American Banker back issues from December 1994:
Check fraud rose 136% over two years, ABA finds. (American Bankers Association report)
Dec 01, 1994; ... WASHINGTON -- Check fraud at banks is soaring as counterfeiters enter the computer age. The American Bankers Association reported Wednesday that check fraud swelled by 136% in the two years through 1993, to 1.27 million cases. Bank losses from check fraud jumped 43% ...
Trio to back Union Pacific in merger with Santa Fe. (3 banks to lead financing for Union Pacific Corp. acquisition of Santa Fe Pacific Corp.)
Dec 01, 1994; ... Citibank, NationsBank, and Credit Suisse have snared the lead roles in a $2 billion loan to Union Pacific Corp. for its proposed acquisition of Santa Fe Pacific Corp. Union Pacific has made a $3.2 billion bid for the company, which will be paid for with 57% cash and 43% stock ....
Banks pitch in by extending cash lines to ball clubs strapped for cash by strike. (Major League Baseball player's strike)
Dec 01, 1994; ... Now that baseball's main sources of cash flow have been wiped out by the players' strike, banks are coming in to pinch hit. Millions of dollars in anticipated ticket and television revenue from pennant races and postseason play evaporated when the national pastime ground to a ...
Greenspan says banks should base loan rates on level of credit risk. (Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan)
Dec 01, 1994; ... WASHINGTON -- Banks should vary loan rates with the credit risk posed by a borrower, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan said Tuesday. "The majority of banks are playing a losing game with their current and potential competitors by employing only one interest rate per ...
OCC to cut exam fees 6% next year, hints at additional price cuts in '96. (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) (Brief Article)
Dec 01, 1994; ... WASHINGTON -- The Comptroller of the Currency is lowering its exam fees by 6% next year and dropping plans to hike fees to cover inflation. Together the moves are expected to save national banks $30 million in 1995. Comptroller Eugene A. Ludwig said Wednesday that assessments ...
Correction. (to article about C. John Hipp 3d of the First National Bank in Orangesburg, S.C. in November 17, 1994 issue) (Correction Notice)
Dec 01, 1994 ... The Executive Changes column of Nov. 17 misstated the post to which First National Bank in Orangeburg, S.C., promoted C ....
Bankers suggest incentives for top CRA performers. (Community Reinvestment Act)
Dec 01, 1994; ... WASHINGTON --Community Reinvestment Act reform must include incentives for top performers -- such as less frequent exams and protection from protests -- bankers from 15 of the largest domestic banks have argued in comment letters. "This is a serious shortcoming in the scheme of ...
Healthy small thrifts exempted from audits. (Office of Thrift Supervision rule will exempt qualifying thrifts from annual independent audits) (Brief Article)
Dec 01, 1994; ... WASHINGTON -- Small, healthy thrifts will be exempt from annual independent audits under an Office of Thrift Supervision rule that takes effect Dec. 23. Thrifts with less than $500 million of assets -- which is roughly 80% of the industry -- could save from $20,000 to $50,000 a ...
9 Senate bank panel Republicans ask review of Whitewater stories. (Senate Banking Committee asks review of testimony by two key White House officials) (Brief Article)
Dec 01, 1994; ... WASHINGTON -- In the first Whitewater salvo tired by the incoming Senate Banking Committee, nine GOP lawmakers have asked independent counsel Kenneth Starr to review testimony given by two key administration officials. A 12-page letter from the senators outlined purported ...
Trust Company of N.J. goes own way, worrying regulators but not its CEO.
Dec 01, 1994; ... JERSEY CITY -- Bank customers rarely get unsolicited advice over the phone about how to manage their accounts from the chairman and chief executive officer. But at Trust Company of New Jersey things are, to the say the least, unusual. Siggi B. Wilzig, the bank's ...
