Banker's banker.

Mark Mullinix Heads the L.A. Branch Of the Federal Reserve - But Don't Blame Him for High Interest Rates

As one of 25 Federal Reserve Bank branch managers nationwide, Mark Mullinix is the banker for L.A. bankers. Mullinix heads up the L.A. branch of the Federal Reserve Bank, which is one of four branches under the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He previously managed the Fed's Oklahoma City branch.

The Federal Reserve of San Francisco is one of 12 lead branches of the Fed, whose managers meet regularly to discuss and adjust interest rates.

The L.A. branch of the Fed oversees Southern California, Arizona and Southern Nevada an area that includes 1,200 financial institutions.

Contrary to popular perception, the Fed is not only a regulatory body but is a provider of services to financial institutions nationwide. Those institutions use the Fed the same way individual consumers use their own banks.

Services provided by the L.A. branch of the Fed include check clearing, electronic money transfers, and other account services for financial institutions in its service area. Like any service provider, the local Fed branch constantly modifies and updates its products to meet the changing needs of its customers.

It also provides cash storage services in its large underground vault in downtown. Mullinix would not disclose how much cash is stored there, except to say "it begins with a 'b' and ends with an 's.'"

Q: How do people react when you go to parties and they hear you're a branch manager for the Fed?

A: They always complain about interest rates if they feel like they should complain. When rates are low, senior citizens complain to me that they ought to be higher. So it's always a topic, but it's always one that people think I can do something about.

Q: Can you?

A: No. I spend a lot of time trying to explain (to people who think I have a say in interest rates) how input to monetary policy works, even though part of my business, which is the financial services side, is not tied directly to how the Fed conducts its monetary policy.

Q: Have you ever met Greenspan? What's your impression of him?

A: I've met him a couple of times. I would characterize him - from the little bit I've seen as a pretty thoughtful individual. He's pretty quiet. He's as consistent among Fed colleagues as when you see him testify or read interviews in the paper.

Q: How do cultures within the banking industry and at the Fed differ between L.A. and the Midwest?

A: It's very progressive here on the West Coast. A lot of our community bankers, the big banks, our credit unions are very forward in their thinking about products and services. They are all trying to be more efficient and productive.

What I've also noticed as a significant difference between the two areas of the country is that there's a lot more open communication between the Fed and our customers (financial institutions) about what they want us to do in terms of product and service offerings here on the West Coast than there was in the Midwest.

Q: When did you start your current position, and what do you do as the Fed's L.A. branch manager?

A: I started in July of 1996. I'm responsible for the financial services that we provide here at the branch to depository institutions - our customers. Our customers are other banks, credit unions, savings and loans.

Q: What are your aspirations? I understand the 12 lead branches do not have branch managers, as such, but have more traditional corporate titles. Do you aspire to be named chief executive officer of one of the 12 lead branches?

A: One of the really fun things about being in Los Angeles is that even though this is a branch of the bank of San Francisco, it is the second largest Federal Reserve operation in the country, in terms of volume of transactions. We're second only to New York.

This is a very fun and challenging assignment for me because it doesn't get any bigger than here (other than New York). The next possible assignment - and I haven't given a lot of thought to it - would be as a chief operating officer (second in command after the CEO) at one of the 12 banks. And right now I'm quite satisfied with trying to learn what's going on with our branch here - learning our customer base.

Q: So you're here for the foreseeable future?

A: Uh huh. And I like California. I like Southern California. San Francisco's OK too, but I like Southern California.

Q: So if I were to offer you the job as San Francisco branch manager, you'd say no?

A: Well, that's right. I'd say no.

Q: Would you ever consider the private sector?

A: That's a tricky question.

Q: There must be a lot more money in the private sector.

A: I think there's a lot of work that remains in the Federal Reserve that's interesting and challenging, and I don't foresee my attention being drawn away from that anytime soon.

Q: You were in the Marine Corps for eight years. How did you end up there?

A: That's one of those family deals where probably at age five I knew I was going to go into the Marine Corps, and I never swayed from that idea until I actually was in and decided to get out. My father, his brother and his father had served, and it was maybe a family tradition. So I grew up knowing that's what I was going to do.

So that's what I did, with the promise to myself that when it stopped being fun or I thought I should do something else I would quit.

Q: What made it stop being fun?

A: It was very clearly a quality-of-life issue. I was married the entire time. We didn't have children yet, but one of the things you buy into if you're into that line of work is that it's pretty rigorous on a family situation.

If you're with operating forces, you're gone frequently. I was stationed in Camp Pendleton for four and a half years, and I think we counted in that time I was home about nine months.

So at about age 30, I decided that I probably ought to do something else. I thought, "What do I do?" and I went to work in my hometown of Kansas City for the Federal Reserve.

Q: Do you view your current job as public service?

A: Yes, I think the Federal Reserve is very much along that vein, because we're an interesting company in that we serve both private sector but also the Treasury. There's a duality there that makes it an interesting place to work.

Mark Mullinix

Organization: L.A. Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Position: Branch manager

Born: Leavenworth, Kansas, 1955

Education: University of Kansas, bachelor of arts degree; Wisconsin Graduate School of Banking, graduate degree

Career Turning Point: Being named branch manager of the Oklahoma City branch of the Federal Reserve Bank in 1994.

Hobbies: Fishing and other outdoor activities

Personal: Married, two children