American Banker back issues from September 1997:
Morgan Wooing LBO Firms to Expand Clientele. (J.P. Morgan and Co, leveraged buyout firms)
Sep 03, 1997; ... J.P. Morgan & Co., a bank long envied for its ties to blue-chip corporations, is looking to add a decidedly scrappier group of customers to its client list: leveraged buyout shops.Over the past year, the bank has been building a unit to cater to financial sponsor firms like ...
NationsBank CEO Says Fla. Deal Sews Up The Southeast. (CEO Hugh J. McColl, Jr; purchase of Barnett Banks Inc)
Sep 03, 1997; ... The deal to buy Barnett Banks Inc. caps a long expansion drive in the Southeast for NationsBank Corp. and may set the stage for more aggressive westward expansion, chief executive Hugh L. McColl Jr. said Tuesday."Barnett is the premier franchise in Florida," Mr. McColl said during ...
Lenders to Less-than-Perfect Risks Tarnished by Rising Fraud Claims. (subprime home equity and mortgage lenders)
Sep 03, 1997; ... Brad Williams, a 59-year-old disabled Air Force veteran, needed $3,000 for new carpeting and kitchen cabinets, so he applied for a home equity loan.Four years and several refinancings later he was $63,000 in debt and in danger of being forced out of his Washington home, according ...
Credit Union Ad Campaign Taking Aim at Banks' Image.
Sep 03, 1997; ... Credit unions plan to launch a national advertising campaign here Thursday that paints a Scrooge-like image of banks."Now the big banks that charge higher loan rates and high ATM fees want to take away your right to join a credit union," one ad says. It encourages viewers to call a ...
5 Home Loan Banks Join Chicago Pilot. (home mortgage funding and holding program for Federal Home Loan banks)(Brief Article)
Sep 03, 1997; ... Five Federal Home Loan banks have joined the Chicago district bank in its controversial pilot program to fund and hold mortgages.The Federal Home Loan banks of Atlanta, Des Moines, Indianapolis, New York, and Pittsburgh will fund and manage the interest rate risk of home mortgages ...
Ginnie Chief Tapped to Oversee Fannie, Freddie. (Government National Mortgage Assn president Kevin G. Chavers to be nominated for director of Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight)(Brief Article)
Sep 03, 1997; ... President Clinton will nominate Government National Mortgage Association president Kevin G. Chavers as director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, the White House said Friday.The oversight office regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and has been without a ...
Bankers Knock IRS Plan To Capitalize Loan Costs.(Column)
Sep 03, 1997; ... Industry officials are urging a federal judge to reject an Internal Revenue Service decision requiring lenders to capitalize the cost of making loans.If upheld by the courts, most banks would pay significantly more in federal income taxes, although exact estimates are unavailable. ...
FDIC Finds Further Improvement In Nation's Real Estate Markets. (mid-April to mid-July 1997)
Sep 03, 1997; ... Real estate markets remained bullish this summer, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s latest survey of examiners and liquidators.The FDIC reported that its survey of residential and commercial real estate conditions for mid-April to mid-July produced a composite ...
Hibernia CEO, After Fix-Up, Looks Outward. (Stephen A. Hansel)
Sep 03, 1997; ... Mix 3,000 pounds of crawfish with 400 pounds of barbecue, and what do you have?Just the sort of party Hibernia Corp. chief executive officer Stephen A. Hansel likes to throw: a Louisiana-style celebration of a Texas bank acquisition.That was the scene in May when $9.7 ...
Cautious Florida Thrift Company Decides to Go Public. (Harbor Florida Bancorp)
Sep 03, 1997; ... Harbor Florida Bancorp, one of the state's biggest homegrown banking companies, is going to shed its mutual status so it can better play the acquisition game.Michael E. Brown, president and chief executive officer, said the strong market for bank stocks convinced executives of Fort ...
