American Banker back issues from May 2003:
Omens Boost Capital One Sale Rumors.
May 01, 2003; ... What do rising earnings plus a major management reshuffling equal? In Capital One Financial Corp.'s case, takeover speculation. In recent days a din has surrounded the McLean, Va., credit card issuer, which reported a double-digit gain in its first-quarter profits, largely the ...
New OCC Watchdog Sets Her Sights on Retail Risk.(Barbara Grunkemeyer)
May 01, 2003; ... Barbara Grunkemeyer, once a commercial lender, is starting to take a hard look at retail. The newly named deputy comptroller for credit risk at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency still considers herself a commercial credit person -- she has headed the agency's ...
CEO: Run on Abacus Almost a Blessing.
May 01, 2003; ... For a man whose thrift lost 13% of its deposits in a four-day run, Thomas Sung sounds surprisingly upbeat. After all, his Abacus Federal Savings Bank is still standing, he points out. Last week it looked like another picture was developing. Panicked depositors of the ...
TODAY'S NEWS.(calendar)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2003 ... FleetBoston continues to make progress in its restructuring, its CFO told investors. Page 2 Among senior B of A executives, only one still calls San Francisco home. Page 2 WASHINGTON Mr. Greenspan again urged Congress to renew the preemption provision of ...
Visa Near Settlement: Parsing the Possibilities.
May 01, 2003; ... With settlement talks rendering the prospect of a long, drawn-out legal battle between the card associations and the nation's merchants less likely by the day, the odds increase that a very sudden, very dramatic shift in the payments business is about to occur. In a development ...
Fleet Targets $10B More Credits To Cut From Corporate Book.
May 01, 2003 ... FleetBoston Financial Corp. continues to make progress in its restructuring, Robert Lamb, its relatively new chief financial officer, said Wednesday morning at the UBS Warburg financial institutions conference in New York. He went over Fleet's various initiatives to reduce risk ...
One B of A Unit Keeping Calif. Base, Global Offices.
May 01, 2003; ... When the newly merged, and newly headquartered, Bank of America Corp. started to break off chunks of its international operations five years ago, Global Treasury Services was one of the few divisions to keep its foreign offices and its San Francisco base. Now the division -- ...
Greenspan Again Urges Preemption Renewal.
May 01, 2003; ... Unless Congress renews a key preemption provision of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the cost of loans will rise, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan told a House panel Wednesday. This is the second time this year that Mr. Greenspan has urged lawmakers to renew the ...
High Court Hears Beneficial Case.(Brief Article)
May 01, 2003; ... The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments in a case that will determine whether a national bank sued in state court for violating usury laws has the right to transfer the case to federal court. The case, Beneficial National Bank et al. v. Anderson et al., had been ...
Ads Hit Credit Unions Where They Live.
May 01, 2003; ... Are banks more patriotic than credit unions because they pay taxes? That was certainly the implication of two advertisements that Frances Slocum Bank in Wabash, Ind., ran recently in four Indiana newspapers in Peru, Wabash, and Kokomo. The ads, which feature photos of ...
Executive Changes.(meshed briefs)
May 01, 2003 ... MIDWEST Private Bank in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., has made Shellie Maitre its marketing officer and June Gorman a loan operations officer. Ms. Maitre, who joined the principal unit of Bloomfield Hills Bancorp Inc. in 2000, was its marketing director. Before that she ...
In Brief: Bank Agency Provider Hires VP.(Brief Article)
May 01, 2003 ... Banc Insurance Services Inc., a provider of turnkey insurance agency solutions for financial institutions, said that Ray LuBien has joined it as vice president of sales and marketing. Most recently, the company said on Tuesday, Mr. LuBien was managing director of the Financial ...
In Brief: Thrivent to Add 800 in Sales.(Brief Article)
May 01, 2003 ... Thrivent Financial for Lutherans announced a campaign Wednesday to recruit 800 financial associates this year for its field organization of nearly 2,500. Thrivent's associates are licensed financial professionals who offer counsel and sell financial products such as life ...
P/C Insurers Fear Privacy Logjam in Data for Claims.
May 01, 2003; ... Property/casualty insurers are concerned that new health privacy rules will make it more difficult to get information they need to assess liability claims. Though the privacy regulation under the Health Insurance Portability and Accessibility Act, or HIPAA, does not apply ...
