re: Cloutiers out at Midsouth

I don't know any inside information although there were many interesting things in the article. Rusty authored a book about the bank system flaws and spoke in front of Congress. My company's bank rep recently complained about the system also, including the part about too few banks and that we are destined to repeat 2008.

It also mentioned that investors were not happy about so many energy loans. I'm somewhat aware that many o&g companies have bad loans from before the oil price drop. Also, that banks are basically gambling the deposits of John Doe for investment banking purposes (such as loans that could be risky if a bubble emerges - such as in oil & gas).

Being a regional bank in that area, 20% loans to oil & gas doesn't seem excessive although maybe Cloutier should have been more aware of the risk given his knowledge of both banking and the oil & gas market.

Or maybe it's more of company politics that led to the force out. I only know enough about the banking industry to feel a bit uneasy about it's future.