US Banker articles from December 2004

US Banker archives from December 2004

Can Free Be Fatal for Banks?(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... I read with interest your article on free checking ("Is 'Free' Too Costly for Most Banks?'" November 2004). I think there is a bigger story. And while what I'm about to say may ring of "conspiracy," I don't mean to imply that is the case....

The State of Financial Services, Now and Ahead: The industry has seen record capital levels, with the top 25 bank holding companies growing faster than the sector as a whole. Dividend payments are increasing at these BHCs, up 40 percent year to date.
December 1, 2004... For years, the last commentary I penned in December was a Christmas wish list for the coming 12 months. The list-a sort of "If we could do this again, how should it be done?" rant-invoked humor and some sarcasm, drawing on the year's more...

Compliance: Hedge Fund Registration Sparks Broad Criticism: Critics fear it's a step toward more scrutiny.(Securities and Exchange Commission)
December 1, 2004... The Securities and Ex-change Commission's decision to register most of the estimated 8,350 hedge funds is drawing heavy criticism from the business community and some government officials. The SEC says the rule, passed on October 26, will...

Scene and Heard.
December 1, 2004... "It helps them separate themselves from the rest." Saskia Rietbroek, exec. director of the Association of Certified AML Specialists, on the importance of establishing "experts" in the field through a certification exam. Copyright 2004...

CRA: Simplified Exam Debated: Is the law obsolete? Maybe. But maybe not.(Community Reinvestment Act of 1977)
December 1, 2004... Buried beneath political posturing and rhetoric around the FDIC's proposal to allow more banks a simplified Community Reinvestment Act exam is the piercing question of whether the CRA is in need of a comprehensive overhaul. To Bill Apgar,...

Hits and Has-Beens.(appointments)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Commerce Bancorp promoted Dennis M. DiFlorio to president of retail banking and operations and Robert D. Falese to president of commercial and investment banking. The two will share management responsibilities with chairman Vernon Hill....

FreshInk.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... 1. Valley National Bancorp will continue its growth plans in northern New Jersey with the acquisition of NorCrown Bank. The $141 million cash-and-stock deal is expected to boost earnings within one year of the closing, which is expected in...

Agricultural Banking: Dutch Rabobank Can't Reap What It Sowed: Farm Credit Services goes up for bid and back.
December 1, 2004... Glenn Helmers remembers that when his dad's northwest Iowa farm got into serious trouble, there was only one way out: the farm credit system. "In that turbulent period of time, the farm credit system really tried to work with borrowers. In his...

Pipeline.
December 1, 2004... Slowly Warming to a Hot Idea Centralized underwriting standards for small business lending can cut delinquencies in half, according to a recent small business lending benchmark study by Baker Hill. Delinquencies for bank respondents with...

A Balanced View of Success: Why Having It All Isn't All That.(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Just Enough: Tools for Creating Success in Your Work and Life By Laura Nash and Howard Stevenson John Wiley & Sons, 296 pages, $24.95 Forget about hard work, passion, focus or risk-taking. They'll ensure neither success nor...

In Alabama, Bank-by-Video Screens Play Well to Past and Present.
December 1, 2004... It's easy to forget, taking the subway to work every day, that the world outside the huge metropolises is also getting ever more wired. This includes remote parts in northern Alabama. The cars pulling up to the curb may be dialed into Lynyrd...

Noted and Noteworthy.(BankAmerica Corp. celebrates its 85th anniversary soon)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... It isn't possible to be any more down home then Community Bank of Superior, WI. The bank celebrates its 85th anniversary soon, though it won't be with a golf tournament or black-tie event, but a cookbook. Yup, a cookbook. It says recipe...

The Next Four Years: Democrats are bracing for Dubya's second-term "to do" list, which might be longer than a Texas summer. But why is he ignoring the, ahem, elephant in the room?(Column)
December 1, 2004... Dear Mr. President: Okay, so you deep-sixed Democratic Senate leader Tom Daschle, and he won't be holding up your agenda any more. Check. And you've stocked the House and the Senate with more GOP followers, so you're even closer to...

