 Within 18 months, Zuckerman described Payne as one of the banking industry's "rising stars" and as "an up-and-coming banking executive" in a January 21, 1993 article in The American Banker.The acquisitions of the 1990s engineered under Payne's stewardship received high marks from banking industry executives and observers.Westamerica avoided loan quality problems by focusing its acquisition targets among high-quality banks.