OmniAmerican’s Larry Duckworth Dies

FORT WORTH, Texas – Larry Duckworth, who went from revered to reviled among credit unions when he decided to convert OmniAmerican CU to mutual savings bank, died here Thursday morning. Duckworth, 59, had suffered a heart attack last year and was recovering from heart surgery last month. Duckworth, who went to work at OmniAmerican in 1986 and became CEO in 1990, was well-respected as an innovator as he built the institution to be one of the biggest in Texas, with over $1.4 billion in assets. But Duckworth and the credit union became the focus of much criticism when they, along with nearby credit union giant Community CU, converted to a mutual savings bank in 2005. The institution, now known as OmniAmerican Bank, is expected to file for an initial public offering of stock any day.