MBNA founder Charles M. Cawley dies at 74

Charles Cawley, who founded and built MBNA into a credit card giant and who donated millions to philanthropic causes in Delaware and beyond, died Wednesday morning. He was 74.

Cawley died at his family's home in Camden, Maine. A cause of death was not immediately available.

He is survived by his wife Julie, son Michael, daughter Maureen Rhodes and four grandchildren.

"This extraordinary man touched the lives of countless thousands of people who worked in the company he built, lived in communities he supported, studied in schools he sustained or simply came into his life in need of guidance and generosity," said a statement issued on behalf of the family by Cawley's son-in-law, Michael Rhodes.

Born in Massachusetts and raised in New Jersey, Cawley transformed Maryland National Bank's small credit card unit into a multi-national corporation that grew to become Delaware's largest private employer before it was sold to Bank of America in 2006 for $36 billion.

Delaware political and business leaders on Wednesday praised Cawley for contributions to the state's reputation for financial services along with his charitable endeavors. Gov. Jack Markell called him a "pioneer" in the financial services industry.

"Charlie Cawley ... played a significant role in creating the banking industry in Delaware," Markell said. "His success also provided him with the opportunity to give back to the community through his tremendous philanthropic support. I'm sorry to hear of his passing but hope family and friends will find peace in knowing so many others have benefited from his life's work."

Former MBNA Executive Vice Chairman Lance Weaver, who worked with Cawley to take MBNA public in 1991, said the death is a loss for the entire state.

"It's a sad day for Delaware," he said.

Fostering a company culture

A graduate of Georgetown University, Cawley got his start in consumer credit in 1972 when he was hired to run Maryland National Bank's credit card unit in Baltimore. The bank in 1982 moved the unit to Delaware to take advantage of the strong economic incentives the state offered to banks and credit card companies. The relocation came a year after Delaware eliminated its cap on the interest rates that lenders could charge, triggering a wave of financial institutions establishing a presence in the state.

Cawley's credit card unit began in a vacant A&P store in Ogletown and by 1985 employed 600 and had loans totaling $1 billion. Two years later, the unit had 1,000 workers and $2 billion in loans. In 1991, MBNA separated from Maryland National Bank and became an independent company.

Shane Flynn, the former senior vice chairman of MBNA, had known Cawley since 1988. The two worked together to spin off MBNA into a publicly traded company.

“I think he is one of the most brilliant visionaries coming out of the latter half of the 20th century,” Flynn said. “A brilliant leader with a capacity to get to know people.”

Flynn recalled working with Cawley in late 1990 as the company prepared for its IPO, set to hit the market the following year. He said it was a difficult time for a credit card company to consider becoming publicly traded amid a global banking crisis and the 1989 savings and loan scandal. The first Iraqi war had just started, fueling more uncertainty in the worldwide economy.

Cawley guided the challenging negotiation process, and laid the groundwork for future success of the company, he said.

"The timing was difficult, but the IPO was brilliantly successful," he said. "It marked the first time a stand-alone credit card company had been put up for an IPO."

By that time, MBNA had thousands of workers who tracked an increased customer base. In the early 1990s, MBNA's loan portfolio totaled $82.1 billion, making it the third-largest U.S.-based credit card bank.

Its growth was fueled by so-called affinity cards. The cards were emblazoned with the logo of a beloved alma mater or favorite sports team. Even labor unions endorsed the cards and lent their logos.

The company moved downtown in 1995 and within a decade built six new buildings in the city, then bought the former Daniel L. Herrman Courthouse on Rodney Square. By the early 2000s, the firm had displaced DuPont as the state's largest private employer and by 2006 occupied 1.3 million square feet of space in Wilmington – almost 10 percent of the office space in downtown.

It also gained a developed a reputation for employee perks and positions that paid above the industry average. Senior executives were paid well into the six figures while part-time call center jobs paid as much as $30,000.

Bill Fasano, of Newark, said his first job was at MBNA as a part-time telemarketer while he was in high school and college. That later blossomed into a full-time position in the credit card issuer's fraud section. He recalled Cawley as being very concerned about MBNA's employees.

"He would always ask you what he could do to make your job better," Fasano said. "He really came across as being interested in you as a person and what you thought about where you worked."

In a 2004 interview with The News Journal, Cawley said he was proud of the company culture he fostered.

"There's nothing I'm ashamed or embarrassed about at this company," he said. "Everyone can do things better, but I can't really think of too many things that the company and all of its people have done in any way that I'm not proud to be associated with."

