Lou Palestini? Scody Hage? Robert Adkins? Who’s your all-time favorite banker?

Well-groomed and affable, a good banker isn’t too hard to find, especially at the smaller banks where an uninvited visitor can still stroll into the president’s office and expect a friendly reception.

This is more difficult at some of the largest banks that have reduced staff so much that, one, you won’t recognize anyone still working there, and two, the harried branch manager, doing twice the duty of the managers who preceded her, is wound so tightly that her face might crack if she smiles too long. She is not the banker for you.

Brian Gowland? Stephen Wacknitz? Gary Cady?

A good banker is a friendly counselor who will admonish you when you first inquire about that small-business loan, “You wouldn’t start a road trip to an unknown place without a map, so go back and write that business plan and stop whining.”

Harvey Williamson? Tom Sefton? Jim Gregg?

“My all-time favorite banker is Tom Cisco, who was at Security Pacific Bank in the late 1960s when I applied for a loan to make an investment,” says attorney John Davies, who serves now on the board of Legacy Bank and on the UC Board of Regents. “Tom didn’t turn me down, but talked me out of the investment. He was right, because the investment turned out to be a disaster. That’s my idea of a great banker.”

Indeed, a good banker is a pro who’ll sometimes protect you from yourself, someone who’ll break for lunch with you and volunteer to review your lousy aging report, then kick your fanny over collections you gave up months ago. “That’s found money,” Seacoast Commerce Bank’s Lou Cumming would say. “Make those phone calls, kiddo!”

There are front-of-the-shop bankers who will glad-hand you, and back-of-the-house underwriters, who you’ll probably never meet, who’ll keep kicking back your application until she’s satisfied that every “i” is dotted and every “t” is crossed to regulators’ satisfaction.

So, who’s your all-time favorite banker? We just had to know.

“A.P. Giannini because he was a pioneer in his day,” says Frank Mercardante, a favorite banker himself among the borrowers of some $189 million from Southwest Community Bank based in Carlsbad.

Shortly after the 1906 earthquake and fires that devastated San Francisco, Giannini, the founder of Bank of America, “proved he was a man of his word by being there when people needed him. He set up a cart on the street, with a barrel full of cash, making loans to people who needed help. To me, that’s a true sign of someone helping the community.” Giannini especially irritated other bankers who wanted to remain closed while the city smoldered.

Southwest Community Bank, too, made emergency loans to victims of San Diego’s firestorms last year.

Getting a little more contemporary, the late Sid Fox, who ran the former Vista-based Southwest Bank, remains a favorite of Mercardante, CEO of Southwest Community Bank. “Sid was not only a sharp and astute banker but he was a dear friend,” says the protégé. “He made me a promise in 1972, when he hired me away from San Diego Trust & Savings Bank, to bring data processing in-house. ‘Why don’t you come on board and see if we should bring data processing in-house?’ The bank only had $50 million in deposits and that was considered too small to bring data processing in-house. He said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll teach you banking either way, whether we bring d.p. in-house or not.’”

Today, lots of bankers look to the new Southwest Community Bank and Mercardante for data processing. Southwest’s subsidiary, Financial Data Solutions Inc., provides data processing to financial institutions with combined assets of nearly $20 billion. FDSI expanded its client base 28 percent in 2003 alone.

“There are lots of good strong bankers out there,” Mercardante concludes. “Larry Willette and Dan Herde (now on the board of the new San Diego Trust Bank) and John Rebelo (former CEO of Peninsula Bank). Those names, to me, fill in the all-star list in San Diego.”

Oh, come on. Dave Bartram? William Ehlan? Judy Stewart? Rick Sanborn? Who’s your all-time favorite banker?

Evelyn Constantino

Evelyn Constantino, assistant vice president of small business banking at Union Bank of California, “is an extraordinary individual who matches her professional commitment to her job and her clients with her personal commitment to excellence,” says Ed Fahlen, senior vice president and manager of Union Bank’s main branch in Downtown San Diego. “She is extremely devoted to her job, her clients and her community. She is all about what we call success.”

