Print edition: 
Drayton Alldritt has spent most of his 26-year career in banking.
But he brings a couple of experiences that make him a bit different among his peers.
The 47-year-old president of Equity Bancshares, the $435 million holding company of Equity Bank, left the industry in 2003 for a leadership position at Vornado, the Andover-based maker of fans, heaters, humidifiers and air purifiers.
The Wichita East High graduate also logged time during one of the banking industry's most turbulent periods — before the current banking crisis — in the late 1980s to early 1990s.
It was at Fourth National Bank, later renamed Bank IV, that the father of four children ages 8 to 21 became intimately involved in the after-effects of the banking crisis.
"I was actually running our special assets department," Alldritt said. "That was where all the lousy loans were, and me and my group handled all the work-out credits and repossessed assets.
"And we had our share."
Alldritt started his career at Fourth National in 1984, a month after graduating Harvard University with a business and economics degree. He remained at the bank through its succession of mergers and acquisitions by Boatmen's Bank, NationsBank and Bank of America.
He left Bank of America in 1999 as senior vice president of commercial banking to become the Wichita market president for Hillcrest Bank.
He returned to banking in 2007 in his current position at Equity.
You left banking for a while and returned. What did you learn from this experience?
"The interesting part was all the variables that are in a business. In banking everything is a snapshot. You really don't see all the inner workings, things that happen every day in terms of running a company: How many things could go well, how many things get screwed up. And if I'd known all those things were going on behind the scenes when I was a banker it would have scared the life out of me."
What are your primary responsibilities at Equity Bancshares?
"Everybody in the bank asks that same question," he said, laughing. "We're still active in looking for M&A opportunities, and I would be the point person in that regard. Admittedly with the economy the way it is, there hasn't been a whole lot of activity there. We've looked at a lot of deals; they're mostly troubled deals. And to get it done would require a lot of capital, and it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense right now. My other primary function is I'm managing a portfolio of commercial customers and trying to do some new deals with them, trying to expand our relationship with those folks."
Why did you choose banking as your profession?
"My wedding was set for July. I was graduating in June. I needed a job and my first interview was with Fourth National and they proceeded to show an interest and make me an offer. And honestly, I just needed a position bad enough that I didn't think twice. It wasn't very well orchestrated; it just happened. But I have no regrets. It's worked out great for me."
What about your job brings you the most satisfaction?
"For the most part it's dealing with people. It's fun interacting and learning about new businesses and I enjoy the deal-making side of it, too, actually taking a deal, putting it together and closing it. I wouldn't call myself a deal junkie but I certainly enjoy working on transactions."
Why do you enjoy deals?
"I like puzzles. In some cases you're putting together a bunch of different pieces and making it into one. And there's some closure to it as well."
What has been the most challenging point or event in your career, and how did you address it?
"My memory's shot, so I can't go back too far. Last year, we made a run at a fairly large acquisition. I was actually on-site for four months. Everybody knew the bank was going to fail, it was just a matter of when, and so I was up there as kind of a goodwill ambassador but also to help get them to whatever point we needed to get them to. That was real challenging being out of town for four months and trying to put that deal together. We didn't get the deal, but we raised a tremendous amount of money to get the deal done. But we didn't get it for whatever reason."
You said that you think the next couple of years are going to be tough for local businesses. What makes you say that?
"I'm seeing stress in areas I hadn't anticipated. Unlike the cycle 20 years ago it seems like everybody's got an issue. Even in the worst times some people were still doing OK. But it seems like everything this time around is interconnected. And I haven't run into anybody who says things are going great. A lot of it's anecdotal, but it's there. I hope I'm wrong but...
Do you think the local economy is still deeply dependent on aviation?
"When somebody at Cessna gets laid off it's still a long string of potential catastrophes."
