American Banker back issues from April 2001:
Fleet Makes Mid-Market Bid to Take Manhattan.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... Faced with a slowdown in its capital markets businesses and having already maxed out its market share growth opportunities in its New England home base, FleetBoston Financial Corp. has been diverting resources to New York, where it aims to become a more formidable competitor for retail and ...
Campaign Finance Bill May Let Commercial Banks Stand Out.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... The commercial bank lobby is expected to benefit if the drive to reform campaign finance laws succeeds. That is because the McCain-Feingold legislation, slated for a vote in the Senate today, would ban soft money -- the unlimited amounts of cash that companies, unions, and ...
Preferred Issues: Citi-Amex Again? Why Story Won't Die.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001 ... Some stories, true or not, are simply too good not to repeat. And repeat. The last few weeks have seen a flurry of published stories devoted at least in part to pondering just what a perfect couple Citigroup and American Express would make. Neither Citi nor Amex has ...
TODAY'S NEWS.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001 ... A Utah credit union group has been asked by a state official to pull a commercial that he says suggests banks there are unstable. Page 3 WASHINGTON A Bush administration proposal to increase SBA loan fees is being criticized by community banking groups. Page 5 ...
Overdraft Play Looks Better to Small Banks.(overdraft privilege)(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... First Commerce Bank's long search for fee income ended four years ago when it realized the potential of bounced checks. Like most others, the Corpus Christi, Tex, bank would typically let them bounce and then collect a $25 fee. But Strunk & Associates Inc., a Houston consulting ...
Utah Official Asks CU League To Cancel Banks-in-Flux Ad.(Utah League of Credit Unions)(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... Utah's Department of Financial Institutions wants the Utah League of Credit Unions to pull a television commercial that it calls misleading in suggesting that the state's banks are unstable. "What concerns me is any advertising or public statement that would seem to indicate any ...
Executive Changes.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... MIDWEST National Processing Co., a Louisville, Ky., provider of merchant credit card processing, has promoted Donna Carbone, a vice president of risk management,and Mark Vogt, a vice president merchant services and financial analysis, to senior vice presidencies in those areas. ...
Hawke Denies Resignation Rumors; Oxley Wins Vote in Chorus of One.(John D. Hawke)(Michael G. Oxley )(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001 ... Reports of Comptroller of the Currency John D. Hawke Jr.'s resignation have been greatly exaggerated. Such talk, first heard by many industry observers in January, was revived last week when Rep. Ken Bentsen told a group of community bankers that Mr. Hawke had submitted his ...
In Brief: SBA 7(a) Fee Hike Comes Under Fire.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... Community banking groups are criticizing a portion of the Bush budget plan that would increase fees on loans funded by the Small Business Administration's 7(a) program. Industry groups said higher guarantee fees would dramatically reduce bank participation in the loan program or ...
In Brief: Keystone Chairman Indicted in W. Va.(First National Bank of Keystone)(Billie Cherry)(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... Billie Cherry, the former chairman and president of the failed First National Bank of Keystone, has been indicted by a West Virginia grand jury on 25 federal counts of bank fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, conspiracy, and mail fraud. Ms. Cherry was scheduled to appear in ...
Calif.'s Hawthorne in Timely Shift Of Lending Policy.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... When Simone Lagomarsino took the helm of Hawthorne Savings Bank in December 1999, one of her first acts was to end the thrift's practice of lending to cash-strapped millionaires. Not that this wasn't a profitable niche for Hawthorne, an El Segundo, Calif., institution. The $1.75 ...
In Brief: Merrill Names 2 Investment Execs.(Merrill Lynch and Co. appoints Robert C. Doll, Peter J. Gibbs)(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... Merrill Lynch & Co. has appointed Robert C. Doll as global chief investment officer and Peter J. Gibbs as global chief operating officer of its global investment management arm. Merrill also announced Wednesday that Carol Galley and Stephen Zimmerman, the unit's joint chief ...
In Brief: Pru to Offer Wireless Plan Management.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... Prudential Retirement Services announced last week that it would be the first retirement plan provider to allow customers to manage their retirement accounts using wireless devices. The service, which will be launched by the end of the second ...
