Interviewer: Laura Ek

Affiliation: University of Arizona

I was referred to Mr. Rusty Cloutier by Bill Bacque, whom I had an interview with the day before. President of MidSouth Bank (a local bank in Lafayette) he thought he would have something more to say on the economic history of the town. I called Mr. Cloutier, and he invited me to a presentation he was giving at the Petroleum Club. I attended the presentation, and later that day we had an interview.

Rusty Cloutier was born and grew up in Morgan City, Louisiana. He graduated high school and then went on to attend and graduate from the ULL. While in college (from 1966-1968) he worked for Gulf Oil as a dispatcher. He started MidSouth Bank in Lafayette with some friends in 1984 (officially opening in 1985) and became president, a position he still holds today. He recently wrote a book in May of 2009 titled “Big Bad Banks.”

In the interview, he discusses the economics of the 1970s and 1980s, the oil business and its relationship to the Lafayette community and in particular the hardships banks and their clientele faced in the 1980s downturn, and innovations and “Cajun ingenuity” to come out of Lafayette related to the industry. He shares his personal story of how he got into the banking business, how he got through the difficult times with a new bank in town, and the history of having a father who worked offshore for many years. He also shares his thoughts on the moratorium, the oil spill, and how he sees it affecting the Gulf Coast drilling industry.