Bank boss took on burden of losses

One day after Exchange Bank announced the surprise departure of its top executive, few answers emerged about what led CEO J. Barrie Graham to resign his post.

Graham, only the sixth president in the history of the 118-year-old bank, resigned Monday morning, left the bank afterward and has not returned. Later that day, Graham called a circle of friends to tell them of his resignation.

Ross Liscum, a longtime friend and fellow Marine Corps veteran, said Graham took responsibility for the bank's recent losses in a telephone conversation Monday night. The bank reported $3.1 million in losses for the second quarter, largely because of defaults on construction loans as the housing downturn worsened.

"He basically said he was at the helm and the market was way off and he's the one responsible and he made a decision to move forward," said Liscum, co-owner of Prudential California Realty offices in Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park.

"He just said that he basically had resigned, that he had other things that he was going to do," Liscum said. "Regardless of what happened behind closed doors, he was very much on the high road."

Graham did not return phone calls or e-mails seeking comment Wednesday, nor did Exchange Bank Chairman C. William Reinking, who stepped in Monday as CEO in the wake of Graham's departure.

In a brief statement Tuesday, Graham did not give a reason for his resignation, saying "it's time to move on to pursue other interests."

In 14 years at Exchange Bank, Graham rose from head of branch banking and business development to president and CEO. He became the face of Sonoma County's oldest and largest commercial bank, volunteering in leadership positions on more than a half-dozen nonprofit groups.

Community leaders who worked with Graham were stunned by his abrupt resignation and were left searching for reasons.

"That was a huge shock and amazement for many of us," said Kay M. Marquet, president and CEO for Community Foundation Sonoma County.

Graham serves on the investment advisory committee for the foundation, which makes grants from earnings on $150 million in assets supported by donations. He previously was chairman of the foundation's board.

"Barrie Graham has contributed generously to numerous organizations in his professional and personal life. He's a very smart man and he really cares a lot about people and the community," Marquet said.

Graham led United Way of Sonoma County from 1979 to 1985. He also served on the board of Empire College, Canine Companions for Independence and Santa Rosa Main Street, according to a biography issued by the bank.

Liscum, who served with Graham on the Veterans Memorial Monument Committee, described his friend as "genuine, honorable (and) tenacious." Just over a week ago, Graham was the first on the committee to hand in his batch of thank-you notes for supporters of the new memorial, said Liscum, the committee's chairman.

"That's the way Barrie was. He had an assignment and he did it," Liscum said.

You can reach Staff Writer Michael Coit at 521-5470 or mike.coit@pressdemocrat.com.