Echoes Doron Mamo, president of Drip Research Technology Services, “Only when DRTS started working with Union Bank (did) we finally understand what it means to have a good banker, and her name is Evelyn Constantino. Evelyn provided us with a precious commodity not offered by our previous banks, a personal relationship.”

Now Constantino can hit Fahlen up for a raise.

Rod Calvao? Michael Maslak? Ron Martin? Linda Baughman?

“I first discovered San Diego County Credit Union through my employer and Christy Busarelos, our credit union representative,” recalls Kathy Loven, now a proud member of San Diego County CU. “Christy explained the benefits of refinancing my auto loan with the credit union. When I finally refinanced, I received a lower rate and a reduced monthly payment even after I added mechanical breakdown insurance. Christy visits our company several times each month, explaining credit union benefits, taking deposits and answering questions.”

Jeff Barger

When’s the last time your lender visited your office?

Bruce Ives? Frank Riolo? Sam Brown?

Washington Mutual’s Downtown San Diego branch manager Jeff Barger gets the nod from customer Donald Nussbaum. Barger “is a deal-maker, not a deal-breaker, the kind of banker that can push a rope up a tree,” says Nussbaum. Likewise, attorney Fritz Stocker says he “can walk in any time and talk with Jeff personally regarding any banking question. I always receive friendly, personal service.”

Boy, tough to top that. Score another for the big WaMu.

Deborah Boye

Eddie Campos, president of Precision Heating and Air Conditioning, says Deborah Boye, manager of the College Grove Washington Mutual office, handles all of his business and personal banking. He persuaded his 15 employees to ditch their former banks and open accounts with Boye’s branch, and convinced partners in another business to do likewise.

Dan Yates? Paul Rodeno? Jim Kelley?

Mike Lee is senior vice president and regional manager for 1st Pacific Bank of California and the favorite of Bob McRann, the “velvet voice” who used to run Cox Communications in San Diego. Says McRann of Lee, “He is always available to help entrepreneurs who need advice and counsel regarding funding and banking.”

Who’s your all-time favorite banker?

Mark Steele, president of the M.W. Steele Group architectural firm, prefers Doug Sawyer, the founding president of Legacy Bank. “There was a time when we had to go to a larger institution because our options were limited, but once Legacy Bank came on the scene, we quickly switched. Doug Sawyer personally took the time to get to know us, and it was like a breath of fresh air. Legacy gives us the same features you would expect with a larger bank, like online banking and bill payment, but goes miles ahead with service. They’ll even send a courier to pick up deposits, an important feature for us since we moved to East Village in San Diego.”

Mike Lee (photo/lambertphoto.com)

Of course, Union Bank still has an office in East Village.

Sandra Grove, president of the Grove Agency marketing firm, says, “My all-time favorite banker is Susan Roth, San Diego National Bank. Susan has been my banker since I opened my company in 1992. While I was a mere start-up, and she was a banker used to handling many large accounts, she provided an absolutely unbelievable level of service and valuable counsel to help me succeed. Susan was affiliated with another San Diego bank in 1992, and joined San Diego National Bank about two years ago. I immediately moved my accounts to her — and will continue to bank with her for as long as I am in business.”

Roth, who ran SDNB’s Carlsbad office, is now opening SDNB’s new Pacific Beach office.

Who’s your all-time favorite banker?

“Tom Cisco, who was at that time at Security Pacific Bank,” recalls Bob Witty, a retired editor. “The loan from Tom Cisco was my first business loan, more scary for me, if not for him, so that I could buy an interest in the San Diego Daily Transcript. A former banker, Keith Lister, the publisher at the time and my boss, co-signed the note, and everything worked out loverly. The Transcript succeeded, the bank loan was paid off and Tom Cisco’s banking acumen was validated once again.”

That’s two for Cisco, two for Barger and two for Constantino.

Last but not least:

“I’ve never had a dime in one of his banks nor have I ever had a loan, but my favorite banker in San Diego at this moment is Peter Q. Davis,” says newsman Tom Shess. “Now more than ever we need a formidable mayor, who will lead the city out of its current fiscal wilderness.”

We wonder who Mayor Murphy’s favorite banker is. We know who isn’t.

Who’s your all-time favorite banker? We’ll try this again down the road. Drop us an explanation at news@sandiegometro.com.