Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods, Inc., Newsletter, September 18, 2003

In 2001, John became Chief Credit Officer and Executive Vice President of Commercial Banking at City National Bank of West Virginia, a $2 billion asset bank holding company based in Charleston, WV.  Two years later, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. wrote in its newsletter of September 18, 2003, “City has undergone a remarkable turnaround that has pushed the company’s stock up over 600%, from a low of near $5.00 to a high of over $35.00. …City hired a new management team, sold off a gaggle of inefficient, non-core businesses, and cleaned-out the loan portfolio-ultimately, refocusing the bank on its core business of community banking in West Virginia... City’s assertive actions around credit have solidified asset quality despite a struggling economy.”

Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. Equity Research, Nov. 20, 2003
City Holding Company (CHCO)
“…in 2002, new Chief Credit Officer John Loeber would perform an extreme makeover on City’s nonperforming assets…City’s level of NPAs is now much lower than the peer group.”

Article about First National Bank & Trust, Kokomo, IN by Peter Weisz, August 2005
“One of the biggest bangs was heard when Loeber began commandeering the bank’s lending activities.…Starting with the assumption that all information contained in the loan files was bogus or incomplete, Loeber re-evaluated the loans according to his stringent standards and assigned a new, more meaningful rating to each one.  Steering clear of the wishful thinking and outright denial that characterize many lending environments, Loeber implemented a tough, but realistic, strategy for each outstanding loan.”

Article about City National Bank of West Virginia by Susan F. Matthews, 2002.
“My approach is practical, commonsense and functional,” he (Loeber) said.  “We came to a quick resolution on our bad debt.  Plus, the organization was far too complex.  We made it simple.”  Simple means a strong team with the best employees who are well trained….Loeber is a man of action who takes pride in results.  “Every day I need to believe that I’ve done something to make the bank better.  No one has ever turned around a $2 billion bank in one year.  There’s not a single switch you can throw.  Time is never on your side.  You’ve got to be quick.  We do in 10 seconds what might take others days.