Mar. 8--Old National Bank was folded into U.S. Bank 20 years ago, but its former management team continues to accrue interest.

Witness the pending ascension of Phyllis Campbell to the chairmanship of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Pacific Northwest. She becomes the fourth ONB executive now heading a Northwest bank. The others are Pat Fahey, chairman and chief executive officer of Frontier Financial Corp. in Everett; D. Michael Jones, president and CEO of Banner Bank in Walla Walla; and Harold Gilkey, chairman and CEO of Sterling Financial Corp. in Spokane.

Campbell started her banking career at ONB in 1973, and remained there through its 1988 acquisition by U.S. Bank, where she soon became president of its Washington operations. She stepped down in 2001, and in 2003 moved to The Seattle Foundation as president.

That's where JPMorgan Chase found her.

"When I saw (the announcement), I thought, 'Wow, somebody really did their homework,' " said Dave Clack, who was chairman at ONB when Campbell started there.

Putting her in charge shows the importance New York-based JPMorgan, the nation's second-largest bank, places on its Northwest presence, he said.

Campbell, a graduate of Marycliff High School in Spokane and Washington State University, will preside over the relabeling and revitalization of Washington Mutual Bank operations in Washington, Idaho and Oregon. WaMu became a colossus under Chairman Kerry Killinger -- also a former Spokane banker -- but adopted some of the worst mortgage lending practices in the industry, and paid the price.

JPMorgan Chase purchased the franchise in September, but had done little since then to change the face of its branches, or its leadership.

Apparently, the bank was doing that homework, and convincing Campbell there was banking in her future as well as her past.

"I was not looking for this job. It came looking for me," Campbell said last week.

She said the opportunity to establish JPMorgan as a vital institution sensitive to the Northwest's unique culture convinced her to make the move, as did the chance to work with JPMorgan Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon.

"I've followed his career for many years," Campbell said.

Dimon said JPMorgan headhunters called a lot of people as it looked for new Northwest leadership. He called people himself, looking for the names of those who knew the region, its businesses, its charitable organizations and its governments.

"Her name was on top of that list," he said. "She can do a lot of great things."

That Campbell was a banker was a bonus, he said.