In Brief: Northern Trust Closes Deal for Atlanta Firm.(Northern Trust Corp. now owns Legacy South Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2003 ... Northern Trust Corp. said Wednesday that it has closed a previously announced deal for an Atlanta private wealth management firm. Northern now owns Legacy South Inc., which manages $300 million of assets for high-net-worth individuals, families, and private foundations. The ...
In Brief: Fidelity Taps Leader For Its 401(k) Unit.(Fidelity Investments appoints William C. Carey president of its 401(k) unit)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2003 ... Fidelity Investments said it has appointed William C. Carey president of its 401(k) unit. Mr. Carey, 42, was named the president of Fidelity Institutional Retirement Services Co., the parent mutual fund company said on Tuesday. He has worked at Fidelity for 10 years, most ...
In Brief: Mutual Fund Assets Fell as Inflows Rose.(Brief Article)
May 01, 2003 ... Mutual fund assets fell slightly in March, according to data from the Investment Company Institute. The combined assets of the nation's mutual funds declined 0.03%, to $6.266 trillion, the institute said Tuesday. All major categories of long-term mutual funds ...
In Brief: 529 Plan Group Unveils Its Board.(the College Savings Foundation announces its board of directors)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2003 ... The College Savings Foundation, an organization for building awareness about 529 college savings plans, has announced its board of directors. The foundation said Tuesday that it elected Charles Toth, the director of education savings at Merrill Lynch & Co., to be its chairman; ...
Top Bank Holding Companies by Concentration in Home Equity Loans*.(Illustration)
May 01, 2003 ... As of Dec. 31, 2002. Dollars in thousands. (part 1 of 2) <Pre> 1Five Flags Banks Inc. Pensacola, Fla. 2First American Bank Corp. Elk Grove Village, Ill. 3Heritage Community Bancorp Riverdale, Ill. 4Western Springs Bancorp Inc. Hoffman ...
3d Time the Charm? MyPoints, Citi Hook Up.(Citigroup Inc. is launching a cobranded credit card with MyPoints.com Inc.)
May 01, 2003; ... Citigroup Inc. is the third bank to offer a cobranded credit card with MyPoints.com Inc. The eight-year-old San Francisco company has had a string of bad luck choosing bank partners, with previous issuers NextCard Inc. and CompuCredit Corp. shuttering those programs after stumbling into ...
Pipeline.(banking industry news briefs)
May 01, 2003; ... GMAC's Calif. Gambit GMAC Mortgage Corp. has a new division, CalDirect, dedicated to California borrowers. Rick Gillespie, the Horsham, Pa.-based mortgage company's chief marketing officer, said there will be an aggressive television and radio ad campaign to promote ...
Zions-EDS Pairing Could Be Key Match for Check Imaging.(Zions Bancorp and Electronic Data Systems Corp. are forming a partnership)
May 01, 2003; ... A partnership between Zions Bancorp and Electronic Data Systems Corp. is poised to close the gap between banks ready to clear checks with electronic images and those lagging in implementing imaging capabilities. Executives in the payments industry say this could become an ...
Citi Revamps Corporate Banking Site.(Citigroup completes an overhaul of its online banking site for corporations)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2003 ... Citigroup Inc. has completed the biggest overhaul in two and a half years of its online banking site for corporations, which now offers more language options and tighter integration of foreign exchange trading. Diane S. Reyes, the chief operating officer of Citi's global cash ...
In Brief: HSBC Unit Agrees to Anti-Laundering Fixes.(a deal is reached between the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the New York State Banking Department, and HSBC Bank USA)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2003 ... The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday released a written agreement reached by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the New York State Banking Department, and HSBC Bank USA aimed at fixing "deficiencies" in HSBC's anti-money-laundering procedures. The agreement includes ...
In Brief: Raines Has a Few Words for GSE Bashers.(Brief Article)
May 01, 2003 ... Fannie Mae chairman and chief executive Franklin D. Raines went after his foes once again Wednesday. "Lobbyists in Washington are being paid to stir the pot to see of they can negatively affect the business of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," Mr. Raines said during a ...
In Brief: New Backing for Hawaii Buyout Attempt.(Brief Article)
May 01, 2003 ... Another large shareholder of CB Bancshares Inc. has come forth to support an unsolicited takeover bid from a local rival. Hiroko Nagamoto, the president of the Japanese company Nanboku Sangyo, which holds a 4.8% stake in the $1.2 billion-asset parent of City Bank, said ...
