American Banker back issues from April 2008:
Treasury's Plan Under Scrutiny: Bankers Agree On Need for Change, Part On Details.
Apr 01, 2008; ... Any proposal as sweeping as the Treasury Department's plan to revamp the financial services regulatory system stands a high likelihood of drawing sharply mixed reactions and some significant heat. So it was noteworthy how readily many in the industry accepted the idea that the ...
Treasury's Plan Under Scrutiny: Line Items: Separating Long Shots From Layups.
Apr 01, 2008; ... WASHINGTON -- A Treasury Department plan to revamp financial services regulation is expected to produce some significant changes but fall far short of the massive overhaul Secretary Henry Paulson outlined Monday. In interviews with analysts, academics, regulators, bankers, and ...
Capitol Takes Step Back From Its Michigan Roots.(Northstar Financial Group Inc. acquired by Capitol Bancorp Ltd.)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Capitol Bancorp Ltd., which has bet its success on an innovative model of expanding into high-growth territories, is paring back its exposure to its low-growth home turf of Michigan. The Lansing company said Monday that it would sell four banks in the state to Northstar ...
Webster Takes PNC Path To Better Efficiency Ratio.
Apr 01, 2008; ... Webster Financial Corp. is plugging away at a broad review of its expense base, something its chief executive has called the company's "highest operating priority in 2008." But the process has a familiar ring to it. Cutting expenses, particularly in a downturn, is nothing new in ...
SEC Guidelines Change Fair-Value Accounting Model.(Securities and Exchange Commission)
Apr 01, 2008; ... The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued guidance on disclosures for public companies implementing a controversial new standard on fair-value accounting by sending a letter to the chief financial officers of roughly 30 companies that use the method. The agency did not ...
Foreclosure Bill Still on Table.(Conference news)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Senate Democrats say they will continue legislative efforts to prevent foreclosures, despite opposition from across the aisle. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn. said Monday on a conference call with reporters that they ...
HUD Secretary Is Resigning.(Alphonso Jackson resigns from Department of Housing and Urban Development)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson, at the center of a controversy over his alleged favors to friends, announced his resignation Monday, citing personal reasons. Mr. Jackson said he would leave the agency April 18. The numerous allegations ...
L.A.-Georgia Deal Collapses; Eighth To Fail This Year.(First International Bank of Grenada acquired by Center Financial Corp.)
Apr 01, 2008; ... An eighth 2008 banking deal fell apart Monday when Center Financial Corp. in Los Angeles said its $65.2 million agreement to buy First Intercontinental Bank in Doraville, Ga., is off. Each side blamed the other for the breakup, but neither specified what happened. ...
Discover Closes Sale of U.K. Unit.(Barclays Bank S.A. to acquire Goldbrand Development Ltd.)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Discover Financial Services LLC announced Monday that it has sold its U.K. credit card business, Goldfish Card Services Ltd., to Barclays Bank PLC for about $70 million in cash. The purchase gives Barclays a card portfolio with about 1.7 million accounts, $3.9 billion of ...
Citi Services to Use Firethorn Software.(Citigroup Inc. to provide mobile banking services)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Citigroup Inc., which is splitting its consumer banking and card businesses into separate business groups, said Monday that it plans to offer a mobile account management service to cardholders using software from Firethorn Holdings LLC. The service will be available to Citi ...
Amex Stopping Express Pay.(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008 ... American Express Co. plans to discontinue its Express Pay contactless key-chain fob by July 31 to concentrate on promoting contactless payments using conventional cards. "We didn't see much uptake with the fob, so we've decided to focus our efforts on our cards," Molly Faust, a ...
Fla. Ruling May Alter the Payday Business.(Florida Office of Financial Regulation)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Florida is cracking down on a payday lending model devised several years ago when federal regulators restricted banks from funding such loans. Though the state has targeted only one "credit services organization," others are beginning to consider alternative ways of doing ...
Wealth Management Media Scan: What consumer financial publications wrote about this week.(Column)
Apr 01, 2008 ... Liquid Diet Time? Nobody ever went broke from too much liquidity, Ben Stein writes in The New York Times' "Everybody's Business" column. So in volatile times like these, "cash is your best friend," according to the economist and former White House speechwriter, who ...
Servicers, Expecting RefiWave, Work on Retention.