In Brief: Fidelity Hires TD Vet For Canadian Unit.(Fidelity Investments appoints Jeffrey R. Carney)(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... Fidelity Investments has hired Jeffrey R. Carney as president of its Canadian unit. Mr. Carney, who will join Fidelity today, was an executive vice president at Toronto-Dominion Bank, where he was in charge of the full-service retail branch distribution of investment products, ...
In Brief: Mass. Bank, Uvest In Marketing Pact.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... Berkshire Hills Bancorp, the parent company of Berkshire Bank, has begun selling investment products through an alliance with Uvest Investment Services, a Charlotte, N.C., third-party marketer. A floating ...
In Brief: U.S. Bancorp Offers Neb. Tax-Free Fund.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... U.S. Bancorp's fund family has launched a tax-exempt fund for residents of Nebraska. The Nebraska Tax Free Fund, launched March 22, is the 11th tax-free fund in the First American Funds family. It is designed to provide Nebraska residents with monthly income exempt from federal ...
Fidelity Move Underscores Intermediaries' Importance.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... With investment choices expanding and corporate-benefits staffs contracting, employers are relying on intermediaries and advisers more to help with investing their qualified plan benefits, both for themselves and their employees. So Fidelity Investments, which has long lagged ...
Hibernia Eyes Expansion in Employee Benefits.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... Hibernia Corp.'s largely commercial insurance agency is trying to diversify its revenue stream. To bulk up in the employee benefits business, last month it brought over three specialists and their books of business from the Wright & Percy Insurance Inc. agency in Shreveport, ...
Year Later, Little Payoff in Web P-to-P Payment.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... In the year since person-to-person Internet payment services arrived on the scene, none have ranged far beyond serving auction Web sites, and some experts say they will not go much further until they are paired with services such as bill payment. Moreover, banks and nonbanks ...
Taken for a Ride in a P-to-P Test Drive.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... A test drive of several person-to-person Internet payment services found that signing up is quick and easy, but transactions do not always go smoothly. The necessary first step -- enrolling for an account -- can be accomplished in minutes with PayPal Inc., Citigroup Inc.'s c2it, ...
Refis Boom as Sales Soften in Silicon Valley.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Apr 02, 2001; ... If Silicon Valley real estate were the heartbeat of the nation's residential realty markets, then the national pulse might be seen as faltering. Prices are falling in the California high-tech redoubt. Buyers are more reluctant to open their checkbooks. Anxious sellers fear the ...
In Brief: GE Capital Buying REIT for $2.1 Billion.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... GE Capital announced Friday that it has agreed to buy Franchise Finance Corp. of America, a Scottsdale, Ariz., real estate investment trust, for $2.1 billion. Common shareholders of Franchise Finance are to receive $25 in cash for each share held. The deal values Franchise ...
In Brief: Delta Financial Posts $36M Loss.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Apr 02, 2001; ... The subprime mortgage and home equity lender Delta Financial Corp. on Friday reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $36.5 million, against a profit of $2.8 million in the year-earlier quarter. For the year, Delta lost $49.4 million, compared with net income of $4.7 million in ...
In Brief: OpenClose Shutting Site, Slashing Staff.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... OpenClose Technologies announced Friday that it is shutting down its Web multilender marketplace and that 12 of the company's 37 employees will be laid off in the next two months. The company, which says it will now focus more on its private-label technology ...
In Brief: HUD Suspends Two Troubled Programs.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... The Department of Housing and Urban Development has imposed a 120-day suspension of home sales under its Officer Next Door and Teacher Next Door programs after uncovering cases of fraud. The announcement of the suspension was made Thursday in the wake of nine felony convictions ...
In Brief: Study Makes Case For Constraint-Easing.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Apr 02, 2001; ... A study from the Mortgage Bankers Association's Research Institute for Housing America says that lenders can increase national homeownership rates by creating products that curb borrower constraints. The study, conducted for the institute by Stuart S. Rosenthal, a professor of ...
Compubank's Demise May Signal a New Era.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... The sale of Compubank's customer accounts to NetBank Inc. may mark the beginning of a consolidation era among Internet-based banks, which proliferated two years ago but today seem to be outpacing demand. Analysts stronger companies like NetBank, which is profitable, may grow ...
VeriSign Security Breach Said Fixed; Banks Wary.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... VeriSign Inc. said it has fixed the problem that led it to unwittingly issue two digital certificates to a computer criminal posing as a Microsoft Corp. employee, but its resolution has not restored the confidence of some banks, which contend they are the rightful issuers of security ...
