US Banker articles from February 2003

US Banker archives from February 2003

Correction.(Correction Notice)
February 1, 2003... In the story "How Long Will Women Have to Wait," (January 2003) U.S. Banker incorrectly identified Gigi Dixon. Ms. Dixon is svp and director of emerging markets at Wachovia. We regret the error. Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All...

A Lesson in Heart from Small-Town Banker.(Matt Doyle, CEO of Texas First Bank )
February 1, 2003... We could all learn a thing or two from Matt Doyle-about adversity, commitment, tenacity and, ultimately, personal integrity. Most people pay lip service to some or all of the above. Those few people who do possess some of the above...

Cards: Bruised Under the Surface: Debt for the distressed leads to bumpy ride.
February 1, 2003... When Capital One announced a higher than expected charge-off rate in its credit card portfolio due to greater exposure to subprime accounts in the third quarter of 2002, it rattled the investing world and credit card lenders. More than that,...

Scene and Heard.
February 1, 2003... "Just having laws in place isn't going to stop the crooked people from figuring out a way to be crooked. It's weird." Brian Peart, president, Nexus Financial Group, on laws seeking to clamp down on unregulated state lenders charging...

Hits And Has-Beens.(banking personnel moves )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Argentina's economic woes are unfortunately not new. Twenty years ago former junta dictator and president of Argentina (briefly), Leopoldo Galtieri, thought a war with Britain over the Falkland Islands would resuscitate its failing economy...

Fresh Ink.(briefs concerning mergers in the banking industry )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... 1. The Bank of New York wasted no time in a New Year to bolster its Securities Group. The $80 billion-asset bank signed an agreement in early January with CSFB to buy Pershing, a clearing services arm, for at least $2 billion in cash in a...

Brokerages: Be Bullish. And Bank Here, While You're At It: Merrill puts a new ribbon on an old box.(Merrill Lynch offers Beyond Banking services )
February 1, 2003... Merrill Lynch's new set of banking services, billed as "Beyond Banking," is getting decent reviews as a way to put a shine on the firm in tough times. After all, this is what deregulated finance is supposed to look like. It looks a lot...

Pipeline.(includes multiple banking news briefs )
February 1, 2003... Moshing in the Midway The most intense retail banking wars have taken place in New York City over the past two years, but there's a street fight about to go down in Chicago. WaMu said late last year it would start building 120-150 branches...

Europe: Tracking Continental Credit Card Transactions: With more than 3 billion a year, it takes some doing.(Visa International offers new transaction tracking service in Europe )
February 1, 2003... Sensing an opening to bond even closer to its client banks in the Eurozone and UK, the European subsidiary of Visa International is letting members in on vital card performance benchmark data courtesy of fast new machines. Visa already...

The Long and Winding Road of Central Banking Makes a Heavy Read Indeed.(The Changing Face of Central Banking: Evolutionary Trends Since World War II )(Book Review)
February 1, 2003... The Changing Face of Central Banking Evolutionary Trends Since World War II by Pierre L. Siklos Cambridge University Press, 347 pages, $80 Pierre L. Siklos' aim is to sort out roles of central banks worldwide over the past...

A Late Fee? But I Didn't Join! Oh, But You Did Join.(Sam's Club customer protests late fee on membership charge )
February 1, 2003... John G. and Gunta E. Burt of Dallas are steamed at Sam's Club. In fact, the 60-year-old self-styled investor and his wife have a line in to the Texas state attorney general's office of consumer affairs about it, saying the wholesale...

Noted and Noteworthy.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Here's another reason why the European Union is not yet like the United States (reason number one-photo below- is that there are no restaurants in the EU that serve shrimp 'n grits). Recently Brussels took a few finance ministers to the...

The World's Longest Busy Signal.(telemarketing)(Column)
February 1, 2003... A determined drive to pull the plug on telemarketing looks set to sail through Washington, as no politician will find votes in defending it. But there's more to the story. The winter buzz as yet-aside from Lott, and who can remember back...

Electronic Banking: Changing of the Guard For the Vendors: The front-running on-line banking and financial software firms are watching well-known personalities move on as the gloomy market demands different style.
February 1, 2003... It's that way with evolution: little things happen here and there, and then one day look up and, oh! The Ice Age has started. That's the way 2003 gets underway for the financial software vending industry. While expected for some time, the...

Biometrics: No Stealing Them Blind: The rise of identity theft has consumers feeling uneasy. Access secured via retinal scans or voice authentication could thwart the efforts of criminals.
February 1, 2003... Biometric technology has always seemed like a leap into science fiction for bankers. The technology allows the identification of people based on a defining biological characteristic such as the retina, fingerprint or sound of the voice. It...

Direct Banking: On-Line Billing. UK Style.: Interest from large British financial firms in an electronic billing venture means that momentum may be building for a piece of e-commerce that's had slow going there.
February 1, 2003... Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds-three of the largest financial companies in the United Kingdom-hope to succeed in electronic billing where others have failed. Together with software company Unisys, the three financials have created a...