Barclays Unit Hires Foreign Exchange Exec.(David Johnson)(Brief Article)
Sep 03, 1997; ... BZW, the global investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC, last week said it had tapped an experienced executive, David Johnson, to head up foreign exchange sales within the global markets division in the Americas.Mr. Johnson, who has been named a director at BZW, joins from ...
BankBoston Unit Leads $5M Financing.(BancBoston Ventures, Silknet Software Inc.)(Brief Article)
Sep 03, 1997; ... BancBoston Ventures last week said it led an investor group in a $5 million round of venture capital financing for Silknet Software Inc.The financing also attracted Vertex Management Inc., a San Francisco venture capital firm; CMG Ventures, the investment affiliate of Andover, ...
BankBoston Arranges $140M Deals Credit.(Russell-Stanley Corp. credit)(Brief Article)
Sep 03, 1997; ... BankBoston Corp. late last week closed a $140 million credit facility for Russell-Stanley Corp., a steel and plastic drum maker on the prowl for acquisitions. BankBoston was sole arranger for the deal.The company will use the loan to finance its acquisition of Container Management ...
NationsBanc Capital Hires Research Exec.(David Roberts)(Brief Article)
Sep 03, 1997; ... NationsBanc Capital Markets Inc. last week named David Roberts director of emerging markets sovereign research.Mr. Roberts had been a senior vice president and managing director at Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co. and head of its international ratings group.He will be ...
Crestar Buys $612M Of GE Equity Credits.(Crestar Bank, GE Capital Corp.)(Brief Article)
Sep 03, 1997; ... Crestar Bank announced Tuesday that it had bought more than $600 million of home equity loans and credit lines from GE Capital Corp.The Richmond, Va., bank bought $440 million of home equity lines of credit and $172 million of closed-end loans from the Raleigh, N.C., finance ...
Mich. Subprime Lender Sets Up Arizona Office.(CommonPoint Mortgage)(Brief Article)
Sep 03, 1997 ... CommonPoint Mortgage has opened an office in Arizona and is nearly halfway to its goal of having a presence in all 50 states by the end of next year. ...
Mercury Posts a Loss Of $8.4M for Quarter.(Mercury Finance Co.)(Brief Article)
Sep 03, 1997 ... Mercury Finance Co. reported a second-quarter net loss of $8.4 million, and said steps are being taken to improve operations."During the second quarter, we took tough measures aimed at rebuilding the company and returning it to a solid operating foundation," said William A. Brandt ...
Deal Seen Moving NationsBank Toward No. 1 in Servicing.(mortgage servicing)
Sep 03, 1997; ... NationsBank Corp. is in a position to become the nation's largest mortgage servicer as a result of its deal to buy Barnett Banks Inc.With its purchase of Barnett, NationsBank would acquire 27% of HomeSide Inc., which services $92.6 billion of mortgage loans and originated $9.1 ...
MasterCard CEO Focusing on Continuity.(Robert Selander of MasterCard International)
Sep 03, 1997; ... Transitions of power don't happen more quietly than the one at MasterCard International four months ago.The passing of the reins to Robert W. Selander made no noise in the world outside MasterCard's suburban New York headquarters.Even inside, an initial flurry of ...
Sun Reaffirms Commitment to Keep Java Open.(Sun MicroSystems Inc.)
Sep 03, 1997; ... The Java Internet Business Expo, a first-of-its-kind event last week in New York, was supposed to bring some confirmation that Sun Microsystems Inc.'s highly touted programming language can change many basic aspects of business computing for the better.Instead, the 15,000 who ...
Hartford Taps Exec to Push Life Policies at Banks.(S. Kimberly Welch)
Sep 03, 1997; ... The Hartford, the top seller of annuities through banks, has named an executive to lead its effort to sell more life insurance through that channel.S. Kimberly Welch, a former executive recruiter, insurance executive, and banker who joined The Hartford this spring, will try to ...
