New York Times profiles MidSouth’s Cloutier

Rusty Cloutier, MidSouth Bank president and CEO, received more national exposure in a New York Times Sunday magazine profile. The profile looked at Cloutier’s efforts to get the word out that MidSouth wanted to loan money to small businesses. Cloutier spent much of the spring holding community forums across south Louisiana, and MidSouth bought billboards announcing the Lafayette-based bank had $200 million it wanted to lend. “We are doing everything we can to gin up demand for loans,” Cloutier told the magazine. “But trying to make a loan today is like trying to feed my 7-month-old grandson green peas.” This is the latest bit of national attention for Cloutier, who testified before Congress twice this spring and has been an advocate for community banks in the face of the current economic crisis. Read the profile here.