P.M. BRIEFING : 1st Bank Taps Fargo Executive
MINNEAPOLIS — Wells Fargo Bank’s top Southern California executive, John F. Grundhofer, today was named chairman, president and chief executive officer of First Bank System, a $20-billion Minneapolis lending institution beset with trouble in the last two years.
Darrell G. Knudson, who had been leading First Bank during the search for a replacement for D. H. Ankeny, will remain vice president and a director, the company said. Knudson had been a candidate for the top job.
Ankeny resigned under pressure in mid-September after announcing a restructuring plan that would cost up to $40 million, reduce assets by $2 billion and cut the bank’s 9,000-member work force by 15% to 20%.
Grundhofer was vice chairman and senior executive officer for Southern California at San Francisco-based Wells Fargo.
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