Asset Management Firm Files for IPO.(Affiliated Managers Group initial public offering)(Brief Article)
Sep 03, 1997; ... Affiliated Managers Group on Tuesday filed a registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of common stock.Boston-based Affiliated is a holding company that buys minority stakes in asset management firms. It has about $41 billion in assets ...
UBS Names First-Ever Global Asset Manager.(Union Bank of Switzerland, Daniel H. Sigg)(Brief Article)
Sep 03, 1997; ... Union Bank of Switzerland has named a global head of institutional asset management-a new position for the Zurich-based bank.Daniel H. Sigg, 41, who starts this month, will report directly to Arthur Decurtins, an executive vice president in Switzerland who oversees both ...
Chase Fund Unit Hires Oppenheimer Manager.(Chase Manhattan Bank, Diane Sobin)(Brief Article)
Sep 03, 1997; ... Chase Manhattan Bank's mutual fund unit has hired an Oppenheimer Funds Inc. portfolio manager to co-manage its flagship growth and income fund.Diane Sobin, who will manage the Vista Growth and Income Fund with Greg Adams, is the most recent addition to the Vista Investment Services ...
Independent Advisers Raising No-Load Concerns.(investment adviser statement on no-load mutual funds)(Transcript)
Sep 03, 1997 ... Earlier this year an informal group of independent investment advisers and financial planners met in Palm Beach, Fla., to discuss the frustrations they face when dealing with no-load mutual fund companies. In August the group sent a formal statement of its concerns-which center on expenses, ...
NationsBank, Barnett Slip in Wake of Megadeal.(Barnett Banks Inc.)
Sep 03, 1997; ... While the rest of the market soared Tuesday, shares of NationsBank Corp. and Barnett Banks Inc. slipped in reaction to the banks' merger agreement.Investors were faced by a stream of bulletins from Wall Street. Analysts were divided on how soon the deal would pay off for investors, ...
Citibank Plucks N.Y. Retail Chief From Consumer Products Industry.
Sep 04, 1997; ... Citibank has again reached into the consumer products industry for a senior retail banking executive.The Citicorp subsidiary hired Stephen Liguori, 41, to head its New York consumer bank. He was president and chief executive officer of Mother's Cookies, a unit of Specialty Foods ...
Wamu to Sell Insurance Unit And Get Out of Underwriting.(Washington Mutual Inc.)
Sep 04, 1997; ... As banks seek to enter the insurance underwriting business, the nation's largest thrift is calling it quits.Washington Mutual Inc. said Wednesday it will sell its life insurance subsidiary to Safeco Corp., a Redmond, Wash.-based insurance company.Safeco will pay $140 ...
Rise of Bank Hedge Funds Seen Signaling a Peak.
Sep 04, 1997; ... With a strong bull market and bank stocks at nosebleed altitudes, the sector is increasingly in the sights of hedge funds.The number of bank hedge funds, which can trade more nimbly and aggressively than their mutual fund counterparts, has more than doubled, to 69, in the last two ...
Electronic Money Guru At OCC Voices Concern Over Technology Growth.(Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)
Sep 04, 1997; ... Industry consolidation, not stored-value cards and Web pages, is what worries regulators about national banks' technological advances."The press has been focusing on new delivery methods, but smart cards and Internet banking are just symptoms of a much more fundamental change," ...
Taxes Hurt 2d-Quarter Profits Of Shrinking Thrift Industry.(Brief Article)
Sep 04, 1997; ... Second-quarter earnings at institutions regulated by the Office of Thrift Supervision fell 12%, to $1.7 billion, from a year earlier, the agency reported Wednesday.A $931 million tax tab in the second quarter took a bite out of the industry's profits, agency officials said. A year ...
Simplify Decision-Making to Win Banking Race.(Column)
Sep 04, 1997; ... The great virtue of the financial markets is that sooner or later they force us to face our mistakes. When the glow of the 1990s fades, the mistake far too many bankers will confront is their failure to insist on managerial accountability.Winning banks must simultaneously invest in ...