Central Fidelity in Va. revamps stock portfolio in rate-rise wake. (Central Fidelity Banks Inc. restructures securities portfolio due to rising interest rates) (Brief Article)
Dec 01, 1994; ... Central Fidelity Banks Inc. has become the latest bank to announce a major restructuring of its securities portfolio, prompted by rising interest rates that will cut deep into 1994 earnings. Central Fidelity, which is based in Richmond, Va. said it would take a securities loss ...
Regulators should give up on trying to reform CRA, which is fine, thank you.
Dec 01, 1994; ... The bank and thrift regulators have spent almost two years trying to "improve" Community Reinvestment Act regulations. Their first attempt was a flop, and their second proposal is only marginally better. The problem is not lack of effort or good intentions, as those qualities ...
Investors to share the remains of failed money market fund. (Community Assets Management Inc.)
Dec 01, 1994; ... Investors in a failed community bank money market fund won a partial victory last week when the investment managers agreed to distribute most of what remains in the fund -- about $1 million -- to investors. Those investors -- 94 community banks across the country -- will ...
Door to new business: a check courier service. (Franklin Bank of Southfield, Michigan offers check deposit courier service) (Brief Article)
Dec 01, 1994 ... Michigan's Franklin Bank is redefining what it means to be a "full-service bank." Business checking customers that need to make a deposit, but don't want to fight the day's winter blizzard, or are simply too busy to break from their desks don't have to. The Southfield-based ...
Garden State bankers still love their gov. (Republican Governor Christine Todd Whitman)
Dec 01, 1994; ... A year after Republican Gov. Christine Todd Whitman won in New Jersey by promising to slash income taxes a whopping 30%, community bankers are still cheering her efforts. Bankers "seem favorably impressed with what they've seen so far of the efforts to make New Jersey more ...
For lawyers, murky rules translate into business. (Reed Smith Shaw & McClay help banks interpret unclear regulations)
Dec 01, 1994; ... While murky edicts from Washington are frustrating for bankers, they have brought compliance lawyer Leonard A. Bernstein a boatload of business. A partner at the Philadelphia law firm Reed Smith Shaw & McClay, Mr. Bernstein helps 200 banking clients decipher federal and state ...
Treasury's crime unit undergoing a face-lift: management reduced by one-third; focus shifted to identifying trends. (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network)
Dec 01, 1994; ... Management Reduced by One-Third; Focus Is Shifted to Identifying Trends WASHINGTON -- The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, admitting it needed a clearer strategy and fewer managers, is reorganizing to better fight money laundering. Last week, Stanley E. Morris, ...
Fund administrators gain, but shakeout may be near. (mutual funds)
Dec 01, 1994; ... Most of the leading players in the niche business of helping banks market and manage mutual funds grew in the third quarter, despite lackluster markets. All but one of the top five administrators of bank mutual funds posted modest increases in the assets they serviced in the ...
First Interstate hires two veteran executives for growing business. (First Interstate Bancorp, Thomas N. Slonaker and Brian A. Maki)
Dec 01, 1994; ... First Interstate Bancorp has had its share of staff cuts, but its private banking and trust divisions continue to grow. Last month, the Los Angeles-based banking company announced two executive appointments, one in Arizona and the other in California. Thomas N ....
Invest Financial pushing its asset allocation software. (Invest Financial Corp., Lifetime Planning Toolkit) (Brief Article)
Dec 01, 1994; ... Invest Financial Corp. is prodding its bank-based sales representatives to use the company's asset allocation software and is hawking the product to other banks as well. The Tampa-based company, one of the nation's largest investment products marketers, has 65% of its 1,300 ...
Chase to introduce retirement service for midsize firms. (Chase Manhattan Corp.) (Brief Article)
Dec 01, 1994; ... Chase Manhattan Corp. is planning to introduce a retirement-planning service for midsized companies by early next year. The new service will fill in a gap in the current slate of 401(k) retirement-planning services marketed by Chase. Last year, Chase began marketing a ...
Their focus is on the core. (Total System Services Inc.)
