Community Bank head expands services. (People).

CHARLES Jackson hopes his experience at large banks and financial services companies will help him make Community Bank grow - but not too much to lose sight of the smaller businessperson.

Jackson was recently hired as the Pasadena-based business bank's president and chief executive after a five-year stint as managing director of the Beverly Hills office of Lipper & Co. He said he plans to expand Community Bank's lending to companies with revenues of $100 million, currently from a cap of half that amount. But his real focus will be to implement portfolio consultation for 401K, IRA and personal investment plans.

"I want to keep that engine of the middle-market business banking going but also to expand to provide other financial services to our clients," said Jackson. "That's an area where I bring some expertise to the table and an area that's ripe for us. It's a small bank and it's lean. We don't have a lot of bureaucracy. Decisions are made relatively quickly and they are handled much more personally."

His other goal is to increase the bank's assets to $2 billion within a few years from the current $1.2 billion. Community Bank has 300 employees at its 14 banks in Los Angeles County - there are banks in Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, Huntington Park, Gardena and the City of Industry - as well as Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Jackson replaces Clint Arnoldus, who left after 3 1/2 years to become chief executive of the Central Pacific Bank in Honolulu.

Prior to Lipper, Jackson was executive director of the Mellon Financial Group, where he was responsible for all West Coast operations. He has also held senior management positions with Chase Manhattan Bank and Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust.

Jackson received a bachelor of science in foreign service from Georgetown University in 1967 and an M.B.A. in international business from George Washington University in 1973. He is married with two children.