Apr 01, 2008; ... Even while mortgage servicers are dealing with an overwhelming volume of delinquent borrowers, they are bracing for a refinancing wave that could cost them their best customers. Some servicers anticipate a refinancing surge in the next few months because of the expectation that ...
Tex. Brokerage Now a First Houston Site.(First Houston Mortgage Ltd.)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Professional Mortgage Services, a San Antonio brokerage that has been in business for more than 15 years, has become a net branch of First Houston Mortgage Ltd., a mortgage bank licensed in 18 states. The arrangement, announced Monday, gives Professional Mortgage access to First ...
Obopay: Indian System As Global Launching Pad.
Apr 01, 2008; ... Obopay Inc. says expanding into India is the first step toward becoming an international remittance service provider. The Redwood City, Calif., company, which has enabled people to make person-to-person transfers through mobile phones in the United States since 2006, said last ...
Fed Speeding Up Check Center Shift.(Federal Reserve Board )(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008; ... The Federal Reserve Board is accelerating its shutdown of paper-check processing centers again. The acceleration was announced Monday, nine months after the central bank said that by 2011 it would have only four full-service check processing centers - in Atlanta, Cleveland, ...
Citi Launches U.S. Forex System.(Citigroup Inc. )(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Citigroup Inc. is offering online foreign exchange trading to individual and small institutional traders in the United States. The New York company said last week its CitiFX Pro system will offer trading services in more than 130 currency pairs, including major and emerging ...
In-House Appraiser Sues Wachovia on Shorted Pay.
Apr 01, 2008; ... Wachovia Corp. is facing a lawsuit claiming it underpays its in-house appraisers, whom the company has repeatedly called the bedrock of its underwriting of option adjustable-rate mortgages. The lawsuit, filed March 18 in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida by ...
Home Loan Bank Profits, Advances Grow.(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008; ... The crumbling credit markets helped boost earnings at the Federal Home Loan banks, according to a combined financial report they released Monday for last year. Net income at the 12 banks grew 8.2%, to $2.8 billion. That growth stemmed from a 36.6% surge in advances, to $875 ...
Ex-Analyst Joins People's to Weigh Buys.(People's United Bank)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008; ... People's United Bank has hired an analyst who used to cover the Bridgeport, Conn., thrift company to be its contact with the investment community and evaluate potential acquisitions. Former analyst Jared Shaw joined the $21 billion-asset company last week from KBW Inc.'s Keefe, ...
Future-Banking Center Planned at MIT.(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008; ... Bank of America Corp. has committed more than $15 million for a banking program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Charlotte company, in conjunction with the MIT Media Laboratory, is creating the Center for Future Banking. Anne Finucane, Bank of America's chief ...
Market Monitor.(Statistical data)(Company rankings)
Apr 01, 2008 ... KBW Bank Index (large cap) 52 Week Div. $ High Low P/E Yld Last Chg 52.96 33.12 Bank of America Corp-NC 11.1 6.8 37.91 -0.16 50.26 38.30 Bank of New York Mellon Corp/The-NY 15.8 2.3 41.73 0.44 43.02 25.92 BB&T ...
Fed's Gains In Paulson Plan Could Have a Cost: Broader powers may intensify calls for added transparency.(United States. Federal Reserve Board)
Apr 02, 2008; ... WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department's proposal to revamp the nation's regulatory system would let the Federal Reserve Board get its hands into more sectors of the economy but is also likely to prompt calls for more transparency at the central bank. That pressure could begin ...
Southeast in Decline? Not These Markets.(Community Banks Inc.)
Apr 02, 2008; ... Despite the unrelenting bad news about collapsing real estate values in many markets in the Southeast, community banks can still point to a few cities and regions where real estate lending remains strong. In areas such as Hampton Roads, Va.; Savannah, Ga.; and Nashville, banks ...
OTS: Crisis Is No Time for Reg Revamp.(United States. Office of Thrift Supervision)(Interview)
Apr 02, 2008; ... WASHINGTON -- Office of Thrift Supervision Deputy Director Scott Polakoff took issue Tuesday with a Treasury proposal to eliminate the thrift charter and his agency, saying both are still necessary for the financial system and that now is not the time to discuss such an overhaul. ...
'For Sale' Sign All But Goes Up At National City.(National City Corp.)(The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.)
