Usbn Chairman Resigns

William “Bud” Dashiell resigned as chairman of United Security Bancorporation Tuesday.

Analysts and officials of the Spokane-based bank holding company said the decision was expected, but a statement expressing disagreement with management was not.

“The changes that have taken place recently do not fit with my long-term goals for the company,” Dashiell commented in the company announcement of his departure.

Chad Galloway, vice president and chief financial officer for USBN, said officials took the unusual step of including Dashiell’s remarks out of deference to the individual who founded the company in Chewelah 25 years ago and helped it become the parent of five banks with total assets exceeding $500 million.

The company’s size may have exasperated the plain-spoken, hands-on Dashiell, Galloway said, noting, “He’s just not able to be in the middle of every decision.”

Dashiell, 60, had taken a less-active role in the bank in July 1998, when he retired. He could not be reached Tuesday for additional comment.

Galloway said Dashiell was instrumental in the selection of his successor, Keith Sattler, 55, an accountant based in Prosser, Wash.

Sattler has been a member of USBN’s board since 1993 and chairs the board of one subsidiary, Home Security Bank. He is also a director of the Sunnyside (Wash.) Housing Authority and treasurer and a director of the Lower (Yakima) Valley Holding Corp.

Galloway said Dashiell and Sattler have known each other since the 1960s.

Richard Emery, who will continue as chief executive officer, called Dashiell an “icon” in Eastern Washington’s banking industry.

“Under his leadership, United Security became well-known for its banking innovations and dedication to customer service,” he said in the bank’s release.

Beth Ruckwardt, an analyst with Pacific Crest in Portland, said the transition from Dashiell to Sattler should be smooth.

“I don’t see this as a negative at all,” she said.

Besides Home Security, USBN is the owner of Spokane-based United Security Bank, AmericanWest Bank of Walla Walla, Bank of Pullman and Grant National Bank of Ephrata.

Together, they operate 36 branches in Eastern and Central Washington and Idaho.