Dec 01, 1994; ... Executives of Total System Services Inc. aren't worried about the diversification moves of giant rival First Data Corp. They're too busy processing. During a recent discussion of his company's very good fortunes, the chief executive officer of Total System Services Inc. was ...
MasterCard, MPS will market debit product. (MasterCard International's alliance with Midwest Payment Systems) (Brief Article)
Dec 01, 1994; ... NEW YORK -- MasterCard International and Midwest Payment Systems, a card-processing subsidiary of Fifth Third Bank of Cincinnati, formed an alliance to market MasterCard's debit program, MasterMoney. The alliance is designed to educate ...
DeWolfe Realty's loan unit going strong as others fault.
Dec 01, 1994; ... The idea of having a real estate company originate loans seemed pretty outlandish to bankers 15 years ago. When Richard B. DeWolfe tried to sell the idea in 1979, banks turned a deaf ear. "They didn't think we were competent enough," recalls Mr. DeWolfe, chairman and chief ...
CWM to sell stock in secondary offering.
Dec 01, 1994; ... Bucking a trend in the mortgage industry, CWM Mortgage Holdings has a plan to sell common stock to the public in a secondary offering. If the 6-million share offering -- still in registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission -- goes through, it would mark the third ...
Higher vet ceiling seen spur to Calif. market. (veterans, California, loan ceiling for mortgages)
Dec 01, 1994 ... SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The newly approved increase in the loan ceiling for mortgages to veterans is helping families to graduate to the next level of homes, stimulating the housing market from the bottom up, say California mortgage brokers. According to Pamela Strickland, ...
Banks with automated delivery top performers. (leaders use automated retail banking delivery channels)
Dec 01, 1994; ... A new study from Arthur Andersen and Andersen Consulting concludes that the highest performing financial institutions rely heavily upon automated retail banking delivery channels. The findings, from a best practices survey titled Strategies for High Performance, support bankers' ...
Russian bank hires AT & T for data link. (Russian Savings Bank) (Brief Article)
Dec 01, 1994; ... AT&T's satellite communications division announced last week that it has signed a multiyear, multimillion dollar contract with the Russian Savings Bank to provide a data-communications link between the bank's far-flung branches and its Moscow-based data center. The firm, AT&T ...
Citi, Morgan lead $5B loan to Sweden; razor-thin fees show hot competition in loans to countries. (Citibank and J. P. Morgan lead $5 billion loan to the kingdom of Sweden)
Dec 01, 1994; ... Razor-Thin Fees Show Hot Competition in Loans to Countries Citibank and J.P. Morgan on Wednesday were nearing completion of the primary syndication for an extremely competitively priced $5 billion loan to the kingdom of Sweden. Operating out of their London offices, ...
Stagnation of money supply seen signaling a downturn.
Dec 01, 1994; ... WASHINGTON -- A strange thing has happened while the economy surged during the last year. The money supply -- the raw fuel for businesses and consumers -- has hardly grown at all. Financial analysts are increasingly intrigued by this apparent contradiction, and some are warning ...
Derivatives losses rise to $10 billion. (new report on publicly disclosed losses attributed to financial derivatives) (Brief Article)
Dec 01, 1994 ... NEW YORK - Publicly disclosed losses attributed to derivatives have grown to $10 billion since the market's inception a decade ago, a new report says. Tanya Styblo Beder, co-principal of Capital Market Risk Advisors, wrote recently that pension and mutual funds alone have racked ...
Chemical to unveil cost-cut plan today; job toll seen at 2,000. (Chemical Banking Corp.)
Dec 01, 1994; ... Chemical Banking Corp. is expected to announce eagerly awaited details of its cost-cutting plan at a meeting with analysts today. Anticipation of the meeting in New York kept the company's stock afloat last month, while the rest of the industry sank. Analysts said Chemical's ...