Apr 02, 2008; ... National City Corp., which for weeks has been rumored to be on the block, all but confirmed the rumors in the eyes of Wall Street by disclosing that its board was reviewing "a range of strategic alternatives." The $150 billion-asset Cleveland company, which has been hit hard by ...
Eyeing Ag-Lending Boom For Seeds of Next Bubble.(agricultural industry)
Apr 02, 2008; ... Some bankers and agriculture economists say the lessons of excess in residential real estate - namely, that prices cannot go up forever - should now be applied to agriculture. Soaring commodity prices have driven up farmland values in the Corn Belt to record highs and fueled an ...
Executive Changes.(briefs )
Apr 02, 2008; ... MIDDLE ATLANTIC U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management has hired Douglas Moore as a managing director and senior financial planner in its multifamily officer group and rehired Santo Vicenzino as a senior fiduciary and administrative adviser. Mr. Moore ...
Senate to Take Up New Housing Bill.(United States. Congress. Senate)
Apr 02, 2008; ... Republican and Democratic senators agreed Tuesday to draft bipartisan legislation aimed at stemming foreclosures, avoiding an almost-certain defeat of a Democratic bill opposed by GOP members. The Senate voted 94 to 1 to invoke cloture - which limits debate on legislation and ...
Security Watch.(Hannaford Brothers Co)
Apr 02, 2008; ... Hacker How-To The major breach disclosed by the Hannaford Bros. Cos. grocery chain has been tied to malicious software that was planted on servers at about 300 of its stores. The revelation shows that hackers have devised a way to steal card data from a merchant that ...
Loyalty Service Put On Payment Cards.
Apr 02, 2008; ... The loyalty marketing company Chockstone Inc. has developed a way to let consumers' payment cards double as loyalty cards. Using the Portland, Ore., company's SingleSwipe service, introduced Monday, people can register their existing credit and debit cards with merchants that ...
Debt Seen Rising Most Where ARMs Hit Hardest.(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... In another sign turmoil in the housing market is seeping into other consumer finance businesses, fourth-quarter credit card debt increased at its steepest rate in several states that have been hit hardest by adjustable-rate mortgage resets, according to a study that TransUnion LLC ...
Wamu to Become Top PayPass Issuer.(Washington Mutual Inc.)(MasterCard Inc.)(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... Washington Mutual Inc. expects to issue 12 million to 15 million debit cards this year that use MasterCard Inc.'s PayPass contactless technology. Doing so would make Wamu the top issuer of PayPass, the Seattle thrift company said Tuesday. Last quarter there were more than 23 ...
A Middle-Market Offering by Harris.(Harris Bankcorporation Inc.)(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... Harris Bankcorp Inc., a Chicago unit of Bank of Montreal, has introduced a corporate card for businesses with $10 million to $250 million of annual revenue. The card, which can be used to pay for travel and entertainment, purchasing, or fleet expenses, runs on MasterCard Inc.'s ...
Image of N.C. Buys Debit Consultant.(North Carolina)(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... Image Products Inc., a Wilmington, N.C., provider of debit reward programs for regional and community banks, has acquired Furnace, Giltner & Associates, an Austin debit card reward consulting firm. The acquisition was ...
B of A in Baseball Account Promotion.(Bank of America Corp.)(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... Bank of America Corp. has expanded its affinity program to include Major League Baseball. The $1.7 trillion-asset Charlotte company said Monday that it is offering checking accounts with logos from all 30 of the league's teams as part of a five-year sponsorship contract signed ...
Western Union in Mobile Partnership.(RadioShack Corp.)(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... Western Union Co. has formed a partnership with RadioShack Corp. and Trumpet Mobile, a prepaid wireless division of Affinity Mobile LLC of Dallas, to expand the national availability of mobile remittances. Last year Western Union said it was enhancing its international ...
Wells Unit Targets $50 Million Families.(Wells Fargo & Co.)(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... Wells Fargo & Co. said it has created a group to serve "ultra-wealthy families who manage their wealth across generations." The family wealth group, which is a part of the Wells Fargo Private Bank division, will combine investment and risk management services with expertise in ...
Keegan Promotes Fixed-Income Execs.(John Carson and Robert Baird appointed at Morgan Keegan and Company Inc.)(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... Morgan Keegan & Co. of Memphis, Regions Financial Corp.'s brokerage and investment banking arm, promoted two executives to chief posts in its fixed-income operations. Robert Baird, 56, is now president of fixed-income capital markets, and Kevin Giddis, 46, is head of ...
