“It’s kind of nice to reconnect with old customers...I’ve worked with in the past,” he said.
During his break from Fifth Third, the father of two was president of Park National Bank’s affiliate in Cincinnati. He replaces Dave Melin, who Compton said left for a different position.
The Dayton region is part of Fifth Third Greater Cincinnati, whose head is Mike Michael. Michael said Compton’s role is an example of Fifth Third’s focus on local decision making.
“He certainly knew us and we of course knew him and we have a very high regard for him,” said Michael, president and chief executive officer of the bank’s Cincinnati region and formerly of Ohio Casualty Group of Hamilton.
Originally from West Carrollton, Compton, 49, has lived most of the past 22 years in Liberty Twp. The best part of his job in commercial lending is hearing stories of how companies started and how they’ve grown while he visits their offices and establishes relationships with the owners.
“The challenge for us really has just been this recession the past couple years,” Compton said.
If businesses see their sales decline and inventories pile up, they don’t need to borrow money. But at this point in the year, he said the economy feels better than it was the same time last year, just like it felt better in May 2010 than it did in 2009.
“I think we’re slowly starting to crawl our way out of it, but it’s going to be a challenge for a while,” he said. “The overall environment has been difficult and it’s just a lack of a lot of things.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2551 or clevingston@coxohio.com.
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