In Brief: New Citibank Offering Involves Banamex.(Brief Article)
May 01, 2003 ... Citibank on Tuesday unveiled Global Transfer, which lets people transfer money in the United States or Mexico for $5. The Citigroup Inc. subsidiary currently offers an online service, c2it, that charges $10 to send money internationally and 2% of the transaction amount when ...
In Brief: Top Two Settlement Houses to Be One.(Brief Article)
May 01, 2003 ... The nation's two largest check clearing and settlement houses, The Clearing House and The Chicago Clearing House, said Wednesday that they had signed a letter of intent to merge. The bank-owned organizations, both formed in the mid-1800s, before there was a ...
TODAY'S NEWS.
May 02, 2003 ... WASHINGTON Page 3 COMMUNITY BANKING SBA loans for new construction may be slowed by environmental reviews. Page 4 Iowa's West Bancorp has agreed to buy Hawkeye State Bank in Iowa City. Page 4 INSURANCE/INVESTMENT PRODUCTS Page 5 ...
Will FDIC Reserve Review Make Ratios Less Volatile?(Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.)
May 02, 2003; ... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is reevaluating how it estimates losses on future failures -- a key calculation that can have a dramatic effect on the premiums paid by banks and thrifts. The FDIC's goal is to reduce the volatility of its reserves, and it has turned to the ...
What Debit Settlements Really Mean To Issuers.
May 02, 2003; ... The new payments world created by the settlements of Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International in the Wal-Mart case means that banks must plan for sizable losses in debit card interchange revenue, which will likely affect a wide range of decisions. The most important change for ...
Testing Limits of Demand For Purchase Mortgages.
May 02, 2003; ... Big mortgage lenders know that sooner or later this refinancing boom is going to end, the easy money will go away, and they will have to make more home-purchase loans to survive. Homebuilders Financial Network, a Miami Lakes, Fla., firm that runs loan brokerage operations for ...
Venturing to New Markets, Agency First.(BancorpSouth Inc. entering Baton Rouge market via acquisition of WMS L.L.C. assets)
May 02, 2003; ... BancorpSouth Inc. is using an insurance agency deal to enter the Baton Rouge, La., market -- a move that a deal broker says is part of a trend among banks that are looking beyond their footprint for growth opportunities. James Threadgill, an executive vice president of ...
Branding, Competition Drive Retail Ad Spending Boom.
May 02, 2003; ... Advertising spending is growing faster at the largest U.S. banks than in the industry in general, and faster than all ad spending nationwide, as companies focus on retail banking and brand building. Bank One Corp., FleetBoston Financial Corp., Wachovia Corp., and Bank of America ...
People.(various news briefs)
May 02, 2003; ... Hawaiian Hijinks A hostile takeover battle in Hawaii has devolved from high drama in the Honolulu business community to spirited lava-slinging. It all started April 17, with a conference call by Central Pacific Financial Corp., the $1.7 billion-asset parent of Central ...
Flash Points.(investment banking settlement)
May 02, 2003 ... Congress Is Monday's global settlement the be-all and end-all of policymakers' probes into investment bankers' business practices? That would certainly please Wall Street. Representatives of the big 10 firms argue that the deal cut with regulators, combined with the ...
SBA Lenders Worried About New Eco-Friendly Procedures.(Small Business Administration )
May 02, 2003; ... Banks that make U.S. Small Business Administration loans for new construction are bracing for much slower originations because of new environmental-impact red tape. Federal agencies' environmental-impact reviews are not new. Since 1969, when the U.S. National Environmental ...
In Brief: West Bancorp. to Buy Hawkeye State.(Brief Article)
May 02, 2003 ... West Bancorp. Inc. has agreed to buy $140 million-asset Hawkeye State Bank in Iowa City. The deal, announced late Wednesday, is expected to close in August. West did not reveal how much it would pay in the all-cash deal, except to say that it would be a $15 million premium on ...
In Brief: National Penn in Deal for Pa.'s HomeTowne.(acquires HomeTowne Heritage Bank)(Brief Article)
May 02, 2003 ... Two months before its fourth anniversary, HomeTowne Heritage Bank said Thursday it has agreed to sell itself to National Penn Bancshares Inc. for $37.6 million in cash. Wayne R. Weidner, National Penn's chairman and chief executive officer, said $142 million-asset HomeTowne ...