In Brief: KeyCorp B-to-B Mart Adds Four Suppliers.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001 ... KeyCorp's KeyNext unit has added four suppliers to its KeyProcure online business-to-business marketplace: AFD Contract Furniture, Corporate Software, NeoSafety, and Flowers Online. A fifth, Corporate Express, has been selling its office supply products on the marketplace, which ...
In Brief: Nat City and Yodlee In Aggregation Deal.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001 ... National City Corp. has an agreement with Yodlee Inc. to provide account aggregation services to the banking company's retail and small-business customers. The free service will be available in the second quarter. Customers will be able to access their banking, investment, and ...
In Brief: Canada's e-route Unveils webdoxs.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001 ... e-route Inc., a bill payment and presentment company owned by a group of Canadian financial institutions, has unveiled a service that lets consumers receive bills and other documents directly through bank Web sites. Ford Credit Canada Ltd., Chevron Canada Ltd., Bell Canada, Bell ...
In Brief: Small-Biz e-Banking Up in NFO Survey.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001 ... Seventeen percent of small businesses surveyed by NFO WorldGroup-Financial Services said they used online banking services in the past year, up from 10% in NFO's survey a year earlier. "Most of the new growth has come from top banks migrating their small-business banking to the ...
JPM-Chase Bonuses Survive Merger.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s top executives got bonuses last year, unlike some of their peers at other banking companies. Chairman Douglas A. Warner 3d took home a $13.7 million bonus last year, up 197.8% from a year earlier. He also received $700,000 in salary, unchanged from the ...
In Brief: First Financial of Ind. Buying Illinois Bank.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... First Financial Corp. said Friday that it has agreed to buy Community Financial Corp. of Olney, Ill., for about $20 million. The deal would extend the Illinois market share of the buyer's Terre Haute First National Bank subsidiary. Wayne H. Benson, the president and ...
In Brief: OMB Sets Review of GSE Capital Rules.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001 ... The federal government's long-awaited capital rules for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cleared another hurdle last week when the Office of Management and Budget announced it would complete its review within three months. The rules have been in the works since 1992, when Congress ...
In Brief: Ameritrade Plans to Cut 170 Positions.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001 ... Ameritrade Holding Corp. plans to cut about 7.4% of its staff to cut costs in the face of the market downturn, according to Dow Jones. The online brokerage firm said Friday that it will eliminate about 170 of its 2,300 full-time positions companywide during the coming weeks ....
Profit Warnings Resound As 1Q Slouches to Close.(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001; ... Several banking companies rushed last week to prepare Wall Street for disappointing earnings before the first quarter closed. Both Wachovia Corp. and Bank of New York Co. told analysts to expect some credit-quality problems in their first-quarter reports. Analysts ...
Corrections.(Correction Notice)(Brief Article)
Apr 02, 2001 ... In Thursday's issue, two lists of banks in the "Industry Snapshot" tables were mislabeled. The tables presented data on the 150 highest-ROA banks with $25 million to $1 billion of assets. In the "By efficiency ratio" rankings on page 9, the labels "Top ten" and "Bottom ten" should have ...
In Brief: Principal Financial Demutualization Step.(Principal Financial Group to become stock company)(Brief Article)
Apr 03, 2001; ... The Principal Financial Group said Monday that its board of directors has voted unanimously in favor of a plan to convert from a mutual insurance holding company to a stock company. That authorizes management to begin demutualization, which involves distributing the value of the ...
In Brief: N.Y. Life Has New Single Premium.(New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corp.)(Brief Article)
Apr 03, 2001; ... New York Life has introduced a single-premium variable universal life product that gives policyholders tax-deferred growth of their premium dollars. A guaranteed death benefit equal to the policy's face amount is also available, and the death benefit is tax-free to the ...
In Brief: Hancock Teams Up With AnnuityNet.(John Hancock Financial Services Inc.)(Brief Article)
Apr 03, 2001; ... John Hancock Financial Services Inc. has begun a partnership with AnnuityNet and is using it to market its new eVariable Annuity. The product is available through AnnuityNETAdvisor.com, a management system for financial advisers, and TDWaterhouse.com's Annuity Center, which was ...