Washington Mutual Keeping Great Western's Agency for Fall Ads.(Brief Article)
Sep 04, 1997; ... Great Western Financial's advertising agency will stay on-at least through the fall campaign-to promote what is now Washington Mutual Inc.'s Great Western brand.The decision to retain Bozell Worldwide, announced last week, indicates that Seattle-based Washington Mutual doesn't want ...
Acquisitive N. Dakota Bank Buying in Ariz., Eyes More.(Brief Article)
Sep 04, 1997; ... A growing North Dakota community banking company is buying its first bank holding company in Arizona, initiating what could be a string of acquisitions there.Community First Bancshares, a $4.3 billion-asset company based in Fargo, said it would acquire Phoenix-based Republic ...
Persistent Suitor Sweetens Its Buyout Offer And Gets the Cold Shoulder a Second Time.(Brief Article)
Sep 04, 1997; ... A North Carolina banking company wooing a neighboring bank has been rejected a second time.Carolina First Bancshares, Lincolnton, raised its initial acquisition offer by almost $20 million. But officers and directors of $286 million-asset Peoples Bank, Newton, sent a letter to ...
Premier Bancshares.(Brief Article)
Sep 04, 1997; ... SOUTHEASTPremier Bancshares, Atlanta, hired two executives, including a chief financial officer, and its commercial finance unit promoted a third.Michael E. Ricketson was hired from Central & Southern Holding Co. to be executive vice president and CFO, the same posts he ...
Banc One Plots Late Entry to Global Arena: Ohio Giant's Unit Targets Parent's Small, Midsize Clients that Export.
Sep 04, 1997; ... When Banc One Corp. chairman John B. McCoy turned up at an international banking conference in Boca Raton, Fla., last May, he had more than an academic interest in the proceedings."We have very positive views on international banking as we take 62 separate banks and move toward a ...
ATMs Can Teach Lessons On Making Home Banking A Hit with the Consumer.(Column)
Sep 04, 1997; ... Over two decades automated teller machines have become an unqualified success. Surveys put use as high as 85% of households.Home banking is still well under 10%, after years of false starts and restarts. That low penetration appears unaffected by the delivery vehicle, whether ...
Visa Fills Global Liaison Job, Adds Customer Service to It.
Sep 04, 1997; ... Visa International has filled the last senior-level vacancy in its global support services group, and the job is bigger than originally advertised.Daniel Eitingon, president of global support services, reached into another part of his organization to name Wolfgang Heinrich ...
MBNA Adds 2 Races To Promote Its Cards.(Brief Article)
Sep 04, 1997 ... MBNA Corp. plans to pump more octane into its platinum card promotions by sponsoring more auto races in its home state.The company will become the title sponsor of two races at Dover Downs International Speedway in Delaware. The races will be sanctioned by Nascar, the National ...
Fifth Third Bank Unit To Process for Phar-Mor.(Brief Article)
Sep 04, 1997 ... Midwest Payment Systems Inc., the transaction processor owned by Fifth Third Bank, said it has signed a credit card and debit card merchant processing contract with Phar-Mor Inc.Midwest Payment Systems will handle MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and American Express ...
Hibernia Shows Lenders In Planned Acquisitions Its High-Tech Methods.
Sep 04, 1997; ... Hibernia Mortgage is gearing up for its parent's pending purchase of four banking companies.Managers from the four institutions are at the mortgage unit's New Orleans headquarters being schooled in Hibernia's high-tech approach to lending.At the same time, Hibernia ...
NationsBank, Barnett Units Have Little in Common. (subprime lending units)(Brief Article)
Sep 04, 1997; ... When NationsBank and Barnett Banks Inc. decided to merge last week, the fate of their nonbank consumer finance units may not have been a top concern.In fact, synergies between NationsCredit Consumer Corp., Irving, Tex., and Barnett's Equicredit Corp., Jacksonville, Fla., are few ...
