In Brief: CEO at Oregon's West Coast Bancorp Quits

The president and chief executive of Oregon's largest bank company abruptly stepped down last week, citing personal reasons.

Victor L. Bartruff also resigned from the board of $1.3 billion-asset West Coast Bancorp but said he will stay on as an adviser for several months.

Chief operating officer Ronald T. Delude has been named interim president and CEO.

Mr. Bartruff, 51, offered no single reason for leaving but said that the job had been more "fulfilling" when West Coast was smaller.

"At a smaller company, you could do something and you would see immediate results," he said.

A longtime executive of U.S. Bancorp, Mr. Bartruff joined West Coast's predecessor, Bank of Newport (Ore.), in 1991. West Coast Bancorp was formed in 1995 when the Newport bank merged with the Commercial Bank in Salem, Ore. The company later bought two other banks.

Late last year, it went through a restructuring in which it combined its four banks under the name West Coast Bank. The move, which will ultimately cost about 100 jobs, is expected to save West Coast about $6 million a year.

One observer said the restructuring took its toll on Mr. Bartruff.

"Cutting jobs is never easy, and he took it personally," said Robert J. Rogowski, a principal at Columbia Financial Advisors in Seattle. "He is more of a community banker than a regional banker."

Mr. Bartruff said he has made no decision about what he will do next but said it is likely he will remain in banking. Though he plans to take some time off, he said, he is not ready to retire.

"I'm going to have to do something," he said.

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