8th Private Wealth Mgmt Office for UBS.(UBS Financial Services Inc.)(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... UBS Financial Services Inc. of New York has opened a private wealth management office in Houston, its first there. The office, which opened Monday, serves clients with assets of more than $10 million. The unit of the Swiss banking company UBS AG now has eight private ...
Hancock No. 1 in Long-Term-Care Sales.(John Hancock Financial Services Inc.)(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... John Hancock Life Insurance Co. sold more long-term-care insurance than any other carrier last year, according to a Limra International survey. The Boston unit of Manulife Financial Corp. sold more than 100,000 long-term policies, which resulted in $197 million in total premium, ...
First Midwest of Ill.: Trust Division in a 'Sweet Spot'.(First Midwest Bancorporation Inc.)
Apr 02, 2008; ... First Midwest Bancorp Inc., an Itasca, Ill., company that focuses on Chicago, has expanded its trust services business by using local connections to get deals. It has thrived where smaller companies have faltered because it has developed the resources to play in the trust services game ....
Capital-Raising Pickings Slim as 'Mess' Is Cleared.
Apr 02, 2008; ... There will be a long road to recovery from the financial crisis, and the markets will be heavily dependent on government action, speakers on a panel said Tuesday. The question now is "how hard" the economic landing will be, Nouriel Roubini, a professor of economics and ...
MBA Unit Seeking Database Vendor.(Mortgage Bankers Association)(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... Lender Technologies Corp., a for-profit subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association, has requested proposals from vendors for the creation of a national fraud database to help mortgage lenders share information and prevent fraudulent loans from being originated. Corey ...
ShoreBank Affiliate Names CFSI Fellow.(Jeff Jaffee appointed at Center for Financial Services Innovation)(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... The Center for Financial Services Innovation, a nonprofit affiliate of Chicago's ShoreBank Corp., has named Jeff Jaffee, a 23-year veteran of Citigroup Inc. and its predecessors, a CFSI Fellow. Mr. Jaffee provides "strategic guidance ... on building a credible voice around ...
Thornburg Infusion Averts Bankruptcy.(Thornburg Mortgage Inc.)(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... Thornburg Mortgage Inc. has staved off possible bankruptcy by raising $1.35 billion from investors. The Sante Fe, N.M., real estate investment trust sold bonds with a face value of $1.15 billion for the discounted price of $1.05 billion and received $100 million for a ...
PVF, United of Ohio Cancel Their Deal.(PVF Capital Corp. acquired by United Community Financial Corp.)(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... PVF Capital Corp. of Solon, Ohio, has called off its planned sale to United Community Financial Corp. in Youngstown. The cancellation was announced Tuesday, a day after the terms of the agreement gave both companies the option to walk away. The deal, announced in ...
B of A to Support Carbon Principles.(Bank of America Corp.)(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... Bank of America Corp. was expected to announce Tuesday evening that it would support guidelines to reduce its clients' carbon emissions. Kenneth D. Lewis, the $1.7 trillion-asset Charlotte company's chairman, president, and chief executive, planned to announced its adoption of ...
Fed Unveils a Web Foreclosure Map.(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... The Federal Reserve Board unveiled an interactive map Tuesday to help community groups, government agencies, and others identify foreclosure hot spots and target aid to those areas. The map, available at www.newyorkfed.org/mortgagemaps, lets users choose from 12 options to get a ...
Celent Says 200K Jobs May Be Lost.(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... The financial services sector could lose as many as 200,000 jobs this year and early next year as the housing slump and a slowing economy force consolidation and layoffs, a report issued Tuesday by Celent LLC of Boston says. The forecast covers the nation's commercial banking ...
Capital-Raising Plans Lift Sector.(Citigroup Inc.)(JPMorgan Chase & Co.)(Wachovia Corp.)(Financial report)(Brief article)
Apr 02, 2008; ... Bank stocks rallied Tuesday, outperforming the broader market, as two companies announced plans to raise capital and investors showed renewed confidence in the sector. The KBW Bank Index jumped 7.5%. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 3.2%, and the Standard & Poor's 500 ...
Bank and Thrift Holding Companies with Largest Portfolios of First Mortgages.(Statistical table)
Apr 02, 2008 ... On Sept. 30, 2007. Dollars in thousands Type of First mortgage loans Total loans holding company Sept. 30 Year earlier Change and leases <Pre> 1 Bank of America Corp. Charlotte bank $275,565,763 $219,164,283 25.7% $821,988,217 2 ...