Union Planters Campaign To Retain 401(k) Assets.(developing new services)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Apr 03, 2001; ... Union Planters Corp. is working on a program to help it retain retirement-plan assets after retirement. The program includes an online IRA service center to be launched in the fourth quarter -- with the help of a new record-keeping firm -- plus retirement planning advice. ...
Visa Gives Amex 150 Million Thanks.(Brief Article)
Apr 03, 2001; ... A senior Visa U.S.A. executive tipped his hat to American Express Co. at the eCard 2001 conference here last week, giving the rival card firm credit for bringing smart cards to the U.S. public. Though Visa has been playing catch-up to American Express, which introduced the Blue ...
Amex Site Promotes Blue and Brokerage.(American Express Co. launches Brokerage for Blue)(Brief Article)
Apr 03, 2001 ... In an ongoing effort to make its Blue smart card useful on the Internet, American Express Co. has introduced Brokerage for Blue, a Web site linked to the Blue pages that offers investor tips and encourages visitors to sign up for American Express brokerage accounts. Content at ...
CFI: Ex-Officer's Fund Grab Delays 4Q Results.(CFI Mortgage Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Apr 03, 2001; ... CFI Mortgage Inc. on Monday said it will need more time to report its fourth-quarter earnings because of problems associated with a continuing investigation of a former executive. In an interview, the Clearwater, Fla., lender's chief executive said the circumstances that led it ...
HSBC Chief: E-Banking Opens Doors -- Out.
Apr 03, 2001; ... Taking a contrary viewpoint to the accepted wisdom that wireless and Internet banking services promote loyalty, Youssef A. Nasr, president and chief executive officer of HSBC USA, said the advent of such services has inadvertently made it easier for customers to take their business ...
Clarification.(Friday Issue, page 1)(Correction Notice)
Apr 03, 2001 ... Because of an editing error, the page 1 story "NY Home Loan Chief Would Welcome Fleet" in Friday's issue implied that Washington Mutual Inc. is based in Stockton, Calif. It is based in Seattle; its ...
Amex Warns of 18% Hit From Junk Bond Losses.(American Express Co.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Apr 03, 2001; ... American Express Co. warned investors on Monday that its first-quarter profits will probably fall 18% because of losses sustained in the junk bond market. In a press statement, the company said it will be forced to take a $185 million pretax charge from the writedown and sale of ...
In Brief: Grace's Chapter 11 Filing Names Big Banks.(W.R. Grace and Co.)(Brief Article)
Apr 03, 2001; ... W.R. Grace & Co. sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for its U.S. subsidiaries on Monday, saying it needs time to respond to a sharply rising number of asbestos-related lawsuits. In the filing in Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., Grace listed J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and ...
In Brief: Bank Plus Negotiating with Potential Buyer.(reports stock price)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Apr 03, 2001; ... Responding to a 19% surge in its stock price Friday, Bank Plus Corp. said Monday that it is in negotiations with a potential buyer. Mark K. Mason, president and chief executive officer of $2.2 billion-asset Bank Plus, refused to name the company and said there is no assurance that the ...
In Brief: Mortgage Financier to Buy a Summit Unit.(Independence Community Bank Corp. to acquire Summit Bank's mortgage banking finance group)(Brief Article)
Apr 03, 2001; ... Independence Community Bank Corp. said Monday that it has an agreement to acquire the assets and staff of the former Summit Bank's mortgage banking finance group for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which is expected to close this month, would add eight employees and more than $127 ...
Bankers May Have Missed EBPP Boat.(Brief Article)
Apr 03, 2001; ... Banks have been "flat-footed" in their attempts to persuade people to adopt electronic bill payment and presentment, and may have thus missed their best chance to cement the loyalty of an affluent class of customer, a top bank technology executive said Monday. "We have done a ...
7 Years Later, Merrill In Syndicated's Top 10: Group integrated with high-yield since '99.(Merrill Lynch and Co. ranks among top ten syndicated lenders)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Apr 03, 2001; ... Merrill Lynch & Co.'s efforts to expand its loan syndication operation are paying off. The investment banking firm, which starting building the business about seven years ago, is now ranked among the top 10 syndicated lenders in the United States. Merrill placed seventh during ...
