights.

He says he wouldn't have it any other way.

The 48-year-old banker said he thought hard about the future of banking in the year he spent consulting after the international private banking division he had overseen for First Interstate was sold. He determined that big banks will continue to consolidate, medium-size banks without a niche market will have trouble surviving, and small banks with good niches will prosper.

He looked for a job like the one he had at First Interstate, where his division was encouraged to be entrepreneurial. "I wasn't quite sure that as large banks continue to restructure, another opportunity like that would be available."

While a consultant to Mercantile, Mr. Tardy-Vallernaud said, he was able to judge the bank firsthand. He found that it had overcome loan problems.

Entertainment Niche

Equally important to Mr. Tardy-Vallernaud was that the bank had identified a niche - catering to entertainers and their intermediaries - as well as serving midsize businesses.

With its main office and only branch in Century City, the bank is positioned among entertainers and their lawyers and accountants, Mr. Tardy-Valleruaud said. For instance, he said, an estimated 800 entertainment lawyers are concentrated within an eight-block sector of Century City.

Mr. Tardy-Vallernaud is helping with plans to bring in professional relationship managers to help the bank build on its reputation for service. Compared with the downtown Los Angeles banks that focus on the large corporations surrounding them, Mercantile officers can be more accessible and accommodating to the needs of individual clients, he said.

New Challenges

Though he had broad responsibilities at the larger banks, he faces new challenges at Mercantile. Wednesday morning, for instance, he experienced a Community Reinvestment Act meeting.

As he has settled into the new role, the doubts that he could adapt are lessening, and he's enjoying a new appreciation for work at a smaller institution. "It's an absolutely invaluable learning experience if you want to become a better banker and manager," he said. "I see the results [of actions] right away." Mr. Moore is a freelance writer based in Vassalboro, Maine.

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