Enterprise: S1 Takes a Shot at Steering the Whole Ship: S1's ambitious goal of providing the first integrated, multi-channel front-office platform is being put to the test by Zions Bank. The next year will determine if the tech firm can deliver on its promise-a bet it's willing to take.
December 1, 2004... Jaime Ellertson, CEO of S1 Corp., says his company's ambitious goal to create the first integrated multi-channel solution for the entire front office-a project originally envisioned and pitched to analysts, investors and customers in 2001-took...

Can Consumers Feel Your Bank's Love?: The banking industry takes itself very seriously, but marketers and research firms are finding that tapping its emotional side might be better for business than crunching the numbers based on advertising effectiveness.
December 1, 2004... Even as marketers and research firms perfect concrete measures of advertising and its direct impact on business, a counter movement has emerged suggesting being more touchy-feely with consumers might be more effective. Just like any long-term...

AD Beat: The World On Visa's String: The dominant credit card association dusts off a premium product that has been flying under the radar.
December 1, 2004... Heeding requests from member banks to expand marketing of its top-tier credit card, Visa has launched the first mass media campaign for its Signature card. The initiative draws a parallel among icons like Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, the...

Fear Factor.
December 1, 2004... Insomnia. Night swcats. Heart palpitations. What's keeping bank executives up at night? Anti-moncy-laundering enforcement is escalating - and every bank is being scrutinized. Now regulators have nailed International Bank of Miami, AmSouth and...

Living the Bush Economy: If it feels like a mixed picture, it's because it is a mixed picture.(George W. Bush)
December 1, 2004... Sixty percent, 800,000, $52 and 3.49 million. Those are some of the most important economic indicators from early last month, as the world's only superpower suddenly found itself, and took its first halting steps, into a strange new...

2004 This is the Year that Was.
December 1, 2004... 1 Dec. 03 The Bush Administration has decided to repeal most of its 20-month-old tariffs on imported steel to head off a trade war. 8 Dec. 03 The board of directors of Freddie Mac named Wall Street and Washington veteran Richard...

Where's My Economic Recovery?: In thinking about my childhood, I can come up with plenty of character-building experiences. Who couldn't? But what's more haunting, these days, is how the bumps of this economic recovery are starting to feel like my schoolyard days.(Column)
December 1, 2004... I'm finding that my optimism about the economic recovery is fading. I feel like I'm back on the teeter-totter on the Holy Rosary playground in grammar school, riding the seesaw with the biggest kid on the playground. Just when my end is at the...

With 38 Languages, FSB Reaches All Globe's Corners: With a focus on multi-family and commercial real estate lending, the Queens bank carved out its own space in a diverse area. It worked so well it may have made the bank a takeover target.(Flushing Savings Bank)
December 1, 2004... By knowing the needs of an eclectic market, $2 billion-asset Flushing Savings Bank has carved out a niche for itself in one of the most diverse counties in the U.S. Along the way, it also has increased its profits and stock price. FSB's...

As Interest Rates Creep Up, Industry Looks to Alternatives: Residential lenders saw business taper off by a large margin from last year. Industry insiders aren't worried, though, as some innovative adjustable rate products start to fill the void.
December 1, 2004... Bankers and economists remain optimistic about the residential mortgage market despite significantly less production than last year and expectations of gradually rising interest rates. While adjustable-rate mortgages have supplanted fixed-rate...

Top Residential Originators.(Illustration)
December 1, 2004... Data As of June 30, 2004 (dollars in millions) (part 1 of 2) Rank Organization Name 1 Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, CA 2 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, San Francisco, CA 3 Washington Mutual,...

Top Residential Servicers.(Illustration)
December 1, 2004... Data as of June 30, 2004 (dollars in millions) (part 1 of 2) Rank Organization Name 1 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, San Francisco, CA 2 Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, CA 3 Washington Mutual,...

Family Offices Are Off and Running: The average millionaire has 14 financial services relationships and seven advisors. One of those is often the family office, a niche that is growing rapidly in the industry.
December 1, 2004... Stocking a client's fridge at the beach house, finding a good divorce lawyer for his son, and moving his horses from Florida to New York for the Saratoga racing season might not seem like services a financial firm would offer, but there is a...

Investment Test is Easier Than Ever.(Column)
December 1, 2004... I am constantly reading how the CRA is overly burdensome to banks and thrifts, especially the investment test portion of the exam. However, as someone who successfully purchases CRA qualified investments daily on behalf of 265 banks throughout...