Market Monitor.(Statistical data)
Apr 02, 2008 ... KBW Bank Index (large cap) 52 Week Div. $ High Low P/E Yld Last Chg 52.96 33.12 Bank of America Corp-NC 11.9 6.3 40.81 2.90 50.26 38.30 Bank of New York Mellon Corp/The-NY 16.7 2.2 44.13 2.40 43.02 25.92 BB&T ...
Paulson Plan Would Open Charters to All Comers: Banking-commerce divide would end, Fed would add oversight.
Apr 03, 2008; ... WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department's blueprint for revamping financial regulation would allow commercial firms of all stripes to own and operate banks. Where to draw the line between banking and commerce is a perennial debate, and the Bush administration's proposal released ...
Housing Stimulus Deal Omits Bankruptcy Provision.
Apr 03, 2008; ... WASHINGTON -- After scrambling through the night and into Wednesday, Republican and Democratic senators reached a deal on a housing stimulus bill that would leave out some of the most aggressive measures, including a provision to let bankruptcy judges rework mortgages. Details ...
PFF Less Sure Worst Days Are Behind It.(PFF Bancorporation Inc.)
Apr 03, 2008; ... Few bank or thrift companies have been hit as hard by the real estate meltdown in California's Inland Empire region as PFF Bancorp Inc. in Rancho Cucamonga. After losing more than $22 million in the last six months of 2007 - and suggesting in January that the worst of its ...
OCC: Banks Lost $10B on 4Q Trading.(Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)(Financial report)(Brief article)
Apr 03, 2008; ... The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Wednesday that trading businesses cost commercial banks $9.97 billion in the fourth quarter - a reversal from the third quarter, when the industry reported gains of $2.28 billion. The losses were caused by "well-publicized ...
Fed Chief Won't Rule Out More Bear-Like Rescues.(United States. Federal Reserve Board)
Apr 03, 2008; ... WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke strongly defended the central bank's rescue of Bear Stearns Cos. to skeptical lawmakers Wednesday and refused to rule out similar actions in the future. A dozen members of the Joint Economic Committee spent nearly three ...
Waters Offers Foreclosure Measure.
Apr 03, 2008; ... Rep. Maxine Waters, the chairwoman of the House Financial Services housing subcommittee, introduced a bill Wednesday that would ban foreclosures unless lenders and services made "reasonable" efforts to modify mortgages. The California Democrat said the legislation is necessary ...
Calif. Credit Unions to Merge.(First Future Credit Union merged with California Coast Credit Union)(Brief article)
Apr 03, 2008; ... First Future Credit Union and California Coast Credit Union have agreed to merge in a deal that would create the second-largest credit union in San Diego, with more than $1.8 billion of assets and 130,000 members. Only the $4 billion-asset San Diego County Credit Union would be ...
Executive Changes.(briefs)
Apr 03, 2008; ... MIDWEST PrivateBank, a St. Louis unit of Chicago's PrivateBancorp Inc., has hired James C. Binz and John Bugh as managing directors. Mr. Binz had been a senior vice president and divisional manager for regional commercial banking at LaSalle Bank, which Bank of America ...
Amazon Offers Text Message Purchasing.(Amazon.com Inc.)(Brief article)
Apr 03, 2008; ... Amazon.com Inc. introduced a mobile shopping service Wednesday that lets customers authorize purchases with text messages. The TextBuyIt service lets people search the Seattle retailer's inventory using text message commands. Amazon sends search results to users through text ...
Discover's Spending Index Fell in March.(Discover Financial Services Inc.)(Brief article)
Apr 03, 2008; ... Growing consumer concern about the U.S. economy drove down Discover Financial Services' U.S. Spending Monitor index last month. The Riverwoods, Ill., company said Wednesday that the index fell 1 point from the previous month and 11 points from six months earlier, to 85.1. The ...
MasterCard Leaves Most Interchange Rates Alone.(MasterCard Inc.)
Apr 03, 2008; ... MasterCard Inc. says it will hold most of its interchange rates in the United States steady this year. The Purchase, N.Y., company posted a 103-page updated rate schedule online Tuesday that it said contained only minor changes and no increases. Some observers interpreted the ...