America Is Asking: What's an AXA?: Few people seem to know. American equity analysts can't say much, if anything about it. Many marketing consultants have never even heard of it. Spelling out the name doesn't jog any memories either.
February 1, 2003... The biggest insurance company in the world is sleeping on our shores. Globally, AXA Group is the leading insurer by revenue and one of the oldest, founded in France in 1816. It has $956 billion in assets under management and has spent the last...

Hoaglin's Heroes: Huntington Bank is bouncing back from a two-year slide that has drawn fire from analysts. Its second campaign after a major management shuffle and rebrand proves it's no longer sleeping at the wheel.
February 1, 2003... Competition's insane throughout the $28-billion asset Huntington Bank's footprint, which spans Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia. Comerica, Fifth Third, National City, Key Bank and Bank One are all after retail banking business, which...

Money on the Rise; Banking on Insurance: Consumers are buying record amounts of insurance from banks. But consultant Michael White says there's still room for improvement.
February 1, 2003... Last year set a record for banks selling insurance. Final tallies aren't in yet, but bank annuity premiums in the first 10 months of 2002 have already surpassed 2001's record totals. It looks like there'll be about a 25 percent increase in...

Fishing For Fresh Faces: Anglers of the world, unite! At least that's the latest from the marketing lab at U.S. Bank, which figures it's on to a good hook for a checking account.
February 1, 2003... US. Bank is reaching a boatload of consumers with a new checking account brand by going after a single segment: people who fish. The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association says 55 million Americans are anglers. "That's one in five...

Little Guys Steal a Play From the Big League: Credit unions and small banks are issuing debit cards, too. Now they're adding reward programs to the mix.
February 1, 2003... Reward programs for debit cards are new but catching on quickly with small banks and credit unions. The extra reach is proving helpful in staving off big bank competitors. First Resource Federal Credit Union is one of the first credit...

Doyle Town: One family stands head and shoulders over one of the lone star state's grittiest places. Urban bruises or hard-working neighborhoods, Matt Doyle's bank binds it all.
February 1, 2003... Texas City stinks. It's a jibe most in this odor-challenged industrial town have long endured from rival football crowds or visitors. It's as old as "Toxic City," a reference to the oil refineries and chemical plants that dominate the...

Blocking Consolidation in Canada.
February 1, 2003... Canadians' love-hate relationship with the "Big Five" banks-the largest and best employers and sponsors of community activities like pee-wee hockey teams-is at the core of their collective merger angst. With two mergers nixed, it's beginning to...

Banks, Gangs and Interstates Make a Dangerous Mix: Heists are up nearly 50 percent in rural areas and small towns. Feds say it may get worse. The vast majority are solved; it's still the worst stress on workers.
February 1, 2003... Say a bank is looking to open a new branch. It wants a busy spot close to the highway with lots of traffic. Well, brace yourself. Those are some of the things that attract gunmen as well as customers. Bank robberies are a storied part of...

Reverse Mortgages? Fast Forward: Long maligned, reverse mortgages are gaining popularity as a product than can help older Americans deal with a sinking stock market and take advantage of real estate markets that remain hot.
February 1, 2003... A once obscure mortgage product known as the reverse mortgage is now gathering momentum, and may emerge as an important offering for banks over the next several years. It's geared exclusively toward senior citizens, a group that will grow to...

Once Starving for Service, Small Biz Now has Benefits: Banks big and small are selling investment plans to corner shops and family outfits. Employees demand them, and now the funds are out there.
February 1, 2003... A few years ago, finding a company with 25 employees that participated in a 401(k) plan would have been difficult. Today, thanks to specially-tailored plans and revamped tax laws, banks are targeting small businesses by extending them a full...

Banished for Twenty Years, Now Out of the Box: Single stock futures were securita non grata for two decades. Now they're back and are being touted as a trade for all reasons, delivering the returns on time. Could it be Candyland?
February 1, 2003... After a nearly 20-year ban, trading in single stock futures started in early November. It was a long road that required both an act of Congress and the settlement of a turf war between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity...

The Growing Ranks of the Young and the Wealthy: Private bankers are still grappling with ways to reach the younger, entrepreneurial, self-driven segment of the affluent marketplace, which is becoming a larger chunk of the overall wealthy population.
February 1, 2003... The market's been in the gutter for two years now and scores of private bankers and brokers are still trying to figure out ways to cater to changes in the behavior of their affluent clients. But there are some experts saying that might not...

U.S. Banker Advertising Contacts.
February 1, 2003... Group Publisher Jay Berfas Thomson Media One State Street Plaza New York, NY 10004 Tel: 212.803.8690 Fax: 212.480.5799 U.S. Banker Account Representatives Southeast/Mid-Atlantic Publisher David...

Mortgage Cooperatives Give IndYes a Competitive Edge.
February 1, 2003... After more than 12 years as an independent mortgage originator, it was impossible to miss noticing that consolidation and mega-mergers were becoming a threat to my industry's independence and even its existence. Top mortgage companies had...

How to Put a Brand on a Merger.
February 1, 2003... Two decades ago, banks and financial services companies spent little on marketing. Tightly regulated and lacking technological resources, they focused on traditional core markets and seemed unable or unwilling to compete. Then came...