Further Easing Sought In Merchant Bank Regs.(Government Activity)(Brief Article)
Apr 03, 2001; ... Financial services lobbyists who attacked proposed merchant banking regulations with rhetorical sledgehammers last year will ascend Capitol Hill with screwdrivers on Wednesday to tinker further with the rules. Robert J. Kabel, a lawyer with Manatt, Phelps, & Phillips here who is ...
Wamu-Fleet Deal Would Reshape Top Tier.(Brief Article)
Apr 03, 2001; ... Washington Mutual Inc., which has pledged to become the nation's biggest mortgage company, is near a deal that would lift it to second place among U.S. mortage originators and fourth in servicing. If completed, the deal would see Wamu acquire the Fleet Mortgage Group's ...
TD Waterhouse CEO Vows To Trim Where Others Slash.(Brief Article)
Apr 03, 2001; ... TD Waterhouse Group chief executive officer Stephen D. McDonald said the discount brokerage will continue to cut costs to withstand the ongoing market volatility but does not plan the sort of massive layoffs that its peers in online brokerage have initiated. In a presentation at ...
National City Official: Economic Turnaround To Start in 2d Quarter.(Brief Article)
Apr 03, 2001; ... The economic slowdown should bottom out this quarter, possibly giving some relief to banks bearing the brunt of credit-quality woes, according to Richard J. DeKaser, chief economist at National City Corp. in Cleveland. But the slowdown, he said, will continue to cast a shadow ...
In Focus Shift, Royal of Canada Unloading E-Brokerage Accounts.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
Apr 03, 2001; ... Royal Bank of Canada, which has made a steady string of niche acquisitions in the United States, moved to streamline its operations here with a deal Monday to divest its Bull & Bear Securities Inc. online brokerage subsidiary. Two years after buying the New York brokerage for $6 ...
N.D. Weighs Repeal Of 'Opt-In' Data Law.(Government Activity)(Brief Article)
Apr 03, 2001; ... In what the financial services industry hopes is a sign that state-level fervor to enact privacy protections is easing, a bill is advancing through the North Dakota Legislative Assembly that would roll back the state's strict information-sharing law. Currently, North Dakota ...
Estate Tax, Business Checking, Reserve Interest Votes Near.(Government Activity)(Brief Article)
Apr 03, 2001; ... The House is expected to approve two bills this week that banking industry officials are tracking closely. Lawmakers are scheduled to vote today on legislation that would let banks pay interest on business checking accounts as soon as 2003, temporarily expand sweep accounts, and ...
BB&T's 'Buy' Call Shows Commitment.(BB and T Corp. advises investors to buy depressed stocks)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Apr 04, 2001; ... Is BB&T Corp.'s asset management division going out on a limb by saying this is a good time for investors to buy depressed stocks? That depends on what the Winston-Salem, N.C., company hopes to get out of the recommendation. BB&T Asset Management LLC released a ...
Exam Fees Not Linked To Reform, Says FDIC.(Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. rejects bid to raise exam fees for government chartered banks)(Brief Article)
Apr 04, 2001; ... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has rejected an 11th-hour bid by Comptroller of the Currency John D. Hawke Jr. and Office of Thrift Supervision Director Ellen Seidman to have deposit insurance reform include resolution of disparities between exam fees on state-chartered and federally ...
In U.S. Trust Ad, Schwab's Conspicuous By Absence.(U.S. Trust Corp., Charles Schwab Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Apr 04, 2001; ... Charles Schwab Corp. has evolved far beyond its discount brokerage roots, but not far enough, apparently, to mess with the cachet of the 148-year-old U.S. Trust name. Whatever synergy may exist between Schwab's flagship brokerage business and its U.S. Trust Corp. unit is all but ...
Bill Would Put GSEs Under Fed: Their entry into new businesses would need central bank's OK.(government sponsored enterprises, Federal Reserve Board)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Apr 04, 2001; ... A bill expected to be introduced in the House Wednesday would put Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under the supervision of the Federal Reserve Board, requiring the secondary mortgage market giants to get the central bank's approval before entering new businesses. The bill, a draft ...
Key to Consolidate Asset Management Under Single Brand.(Key Asset Management)(Brief Article)
Apr 04, 2001; ... Key Asset Management, the investment management arm of Cleveland-based KeyCorp, is preparing to merge all of its units under a single brand, beginning next month. Richard J. Buoncore, president and chief executive officer, said the initiative is necessary to build the reputation ...