Amex trading notes linked to regional bank stocks. (American Stock Exchange begins trading notes linked to basket of regional bank stocks) (Brief Article)
Dec 01, 1994 ... NEW YORK -- The American Stock Exchange has begun trading the first note linked to the movement of a basket of regional bank stocks, issued by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Lehman issued one million of the Regional Bank Stock Upside Note Securities, or Suns, which trade under ...
Citicorp sues home banking phone maker. (Online Resources and Communications Corp.)
Dec 02, 1994; ... Firing the latest salvo in the home banking war, Citicorp has slapped a patent infringement suit on the maker of a souped-up telephone that poses a big threat to the banking giant in this growing market. The suit, filed last week, takes aim at McLean, Va.-based Online Resources ...
Chemical to slash 3,700 in $440M retrenchment. (Chemical Banking Corp. to layoff employees, restructure operations)
Dec 02, 1994; ... Chemical Banking Corp. said Thursday it will slash 3,700 jobs and sell a wide range of assets, as part of a plan to cut costs by $440 million over two years. The cutbacks are nearly twice as large as expected. But the $169 billion-asset company said the action was necessary to ...
NASD forbids use of bank names, logos on investment sales materials. (National Association of Securities Dealers)
Dec 02, 1994; ... Highlighting its growing focus on bank-affiliated brokerages, the National Association of Securities Dealers has banned the use of bank names and logos on investment sales materials. The move, which NASD officials described as an interpretation of existing consumer-protection ...
Biggest credit union merger put on hold. (National Credit Union Administration to review merger proposal of Seattle Telco Federal Credit Union, First Technology Federal Credit Union and Patelco Credit Union) (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994 ...The Regulator's Concerns The National Credit Union Administration laid out its concerns about the merger in a letter this week. The main issues: * Will other credit unions suffer? * Is industry's cooperative image tainted? * Are managers and ...
Fed streamlines healthy banks' investments in lower-income development projects. (Federal Reserve Board, bank community development investments) (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994; ... WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve Board made it easier this week for healthy banks to invest in low- and moderate-income housing and other community development projects. Banks must notify the Fed of the transaction but no longer need wait for a reserve bank to approve the deal ...
Some lawmakers claim fed keeps critics at bay with jobs. (Federal Reserve)
Dec 02, 1994; ... WASHINGTON -- Academic economists are earning extra income as consultants to the Federal Reserve, a practice that congressional critics say is muffling independent criticism of the Fed's rate-setting policies. According to government records, the Federal Reserve Board and 11 of ...
Metro Savings in Virginia rings up new customers with telephone strategy. (Metropolitan Bank for Savings)
Dec 02, 1994; ... WASHINGTON -- On a good day, five customers might walk into Metropolitan Bank for Savings' main branch. But its executives are thrilled, and the thrift is thriving. For each of the past five years, Metropolitan has made only a handful of home loans in its suburban Virginia ...
Magna's incoming chief steers independent course. (Magna Group Inc.; Tom Andes) (Interview)
Dec 02, 1994; ... Now it is Tom Andes' turn. After three decades at St. Louis-based Magna Group Inc., Mr. Andes assumes the chief executive's post at yearend. Analysts expect changes, but new ownership at the $4.2 billion-asset bank is unlikely, at least in the short term. ...
NationsBank and Toyota are latest to be hit with collateral protection suits. (NationsBank Corp. and Toyota Motor Credit Corp.) (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994; ... Collateral protection insurance litigation continues to wreak havoc with auto lenders. The latest victims: NationsBank Corp. and Toyota Motor Credit Corp. Last week, in federal district court in Miami, Charlotte-based NationsBank agreed to pay $5.6 million to settle class action ...
KeyCorp names Rocky Mountain Group executive. (KeyCorp Inc.; Edmund J. Keane, Jr.) (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994 ... Edmund J. Keane Jr. has been named executive vice president and group executive for Keycorp's Rocky Mountain banking group. He will report to Gary Allen, Keycorp chief banking officer, and be located in Denver. Mr. Keane has been chairman and chief executive officer ...