George Gould, of Waldoboro, Maine, began working for Cawley as a security guard when MBNA opened a call center in Camden, Maine. Gould said the executive's commitment to his employees and generosity was most evident at the MBNA Christmas party. He recalled how the company paid movers to transform cubicles into Christmas palaces for the worker's children.

"The Christmas parties were fantastic and he had gifts for everyone," Gould said. "He didn't have to do all that, but he did it."

Gould said Cawley's generosity extended beyond just the holidays.

"The atmosphere he brought to the whole area lifted everyone up," Gould said. "Everyone felt they knew him because he wanted to know everyone in the company. Each one of us was very important to him."

Fasano said Cawley's focus also remained on the employees regardless of how dominant MBNA became.

"It was a really encouraging environment where employees were treated just as well as their customers and clients," he said. "Cawley wasn't a standoffish leader who talked about spreadsheets. He really focused on people and that struck me."

Another passion was Cawley's antique car collection. He loved antiques so much, he hung paintings of vintage Duesenberg automobiles in MBNA's lobby.

Paul Calistro Jr., executive director of Wilmington nonprofit organization West End Neighborhood House, a frequent recipient of Cawley's charity work, saw his passion for automobiles at events the banking executive would throw for charitable volunteers.

"He was not real comfortable in big crowds, but he took some of us to look at his collection of cast iron cars," Calistro said. "He was smiling from ear-to-ear showing this big collection of cars. There was a little boy in him."

Cawley retired in 2003 as president and chief executive officer, and he and his wife Julie split their time between homes in Wilmington's Westover Hills neighborhood, Florida and Maine. They donated to numerous charities and causes, focusing largely on education, health care and the arts.

Rich Heffron, president of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, said Cawley was a Delaware success story.

"Charles Cawley took a small company that was started in a former A&P and built it into a financial giant that is now part of Bank of America," said Heffron. "MBNA and DuPont were Delaware at one time."

Bank of America Deal 

At the time of the Bank of America acquisition, MBNA had issued cards to 50 million customers, including 5 million who owned cards proudly displaying their allegiance to a favorite NFL team. The company had 10,500 Delaware employees, some of whom lost their jobs in the merger.

The deal was cobbled together in about a week after MBNA officials met with Bank of America executives to measure their interest. Days prior to that June 2005 meeting, the public became aware of the discussions when a helicopter carrying MBNA president and CEO Bruce Hammonds and Vice Chairman Frank D. Bramble Sr. crashed into the East River near New York City. All of the passengers survived and Hammond revealed the duo was meeting to discuss MBNA's future.

The transaction made Bank of America the nation's largest issuer of credit cards.

Tony Allen, head of corporate communications for Bank of America's Consumer Banking and Business Banking divisions in Delaware, said Cawley was a visionary. Allen also sits on the University of Delaware Board of Trustees, a panel that Cawley served on from 1994 to 2006. Cawley and MBNA also donated extensively to UD over the years.

"Charlie Cawley was MBNA," Allen said. "With his vision and his leadership, both in his company and his community, he made an indelible mark in the lives of everyone he touched. We are fortunate to have that legacy as part of Bank of America today. Thank you, Charlie."

Luminaries throughout Delaware reacted with grief as news of Cawley's death circulated throughout the state.

U.S. Sen. Tom Carper said Cawley will be remembered for creating a culture within MBNA of giving back to charities.

"MBNA, more than any other bank I've known, was dedicated to giving back and contributing to worthy causes that improved our community, and the lives of the 'least of these' in our society," he said in a statement. "Charlie may be gone, but he has left a legacy and set an example that we will all remember."

U.S. Sen. Chris Coons echoed similar sentiments.

"Charlie was a capable and talented business leader who gave back to Delaware and made an enormous difference in our community," Coons said in a statement. "He will be remembered as much for his tremendous success in business as for his big heart and tireless support in our community. Annie and I extend Julie and the entire Cawley family our thoughts and prayers."

Nancy Targett, who is the acting president of the University of Delaware, remembered Cawley as both a trustee and a supporter of of the school's business program. Cawley organized a $20 million gift from the MBNA Foundation in memory of the bank's former chairman and CEO, Alfred Lerner.

"Many UD alumni started their careers at MBNA and continue to work in the financial services industry, thanks to the close partnership between Charlie and UD," she said in a statement. "He understood the value of education both to students and to the larger community in which they would  live and work."

Funeral services are scheduled on Saturday at the Lady of Good Hope Church in Camden, Maine. Burpee, Carpenter and Hutchins Funeral Home in Rockland, Maine, is handing the arrangements.

Contact Jeff Mordock at (302) 324-2786, on Twitter @JeffMordockTNJ or jmordock@delawareonline.com.