Mr Abess (centre) never wanted to make a big deal out of his largesse; he didn't even show up at the bank when the envelopes were distributed in November. -- PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI - AT A time when bankers are being pilloried on Capitol Hill as heartless and greedy, Leonard Abess Jr stands apart.
'It's so unbelievable. I think it has to be the best feel-good story of the year. Don't you? When a man shares that much, $60 million. The fact that he could even do it or thought about it,' she said. 'There are people that get money that don't do a thing.
It's theirs, you know? I think it was a wonderful thing.' - Joyce Andrews, 75, who has spent 57 years at City National, including a stint working as a secretary for Abess' father. She has known Abess since he was a toddler.
'He's a brilliant banker, which I think is obvious because of how well the bank has done all these years. And, obviously, a very generous man.' - Ginger Nunn, a managing senior vice president.
'He can not only set an example for other bankers but for any businessperson.'
After selling his bank for a fortune last fall, he quietly handed out US$60 million (S$90 million) in bonuses from his own pocket - and not just to top executives. In all, 471 employees and retirees, including tellers, clerks and secretaries, were rewarded, receiving an average of about US$127,000 each.
'I think everybody was surprised. But knowing Leonard, the type of person he is, I can believe him giving it away,' said retiree William Perry, who spent 43 years at City National Bank of Florida, rising from janitor to vice president. Perry, 78, got US$50,000, which he is using to help his son pay for law school.
For his generosity and humility, Mr Abess was singled out for praise by President Barack Obama in his congressional address on Tuesday.
Mr Abess attended as Obama's guest.
Mr Abess, 60, did not return several calls for comment on Wednesday. He never wanted to make a big deal out of his largesse; he didn't even show up at the bank when the envelopes were distributed in November.
It wasn't until he mentioned the bonuses in a recent interview with The Miami Herald that they became publicly known.
Mr Abess' father founded the bank in 1946 and he began his career in the print shop, working his way up the corporate ladder. His family sold the bank in the early 1980s to an investment group, which in turn sold it to a Colombian coffee magnate. When the magnate was convicted of fraud, Mr Abess bought a majority stake out of bankruptcy in 1985 for US$21 million, all of it borrowed, and then acquired the rest for US$6 million.
The bank, under his ownership, grew from US$400 million in assets and seven offices to US$2.75 billion in assets and 18 offices.
While other bank CEOs passed out million-dollar bonuses to their cronies as their institutions failed, Mr Abess kept City National profitable and received no money from the federal bank bailout. When he sold an 83 per cent stake to a Spanish bank for US$927 million, he decided to share the bounty with his 399 employees and 72 retirees.
'Those people who joined me and stayed with me at the bank with no promise of equity, I always thought someday I'm going to surprise them,' he told the Herald. 'I sure as heck don't need' the money.
Mr Abess, who remains the bank's chairman and chief executive, made a video telling the employees a bonus would be coming with the sale and assuring them it wasn't severance. A vice-president, Linda Naughton, contacted some retirees and told them they would be getting a letter from Mr Abess and should 'sit down before they opened it.' -- AP