Takeover pro, now running bank, gets taste of his own medicine. (John Lyons, president of Jupiter Tequesta National Bank) (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994; ... John Lyons, who helped put together scores of bank mergers as a consultant, now knows firsthand what it's like to be a target company. "It's like getting shot midstride," said Mr. Lyons, who seven months ago quit a New York consulting post to become president of Florida's ...
Banks share in big gains that shopping mall brings to a small Illinois town. (Tuscola, Illinois) (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994; ... A new outlet mall the size of 42 football fields has transformed sleepy Tuscola, Ill., into a retail behemoth -- and the town's community bankers couldn't be happier. "It's definitely changing the face of our community," said Doug McCumber, president of First Mid-Illinois Bank ...
Essex Financial lost $4.4M in 3d quarter. (Essex Financial Partners L.P.) (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994; ... A Virginia Beach, Va., limited partnership that had attempted to erect a chain of thrifts throughout the Southeast suffered a $4.4 million net loss in the third quarter. The primary cause of the loss for the company, called Essex Financial Partnership LP, came from the ...
Bitter medicine: take your losses now, reinvestment in higher-yielding securities is urged.
Dec 02, 1994; ... Fred D. Price figures to be the bearer of sad tidings this holiday season. "We're recommending that some of our clients take losses now so they can reinvest in much-higher-yielding instruments," he said this week. Mr. Price is a principal in Sandler O'Neill & ...
Bank's restructuring debated: did Central Fidelity do enough? (Central Fidelity Banks Inc.)
Dec 02, 1994; ... Andrew Brown of Salomon Brothers Inc. on Thursday downgraded Central Fidelity Banks Inc.'s stock to "hold" from "buy" and cut his earnings estimates following the company's restructuring announcement. The Richmond, Va., bank announced on Wednesday that it would take a ...
Chemical syndicating $685M loan for Blackstone purchase of UCAR. (Chemical Bank, Blackstone Group L.P.) (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994 ... Chemical Bank is syndicating a $685 million loan to Blackstone Capital Partners for the purchase of 75% of UCAR International. Chemical, which has scheduled a bank meeting for Monday, reportedly has several commitments from banks and nonbanks for the multi-tranche deal. ...
Suitor could spoil Del. bank's growth; as expansion starts, takeover looms. (Delaware National Bankshares)
Dec 02, 1994; ... Delaware National Bankshares, Georgetown, has launched an ambitious program to double in size within three years, but an out-of-state suitor could spoil its plans. The $91 million-asset bank is speaking with four "major financial institutions from out of state" about a possible ...
Mid-Citco to acquire a Chicago thrift. (Peoples Federal Savings and Loan Association) (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994 ... CHICAGO -- Mid-Citco Inc. said it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Peoples Federal Savings and Loan Association, a $35 million-asset Chicago institution. The $1.4 billion-asset Mid-Citco said the ...
BancFirst buying a small Oklahoma Bank. (State National Bank of Marlow) (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994 ... BancFirst Buying a Small Oklahoma Bank OKLAHOMA CITY -- BancFirst Corp. has announced an agreement to acquire the State National Bank of ...
Union Federal leaving Ohio to focus its energy back home again in Indiana. (Union Federal Savings Bank) (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994; ... Union Federal Savings Bank is bidding farewell to Ohio. The $1.6 billion-asset Indianapolis company said it would sell its four northeast Ohio offices to First Western Bank, Sharon, Pa., and its six southwest Ohio locations to Citizens Federal Bank, Dayton, Ohio, so it can ...
Court: federal institution workers exempt from hotel tax for meetings. (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994; ... Employees of federal credit unions don't have to pay hotel occupancy taxes when attending business meetings, a U.S. judge has ruled in California. In a summary judgment Nov. 14, Judge Edward Rafeedie of the Central District of California upheld the California Credit Union ...