Additional Record Keeping Deals May Be in the Cards.(Brief Article)
Sep 04, 1997; ... With Merrill Lynch & Co.'s acquisition this week of a 401(k) record-keeping company to bolster its presence in the retirement business, more banks competing in that area may well look to do the same.Two banks have already pursued a similar strategy. Last year Mellon Bank Corp ....
Sanwa California Says It's Found Name For New Mutual Fund Family: Eureka.(Brief Article)
Sep 04, 1997; ... Sanwa Bank California plans to call its proposed family of mutual funds "the Eureka Funds."Eureka, which also is California's state motto, was chosen for its broad appeal to retail and institutional investors within and outside the state, chief investment officer Richard Weiss ...
More Banks Merge Junk, Emerging-Markets Units.
Sep 04, 1997; ... As the high-yield market continues to surge, more banks are linking up their high-yield and emerging-markets shops.Citicorp Securities Inc., BT Alex.Brown Inc., and NationsBanc Capital Markets Inc. are among those that have made the move. Now BancBoston Securities Inc., ING ...
Bisys Buying In to Developer Of Client/Server Software.
Sep 04, 1997; ... Bisys Group Inc. said it plans to take an equity position in Open Solutions Inc. and become the excl usive outsourcing p rovider of its client/server banking software.Under the agreement announced Tuesday, Glastonbury, Conn.-based Open Solutions also agreed to use Bisys products ...
N.Y.'s Con Edison Utility Delivers Bills and Receives Payments via Its Web Site.
Sep 04, 1997; ... Consolidated Edison Co. of New York is letting its customers view and pay bills on its own Web site.Fewer than a dozen U.S. companies offer bill presentment and payment via the Internet. Most use Web sites maintained by Atlanta- based Checkfree Corp.The Con Ed service, ...
N.Y. Bancorp to Issue $50M Trust-Preferred.(Brief Article)
Sep 04, 1997 ... New York Bancorp, the holding company for Home Federal Savings Bank, has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue $50 million of convertible trust- preferred securities.The ...
Bancorpsouth Unit Plans $75M Offering.(BancorpSouth Capital Trust I)(Brief Article)
Sep 04, 1997 ... In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Bancorpsouth said its Bancorpsouth Capital Trust I unit plans a $75 million offering of capital securities.The trust is ...
BankBoston Closes Sale Of Unit to Norwest.(Fidelity Acceptance Corp.)(Brief Article)
Sep 04, 1997 ... BankBoston Corp. said it completed the sale of Fidelity Acceptance Corp., its consumer finance subsidiary, to Norwest Financial Inc., a subsidiary of Norwest Corp.BankBoston received $343 million, resulting in an after-tax gain of $40 million. Under the terms of the agreement, ...
Associates Purchases Canadian Lender.(Superior Acceptance Corp.)(Brief Article)
Sep 04, 1997 ... Associates First Capital Corp. said it bought Superior Acceptance Corp., Canada's largest independent consumer finance company, with 91 offices in 10 provinces. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.The acquisition gives Associates, the largest publicly owned consumer finance ...
Finland's Top Bank Readies for Hybrid Issuance.(Marita Bank Ltd.)
Sep 04, 1997; ... Marita Bank Ltd.-the largest bank in Finland-is preparing to join a growing list of foreign banks issuing hybrid securities, known as step-up perpetuals, in the United States.Some observers say that a glut of such deals in the pipeline could jolt the U.S. domestic bank bond market, ...
Louisiana Bank Offers Best Customers What Amounts to Branch of Their Own.(First Commerce Corp.)(Brief Article)
Sep 08, 1997; ... A bank in New Orleans is testing a new retail concept that literally and physically-separates profitable customers from others.First Commerce Corp. officials said the approach rewards its best customers with shorter lines, more highly trained personnel, and special services in one ...