In Brief: Consumer Protection Enforcement Summit.(Brief Article)
May 02, 2003 ... The Mortgage Bankers Association of America announced Thursday it will hold a meeting next month on enforcement of consumer protection laws. Federal and state regulators as well as mortgage industry and consumer representatives will be invited to participate in the June 17 ...
In Brief: S1 Takes Edify Off Selling Block.(Brief Article)
May 02, 2003 ... After eight months of negotiations, S1 Corp. has dropped plans to sell its Edify unit, saying it could not get fair value. S1, a maker of banking software products, said late Wednesday that it would take a goodwill-impairment charge of $12 million and restructuring charges of ...
In Brief: CheckFree Pairs With AcuPrint.
May 02, 2003 ... CheckFree Corp. has struck a deal with AcuPrint Technology Inc. to help banks promote positive-pay check-fraud prevention to their middle-market corporate clients, an executive says. Mark Zill, the general manager of the CheckFree Financial and Compliance Solutions unit, said ...
In Brief: Royal of Canada Does Desk Work.(Brief Article)
May 02, 2003 ... Royal Bank of Canada has whittled dozens of information technology service- desk operations down to four, and plans to keep at it until it gets all its "change and problem" management operations on a single computer system, a manager with the company says. It has taken several ...
Letters to the Editor: Congress Must Not Let Wal-Mart Enter Financial Industry.
May 02, 2003 ... To the Editor: Why should a banker like you listen to a labor leader like me about the banking business? Very simple, I have what banks are about to get -- the Wal-Mart experience -- and it will not leave you with a smiling face. Think of me as the whistle on a train ...
Letters to the Editor: 'Balanced' Laws On Predators Are Anything But.(Letter to the Editor)
May 02, 2003 ... To the Editor: Randy Lively's April 25 letter ("Activist Groups Must Look at Real Subprime World," page 8) describes laws on predatory lending in Kentucky, Colorado, and Florida as "balanced laws" and the result of "cooperation between industry representatives and activist ...
Letters to the Editor: New Subprime Law In N.J. Fair to Both Banks, Borrowers.(Letter to the Editor)
May 02, 2003 ... To the Editor: Randy Lively, President and CEO of the Washington-based American Financial Services Association, took issue with "consumer activist groups" in his April 25 letter, "Activist Groups Must Look at Real Subprime World" (page 8). It is unfortunate that Mr. Lively ...
Let Banks Be Intermediaries In the Commodities Markets.
May 02, 2003; ... Despite the post-Enron taint on energy and commodities trading, the Federal Reserve Board is considering a rule that would let bank holding companies enter into derivative contracts that typically result in taking and making delivery of title to, but not physical possession of, commodities ...
Letters to the Editor: After Settlement, Visa, MasterCard Must Be Reshaped.(Letter to the Editor)
May 02, 2003 ... To the Editor: In an article earlier this month ("Banks Must Act to Prevent Disaster in Wal-Mart Case," April 4, page 8), I urged the card industry to recognize the potential catastrophe in its antitrust lawsuits, especially the Wal-Mart case. Last Friday in a letter ...
Support for FHLBs In Disclosure Fight.(Federal Home Loan banks)
May 02, 2003 ... In a letter sent to Bush administration officials Wednesday, 17 lawmakers expressed concern about a proposal to require the Federal Home Loan banks to make financial disclosures to the Securities and Exchange Commission and endorsed a compromise plan put forward by the banks. ...
Top Community Banks* Based on Return on Average Equity.
May 02, 2003 ... At yearend 2002. Dollars in thousands. (part 1 of 2) <Pre> 1Pitney Bowes Bank Salt Lake City 2Benchmark Bank Plano, Tex. 3First National Bank of Arizona Scottsdale 4Horizon National Bank Leawood, Kan. 5Affinity Bank Ventura, ...
In Brief: Treasury to Weigh In on Credit Reporting.(Brief Article)
May 02, 2003 ... A Treasury Department official is scheduled to testify at a congressional hearing Tuesday on the renewal of a data-sharing preemption provision of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The witness, unidentified as of Thursday, is expected to detail the Bush administration's position in ...
In Brief: N.J. Governor Signs Stiff Anti-Predator Bill.(Brief Article)
May 02, 2003 ... Gov. James E. McGreevey signed a predatory lending measure Thursday that would hold secondary-market mortgage buyers and securitizers liable for the misdeeds of originators and other players. The New Jersey law, which is considered the toughest of its kind since Georgia passed ...
