Recently added articles from Northwestern Financial Review:
Banks and real estate
Feb 15, 2009; ... Regulators have been overly concerned about a concentration of commercial real estate loans at community banks for the past three years or so. They become particularly concerned when they see the portfolio for "other real estate owned" grow beyond historical norms. Because of the very powerful ...
Bankers should balance the way they look at risk
Feb 15, 2009; ... Covariance When I was younger, there was a classic game show called Truth or Consequences. The show, which started in radio, ran for more than 20 years on television. It was so popular that the town of Hot Springs, N.M., changed its name to "Truth or Consequences, ...
Timed for Success
Feb 15, 2009; ... The man of the hour at Iowa's Bankers Trust is Suku Radia Timing is everything in business, and Suku Radia is hoping to make the most of it. While the recession may be slowing business at other companies, the Ugandan-born Radia said prospects at Bankers Trust, Iowa's largest independent ...
Industry veterans remember Carl Pohlad
Feb 15, 2009; ... Carl Pohlad, one of Minnesota's leading people in business, died Jan. 5 at the age of 93. Best known as owner of the Minnesota Twins Major League Baseball team, readers of NorthWestern Financial Review know him for his extensive interests in the banking business. In 1952, Pohlad went to ...
State, national indicators say growth not likely until second half
Feb 15, 2009; ... Banks are weathering what is expected to be a lost half, marked by rising unemployment, reduced consumer demand and additional deterioration in economic conditions. But predictions for a second-half return to growth are still being proffered. Bank CEOs in Wisconsin expect demand for ...
Earnings picture mixed for region's public banks
Feb 15, 2009; ... Several of the region's large publicly traded banks cut through economic headwinds to post better fourth-quarter and yearend earnings than might have been expected in a recession that has hurt many large banks. UMB Financial Corp. of Kansas City, Mo., reported record earnings of $98.1 ...
After late start, ag banker cut a fast path
Feb 15, 2009; ... First Person My parents were farmers and I started farming early in life. I bought my first heifer calf when I was 11. At 13, I rented 10 acres from my dad. At 15, 1 rented a shed and kept 34 head of cattle; in another shed I farrowed out 10 sows. I farmed with my dad and brother for ...
New bank set to offer 'Premier' service
Feb 15, 2009; ... Business calls, similar to house calls of days gone by, are an important tactic in Premier Commerce Bank's aim to provide first-class service to small business customers in Chicago. "Ninety percent of [our intended] business is commercial focused," said Mark Scheffers, president and CEO ...
S.D. bank offers low-interest loans to laid-off customers
Feb 15, 2009; ... First Dakota National Bank, Yankton, S.D., set aside $2 million in low-interest loans for people affected by layoffs as a result of the recession. Short-term loans of $3,000 are being offered at a 3 percent APR, with no closing costs through Feb. 28, to qualified borrowers who were laid off ...
Information sharing agreement set
Feb 15, 2009; ... The North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines signed a first-of-its-kind agreement to share information on "extensions of credit, collateral valuation, examination reports and other supervisory information." Tim Karsky, commissioner of the ...
Wells Fargo extends foreclosure mitigation to Wachovia customers
Feb 15, 2009; ... Wells Fargo's Des Moines-based home mortgage division said that 478,000 Wachovia customers will now have access to Wells Fargo's extensive foreclosure-mitigation programs. Customers who are in foreclosure or about to be referred to foreclosure were given a month-long extension, to Feb ....
Speaking of CSBS...
Feb 15, 2009; ... Neil Milner, president and CEO of the Conference of State Bank Super- visors, has been named chairman of the board for the national Jump$tart Coalition. Milner succeeds H. Randy Lively, the coalition's original chair- man, who retired after 13 years on the board. "If these difficult ...
Two Wisconsin financial institutions extend Pulse contract
Feb 15, 2009; ... Park Bank of Madison, Wis., and Altra Federal Credit Union in La Crosse, Wis., have signed long-term network participation agreements with Pulse, the ATM/debit network. The $800 million Park Bank has been a Pulse ...
for the record
Feb 15, 2009; ... FEDERAL RESERVE WEEKLY FILING Jan. 17: Fifth Third Bank, Grand Rapids, Mich., authorized to establish four branches in Florida, and five branches in Illinois. City State Bancorporation, Inc., Central City, Iowa, filed to become a bank holding company by acquiring 51 .3 percent of ...
people on the move
Feb 15, 2009; ... * Daniel O'Neill has been named president of First National Bank of Omaha, in addition to his current duties as president of First National of Nebraska, the bank's holding company. O'Neill replaces Rajive Johri, 58, who retired. O'Neill, 55, has been with the bank for 28 years. * Patti ...
GDP off in fourth quarter, but not as much as expected
Feb 15, 2009; ... The U.S. Department of Commerce said gross domestic product decreased at an annual rate of 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. It was the biggest single-quarter decline since the first quarter of 1982. With GDP falling in the 2008 third quarter by 0.5 percent, the news marks the first ...
New Treasury Secretary in office
Feb 15, 2009; ... Timothy F. Geithner was sworn in as the 75th Secretary of the Treasury on Jan. 26, the same day the U.S. Senate confirmed his appointment, 60-34. Geithner was president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he started working in 2003. Geithner first joined the U.S. Treasury ...
Oversight panel identifies areas ripe for reform
Feb 15, 2009; ... The Congressional Oversight Panel created by the Emergency Economic Stabiiization Act made recommendations for reforming the U.S. financial regulatory system. The panel identified eight areas urgently in need of reform: identify and regulate financial institutions that pose systemic risk; limit ...
House passes economic stimulus package
Feb 15, 2009; ... The U.S. House of Representatives passed the $819 billion economic stimulus bill, H.R. 1 by a vote of 244 to 188. No Republicans voted for the bill, which was set to move to the Senate. The legislation contains several tax provisions supported by the American Bankers Association, including an ...
Lessons from a hero
Feb 01, 2009; ... What an amazing story - Chesley Sullenberger, a 57-year-old pilot for U.S. Airways, lands a crippled jet in the Hudson River on Jan. 15 and all 155 passengers escape. I have become so accustomed to bad news that a story about a hero really makes an impression on me. Sullenberger ...