Nationwide Tenants fighting shutdown: NCUA says member base underserved. (Nationwide Tenants Federal credit Union, shut down by the National Credit Union Administration) (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994; ... Alan Guthartz, president of Nationwide Tenants Federal Credit Union, still burns when he talks about the day six months ago when the federal regulator shut him down. "It was like an Eliot Ness raid," he said. "Fifteen examiners, including the regional director, paraded in to ...
Washington State aiming to shut down private firm insuring 77 credit unions. (Washington Credit Union Share Guaranty) (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994; ... Washington state's top banking regulator wants to shutter a private deposit insurance company that covers 77 state-chartered credit unions. John Bley, director of the Department of Financial Institutions, said that although Washington Credit Union Share Guaranty is presently ...
President of U.S. Central to step down before end of '95. (U.S. Central Credit Union president James R. Bell) (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994; ... James R. Bell, president of U.S. Central Credit Union, announced last week he plans to retire as soon as a replacement is found. The 61-year-old Mr. Bell will step down before the end of 1995, said Charles M. Whitney, chairman of U.S. Central and president of the New York Credit ...
Regulator forces 2 corporates to dump CMOs hurt by rates. (National Credit Union Administration forces Capital Corporate Federal Credit Union and Corporate One Credit Union to divest collateralized mortgage obligations)
Dec 02, 1994; ... The government has forced two corporate credit unions to dump collateralized mortgage obligations devalued by interest rate increases. Capital Corporate Federal Credit Union and Corporate One Credit Union recently have divested CMOs that failed the regulator's stress test, ...
North American inks agreement to market Home Savings ARMs. (North American Mortgage Corp., Home Savings of America, Adjustable-rate mortgages)
Dec 02, 1994; ... North American Mortgage Corp. has struck a deal with Home Savings of America that will allow it to market the thrift's popular adjustable-rate mortgages nationwide. North American, one of the largest mortgage banks, will take applications and pass them on to Home Savings, the ...
Security backed exclusively by minority loans. (secondary mortgage product issued) (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994; ... Fannie Mae, GE Capital Mortgage Corp., an investment advisory firm, and an institutional investor have joined forces to issue what is said to be the first mortgage security backed by loans exclusively from minority-owned institutions. Said William Michael cunningham, president ...
Higher housing goals for Freddie and Fannie deferred until mid-'95. (Federal low-income lending goals for the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.)
Dec 02, 1994; ... WASHINGTON -- The Department of Housing and Urban Development has temporarily extended this year's housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into 1995. A HUD regulation setting higher goals is under review by the Office of Management and Budget, and is expected to be issued ...
Minority lending is very different indeed. (excerpted from a talk originally published in 'Community Investments') (Column) (Transcript)
Dec 02, 1994; ... This article, excerpted from a talk, originally appeared in Community Investments, a publication of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Lending in the inner city takes desire, commitment, focus, resources, and an affirmative lending program, which is designed around the ...
Green stamps for greenbacks. (Emanacom Data Services Inc. uses customer reward system to build bank customer loyalty)
Dec 02, 1994; ... Looking back on a 14-year career at Bank of Boston, Edward S. "Ted" Amazeen recalls that "the big question was always how to bring in new business cost effectively." Through his experiences heading the bank's supermarket banking project, credit card division, and consumer ...
Annuities cushion fund sales dropoff; rush to short-term instruments helps make up lost ground. (investment management market)
Dec 02, 1994; ... A surge of customer interest in annuities and other securities is softening the blow of falling mutual fund sales, according to executives of bank-affiliated brokerages and fund companies. The anemic mutual fund sales are due to the continuing exodus from bond funds, which have ...
Chase money funds to be rated by S&P. (Vista Capital Management's money market funds rated by Standard & Poor's Corp.) (Brief Article)
Dec 02, 1994; ... Vista Capital Management, Chase Manhattan Bank's brokerage unit, has contracted with Standard & Poor's Corp.'s rating group to monitor some of the banking company's proprietary money market funds. Initially, the New York-based ratings agency will monitor eight of the 30 ...