Q&A: Tenn. Trade Group's President Stresses Common Interests of Banks,

R. Molitor Ford, the new president of the Tennessee Bankers Association, once quit banking to work on his family's cotton farm in eastern Arkansas. After a year and a half, however, the banking life called again; in 1983, Mr. Ford purchased a $98 million-asset bank in Paris, Tenn. He has been chairman and chief executive of Commercial Bank and Trust Co. ever since, building it to $170 million of assets and four branches in western Tennessee. Before his farming interlude, Mr. Ford worked for 18 years at $11 billion-asset First Tennessee National Corp. His experience at a big institution as well as a small one should serve him well as head of one of the few bank associations in the country that counts thrifts as well as banks among its members. The controversy over the bank and thrift insurance funds will be one topic challenging the association's cohesiveness this year.

Q.: Why take a job like this at a time like this?

FORD: The initial reason is because of the high esteem I held for the previous presidents. I saw what they contributed to the betterment of banking in Tennessee, and I am hoping to do the same.

Q.: What are the main issues for the association this year?

FORD: The real challenge will be to get all the bankers in Tennessee to speak with a unified voice and go to Washington with a singleness of purpose. We'll be looking mainly at expanded insurance powers, annuities, CRA reform.

Q.: What about the insurance fund issue?

FORD: We're looking forward to working on an equitable solution for both the thrifts and banks.

Q.: Would it be correct to say that out-of-state banks are more likely to branch into Tennessee than Tennessee banks are to branch out into other states?

FORD: We do have banks that are acquiring out of state, such as Union Planters. But yes, the spirit of your statement is correct. We're working to change that, though, by enhancing the Tennessee bank charter, by making it much more valid and attractive. That's what we're working on right now.

Q.: Is banking still an appealing profession? What is the association doing to attract the next generation of bankers?

FORD: We just endowed a chair at the University of Tennessee, and we have a very active young bankers program here. As far as the next generation, I think there are more SOBs (sons of bankers) out there than ever. My son, in fact, has just joined my bank. Banker salaries are up, and the various technological innovations make this a very attractive profession to young people.

Q.: Which banks are the most successful in Tennessee, and is there a common element behind their success?

FORD: The banks that are chartering a clear course and have a clear- sighted business plan that is logical are the ones that are the most successful. First Tennessee has done an outstanding job of expanding its fee income through mortgage service operations, for example, and the National Bank of Commerce is the premier supermarket bank.

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