Spare change: Mississippi Turning Out Industry Honchos

For a state that doesn't wield much economic clout beyond its borders, Mississippi has produced some favorite sons with a lot of newfound political weight in the banking industry.

Three bankers from the state have risen to national prominence through recent appointments.

In addition to Joseph H. Neely 3d, who became a director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in January, Howard L. McMillan Jr. was president of the American Bankers Association last year, and William D. Sones is president-elect of the Independent Bankers Association of America.

Mr. Neely and Mr. Sones both come from small Mississippi banks, Merchants National Bank in Vicksburg and State Bank and Trust Co. in Brookhaven, respectively. Mr. McMillan is president of $5.6 billion-asset Deposit Guaranty Corp. in Jackson.

Sen. Trent Lott, the majority whip from Mississippi, has opened doors for at least some of these guys, observers said.

"In the same way that President Clinton knows all the bankers in Arkansas, I'm sure Sen. Lott knows all the prominent bankers in Mississippi," said Ken Guenther, executive director of the IBAA.

Mr. Guenther said there was no political influence, however, in the nominating process for the IBAA's president.

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A small eastern Maine community bank is putting the local flavor - blueberry - to good use.

For four years, Machias Savings Bank has been using the proceeds from the sale of prints of the local blueberry harvest and cookbooks to give scholarships to local high school students.

The $232 million-asset thrift had commissioned a local artist to do five paintings portraying life in eastern Maine, including one of the blueberry harvest. The other four depict the area's seacoast, logging tradition, a log drive on a river, and lobstering.

The paintings hang in Machias' main lobby, but it sells images of them in prints and postcards. The thrift also sells two cookbooks with recipes from employees.

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