In Brief: FDIC Chief Stands Up for Industrial Banks.(Brief Article)
May 02, 2003 ... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is defending its supervision of industrial loan companies, turning up the heat on the debate on whether such companies should be given expanded powers. In a letter Wednesday to Sen. Robert F. Bennett, R-Utah, FDIC Chairman Don Powell said ...
A Muted Market Response To Rumors About TD Unit.(Toronto-Dominion Bank, TD Waterhouse )
May 02, 2003; ... Shares of discount brokerage firms were mixed Thursday after a report that Toronto-Dominion Bank could be mulling a sale of the U.S. arm of its TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage unit. The Canadian bank has struggled to find a place for TD Waterhouse, the online brokerage it ...
Clarification.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
May 02, 2003 ... The tables listing the top 150 bank and thrift holding companies as ranked by deposits and by assets, which ran April 15 on pages 3A and 5A, respectively, in the "Ranking the Banks" special ...
Basel II's Other Issue: Disclosure.(Basel Committee on Banking Supervision rules focus attention on disclosure)
May 05, 2003; ... When the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision rolled out its third proposal for rewriting international bank capital rules last week, the bulk of the attention -- like the bulk of the document itself -- was on its methods of calculating regulatory capital requirements. But ...
Another Check Survey for Fed: One of its goals: To verify dip reported in '01.(Federal Reserve Board)
May 05, 2003; ... The Federal Reserve Board is gearing up to conduct a fresh survey of the volume of paper checks written annually, a follow-up to the landmark 2001 research that led to the first clear conclusion that check-writing was on the decline. Fed officials have been holding a series of ...
Merrill Offers a Retail Banking Self-Assessment.(Merrill Lynch & Co.)
May 05, 2003; ... Around four months after taking the wraps off its Beyond Banking marketing initiative, a top Merrill Lynch & Co. executive last week offered a omprehensive update on the company's goals in retail banking and listed its successes to date. According to James Gorman, the ...
Newly Formed Holding Co. Has Southern Calif. in Sights.(America Bancshares Inc.)
May 05, 2003; ... Less than a month old, a holding company set up by a family that is active in bank investing and wants to build a Southern California operation of its own has struck its first deal. America Bancshares Inc. was formed by B. John Barry, who heads a family that holds shares in 15 ...
TODAY'S NEWS.(Predatory lending)(Brief Article)
May 05, 2003 ... COMMUNITY BANKING The D.C. Council will vote on a nonbinding resolution opposing preemption of local laws aimed at abusive lending. Page 3 WASHINGTON Page 4 CARDS A task force seeking ways to stop data theft at ATMs drafted recommendations ....
Agencies Square Off On Deposit Reform Bill.(Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.)
May 05, 2003; ... Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Don Powell on Friday lashed out at assertions that lawmakers can dawdle on deposit insurance reform, saying there could be "very real financial consequences" if a comprehensive bill is not enacted by yearend. His remarks sharply ...
Movement on LLC, But IRS View Pivotal.(limited liability companies,)
May 05, 2003; ... Inspired by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s decision to give deposit insurance to state-chartered banks incorporated as limited liability companies, Nebraska has repealed a law prohibiting state banks from adopting the structure. Meanwhile, seven other states are mulling ...
D.C. to Take Stand on U.S. Predator Law.(Brief Article)
May 05, 2003 ... The District of Columbia Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a resolution opposing federal preemption of state and local laws aimed at abusive lending. The nonbinding resolution "calls upon the U.S. Congress to respect the authority of state and local elected officials to ...
Washington People.(Jonathan Fiechter will wrap up his second stint with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and join the International Monetary Fund)
May 05, 2003; ... IMF Gets a Lifer Jonathan Fiechter will wrap up his second stint with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and join the International Monetary Fund June 2. Mr. Fiechter has been a fixture in the world of financial services policy for 30 years, starting out ...
Settlements In Hand, Lawyers in Debit Suit Lighten Up In Court.(Walmart, Visa U.S.A. and Mastercard International)
May 05, 2003; ... At the end of what was supposed to have been the first week of the Wal-Mart trial, there were nothing but smiles and handshakes as lawyers for the retailers, Visa U.S.A., and MasterCard International submitted a time line for wrapping up the settlement by September. The ...