Fla.'s Small Banks Seek Left overs in NationsBank Deal.(NationsBank Corp. purchase of Barnett Banks Inc.)
Sep 08, 1997; ... Florida community bankers want regulators to help steer their way the branches that NationsBank Corp. will have to divest to complete its acquisition of Barnett Banks Inc.NationsBank is expected to sell $3 billion or more of deposits to meet antitrust requirements, and community ...
Banks Complain Of New Burden In Plan to Ease Currency Rules.(Treasury Dept. proposal)
Sep 08, 1997; ... Seeking to reduce paperwork for small banks, the Treasury Department is proposing to exempt established customers from currency transaction reporting requirements.But the proposal-which would cover businesses that have been customers at least a year and make frequent large-dollar ...
Va. Banks Hit State's Idea of Common Bond.(file protest against slack credit union eligibility requirements)(Brief Article)
Sep 08, 1997; ... The Virginia Bureau of Financial Institutions has stretched the definition of credit unions' common bond too far, the state bank trade group there has charged.In a petition filed with the state corporation commission last month, the Virginia Bankers Association complained that ...
Fifth Third Moves CEO Of Toledo Bank To Cleveland.(Robert J. King Jr., Fifth Third Bank of Northeastern Ohio)(Executive Changes)(Brief Article)
Sep 08, 1997; ... Robert J. King Jr. has been named president and chief executive officer of Cleveland-based Fifth Third Bank of Northeastern Ohio.He had become chairman of the Fifth Third Bancorp unit earlier in the year.Mr. King had been president and chief executive ...
Huntington National Names Executive.(William S. Williams, CEO of W.W. Williams Co. named director)(Executive Changes)(Brief Article)
Sep 08, 1997; ... MIDWESTHuntington National Bank, Columbus, Ohio, the principal subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares, elected William S. Williams as a director. ...
E-Trade, Cybercash Plan Mainstream Ads.
Sep 08, 1997; ... In an effort to build demand for their services, two high- profile Internet technology companies are mounting mainstream advertising campaigns.E-Trade Group and Cybercash Inc. both will run ads on television and in a variety of print publications. Palo Alto, Calif.-based E- Trade ...
Bank Tech Stocks Rise Along with General Market.(week ending Sept. 5, 1997)(Brief Article)
Sep 08, 1997; ... Bank technology stocks were up for the week, in step with the broader market's rise.Midday Friday the Dow Jones industrial average had risen 207 points, to 7,829. Meanwhile, Goldman, Sachs & Co.'s index of U.S.- traded technology firms, which lists many bank technology vendors, had ...
Biometric 'Supermarket' Offers an ID Smorgasbord.(International Biometric Group opens BiometricStore identification technology shop)
Sep 08, 1997; ... International Biometric Group has opened what it claims is the nation's first supermarket of biometric identification technology.The BiometricStore, in midtown Manhattan, gives businesses a chance to test-drive nearly a score of biometric technologies.Such technologies ...
Principia Signs Another Home Loan Bank.(Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas licenses software from Principia Partners LLC)(Brief Article)
Sep 08, 1997 ... The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas has licensed derivatives analysis software from Principia Partners LLC.The Principia Analytic System will be used to manage $30 billion in derivatives ...
B of A Syndicates $4B Loan For Compaq Over the Internet.(Bank of America Securities Inc.)(Brief Article)
Sep 08, 1997; ... BancAmerica Securities Inc. completed a $4 billion syndicated loan for Compaq Computer Corp. last week, the third and largest syndication offered to date using the Internet.BankAmerica used the IntraLoan system, a secure, private network that uses Internet technology developed by ...
Junk Issuers Jump on Pay-in-Kind Stocks.(junk bonds)
Sep 08, 1997; ... High-yield bond issuers are increasingly embracing a newfangled security in their quest for capital: "pay-in-kind" preferred stock.Issuance of these securities, which are issued as stock and can be converted to debt, has swelled dramatically this year and is on track to break last ...