Butler Lumber Company

9-292-013

REV: JANUARY 4, 2002

Butler Lumber Company

After a rapid growth in its business during recent years, the Butler Lumber Company in the

spring of 1991 anticipated a further substantial increase in sales. Despite good profits, the company

had experienced a shortage of cash and had found it necessary to increase its borrowing from the

Suburban National Bank to $247,000 in the spring of 1991. The maximum loan that Suburban

National would make to any one borrower was $250,000, and Butler had been able to stay within this

limit only by relying very heavily on trade credit. In addition, Suburban was now asking that Butler

secure the loan with its real property. Mark Butler, sole owner and president of the Butler Lumber

Company, was therefore looking elsewhere for a new banking relationship where he would be able to

negotiate a larger and unsecured loan.

Butler had recently been introduced by a friend to George Dodge, an officer of a much larger

bank, the Northrop National Bank. The two men had tentatively discussed the possibility that the

Northrop Bank might extend a line of credit to Butler Lumber up to a maximum amount of $465,000.

Butler thought that a loan of this size would more than meet his foreseeable needs, but he was eager

for the flexibility that a line of credit of this size would provide. After this discussion, Dodge had

arranged for the credit department of the Northrop National Bank to investigate Mark Butler and his

company.

The Butler Lumber Company had been founded in 1981 as a partnership by Mark Butler and his

brother-in-law, Henry Stark. In 1988 Butler bought out Stark’s interest for $105,000 and incorporated

the business. Stark had taken a note for $105,000, to be paid off in 1989, to give Butler time to arrange

for the financing necessary to make the payment of $105,000 to him. The major portion of the funds

needed for this payment was raised by a loan of $70,000, negotiated in late 1988. This loan was

secured by...