James M. Fail

James M. Fail
Born(1926-03-28)March 28, 1926
Mobile, Alabama, US
DiedFebruary 26, 2010(2010-02-26) (aged 83)[1]
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, US
OccupationFinancial executive

James M. Fail (March 28, 1926 – February 26, 2010) was an American financial executive who served as chairman of Stone Holdings, Inc. and Bluebonnet Savings Bank. A native of Mobile, Alabama, he attended Murphy High School[2] and served for three years in the U.S. Navy.[3] After graduating from the University of Alabama in 1949, he began his career as a securities salesman for Merrill Lynch.[4] In the following decades, Fail and his holding companies have owned and operated a variety of investment, mortgage, banking, savings and loan, and insurance businesses throughout the U.S.[3]

Fail was thrust into public attention[5][6][7] in 1990, when the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee held hearings scrutinizing his business activities, in particular his acquisition of a federally funded thrift despite a prior indictment for fraud and the criminal conviction of his company.[8][9] More recently, he has been noted for a variety of philanthropic and community leadership efforts.[2][3][4][10]

  1. ^ "JAMES M. FAIL Obituary: View JAMES FAIL's Obituary by New York Times". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  2. ^ a b "Philanthropist James Fail endows principal cello chair" (Press release). Mobile Symphony. 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  3. ^ a b c "Bryant–Denny Stadium Visitors Locker Room Named for James M. Fail". University of Alabama Athletics News (Press release). 2008-12-15. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  4. ^ a b Stone Advisors (2005). "James M. Fail, Advisory Board Director". Retrieved 2008-12-15.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ Gerth, Jeff (1990-08-07). "Savings Deal Questioned By Senators". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
  6. ^ "Senator Questions S&L Sale; Metzenbaum Asks Role of Ex-Bush Aide". The Washington Post. 2008-07-10. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  7. ^ Grabow, John C. (1990-12-01). "The Byzantine ways of a congressional investigation". Mortgage Banking. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  8. ^ Lowy, Martin E. (1991). High Rollers: Inside the Savings and Loan Debacle. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 204, 207–209. ISBN 0-275-93988-X.
  9. ^ Kitty Calavita; Henry N. Pontell; Robert Tillman (1999). Big Money Crime: Fraud and Politics in the Savings and Loan Crisis. University of California Press. pp. 119–120. ISBN 0-520-21947-3.
  10. ^ "BSC Catalog". Birmingham-Southern College. 2004. Archived from the original on 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2008-12-18.