His job is stitching up the rifts in busted thrifts.

• Position: Jay Thrash - People

Jay Thrash's specialty is treating the seemingly hopeless. "I try to stop the bleeding," he says. "Well, obviously, there is no way to stop it. I try to slow it down."

Thrash, 50, lives in Charlotte and works for Resolution Trust Corp., the agency Congress created in 1989 to dispose of failing savings and loans seized by the Office of Thrift Supervision. The RTC cans a thrift's board of directors and installs a manager, like Thrash, to whip it into decent enough shape to sell.

Thrash slashes high-cost deposits, writes down loans, cuts staff and tries to calm worried depositors. When RTC sells the thrift, he starts over at another. "I like challenges," he says, "and this is assuredly one of those."

RTC first sent him to Great Southern Federal Savings Bank in Savannah, Ga., in November 1989. When N.C. Federal Savings and Loan Association was taken over in March, he came home to Charlotte to run it. In May, when his counterpart at Heritage Federal Savings and Loan Association in Monroe had a heart attack, he found himself overseeing two thrifts.

Great Southern's deposits and some assets were sold in june to First Wachovia, and First Citizens bought the deposits of N.C. Federal and Heritage in September.

In October, Thrash was sent to resuscitate yet another ailing...