US Banker articles from January 2002

US Banker archives from January 2002

PUT THE REINS ON PASSION: Lenders and investors were so caught up in Enron's philosophy that they were blind to reality.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Some say it's good to have faith, but faith in what? A lot of people - especially banks - are going to lose a lot of money because they had too much faith in Enron, a company that didn't deserve it. To many, Enron had been the symbol of a...

BEWARE THE SYNDICATORS.(investment in Enron Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Blame it on accounting. Everyone agrees that the sudden collapse of Enron Corp. - the symbol of laissez-faire capitalism and the biggest bankruptcy in American history - was due to questionable accounting practices. The financial collapse...

A WIN FOR THE FED.(reports on electronic payment systems from the US Federal Reserve Bank)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Even the Fed can make mistakes, as many Greenspan critics are only too happy to point out. But some mistakes can be happy ones - and that's the good news from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. It turns out the central bank was very wrong...

Loose Change.(news from the banking industry)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Will Morgan Chase Buy Merrill? Morgan Chase has a reputation for buying poorly run companies. Merrill Lynch is a poorly run company. Morgan Chase CEO Harrison told the New York Times that he wanted to do one more big acquisition. Morgan...

BNP GETTING SERIOUS.(BNP Paribas goes after United California Bank)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Baudouin Prot, director and chief operating officer of BNP Paribas, is breaking into a gallop. When the $646 billion-asset French bank announced last year that it would acquire the 55% of BankWest Corp. it didn't already own, it said it...

BANKS LOOK SMART-BY CONTRAST.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Sometimes banks don't look so dumb - at least compared with some hot-shot stocks, ranging from Enron to the once high-flying dot-com companies. A litmus test may be how much companies pay for naming rights to sports arenas. About two...

SELF-CLEANSING.(Bank of America to sell loan servicing portfolio to Fairbanks Capital Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Imagine what it must be like working in subprime lending, dealing all the time with financially desperate people. It can't be very pleasant constantly having to chase homeowners and others who can't afford their monthly payments. Well,...

SHIRTSLEEVES RDS.
January 1, 2002... In the past, BAI's Retail Delivery Show had always been circus-like as hundreds of technology companies competed for attention. But at this year's RDS in Anaheim, the hoopla took a backseat to business. The causes appeared to be the...

WE GOOFED.
January 1, 2002... In the December issue, U.S. Banker mistakenly ran an incorrect photograph for James Hudepohl, executive vice president and chief information officer at Cincinnati's Fifth Third Bancorp. The photo ran on the cover and in the Technology...

Guenther of ICBA Calls Fed Role in Payments Critical.
January 1, 2002... To the Editor: Your fine article and editorial in the November issue of U.S. Banker, "Fed on the Defensive," provides a balanced presentation of some of the enormously important issues regarding the Federal Reserve's payment services and...

Put Loan Risk Where it Belongs.
January 1, 2002... To the Editor: I feel your Point of View column on subprime lending ("Gramlich's Words of Warning") in the December issue hits the nail on the head... but with the left hand. There is always a balance between risk and reward. Here...

Calling Me Names? Then Call Me First.
January 1, 2002... To the Editor: Even though your reporter never interviewed me for the article "Giannini Wanna-Be" in the December issue, I am characterized by U.S. Banker as "ignorant" and "unaware," as well as an intellectual plagiarist: "Evans seems to...

Siebel Issues Siebel 7.(Siebel Systems ships Siebel 7)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Siebel Systems has begun shipping its latest version of CRM technology, Siebel 7. The San Mateo-based software company's customer relationship software has a strong hold on the banking industry, with the majority of large banks in the U.S....

IBM Moving Along with Identrus.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... The business-to-business billing and payments industry isn't small change. Mark Greene, general manager of IBM's global banking, and former head of technology for the Federal Reserve, is well aware of this, and knows that IBM stands to make a...

Bank of Montreal jumps at chance for U.S. purchase.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Bank of Montreal must have gotten tired of watching its Canadian competitors gain market share in the United States while it was marking time. At the moment, the Toronto-based bank's main operation in the U.S. is Harris Bank in Chicago, a...

Successful Net Banker Gives Up the Reins.(D.R. Grimes)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... It's very unusual when a CEO admits that he may no longer be the right man for the job, especially in banking. But D.R. Grimes, CEO of NetBank, says he will be stepping down after it completes its merger with Resource Bancshares Mortgage...

Download.(various briefs)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... First Union released a new online insurance shopping platform powered by software from Pivot...Compaq Computer Corp. signed a five-year, multi-million dollar agreement to provide computers and services to American Express Co....CertaPay has...

NOT ALL BAD.(banking and employee reductions)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Yes, banks are firing thousands of employees. And yes, we're in a recession. But not all is bad. Some banks see this as the time to do some hiring. The markets, and employees, for that matter, have become accustomed to such statements...

Happy warrior.(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... George A. Schaefer Jr. is the banking industry's Donald Rumsfeld. Both have that somewhat stodgy Midwest mien, but both are plenty tough and, to use an apt clich, they say what they mean and mean what they say. Behind their steel-framed lenses,...

Fifth Third Bancorp.(financial assets)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Cincinnati, OH 16 affiliate banks 960 full-service "banking centers" 1,905 ATMs Presence in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, Arizona, Michigan and Illinois. AS OF DECEMBER 12: Stock Price $60.09 ...

SQUEEZING PROFITS OUT OF ATMs.(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Changes in the marketplace have made it hard to make a buck with off-site ATMs, but some banks are experimenting with ways to increase revenues from their networks. The law of supply and demand is working only too well when it comes to...

Community Banks and CUs Pool ATMs.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Surcharge-free ATM alliances are fairly common among smaller banks and credit unions, operations with few ATMs of their own and little to lose by giving up ATM surcharges. By pooling their machines, these institutions are able to offer...

OFF-PREMISE ATM DEPLOYMENT.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Year Total Off-Premise % ATMs ATMs Off-Premise 2001 324,000 193,000 59.6% 2000 273,000 156,000 57.1% 1999 227,000 117,000 51.5% 1998 187,000...

MONTHLY TRANSACTIONS PER ATM.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Year Per ATM Terminals 2001 3,494 324,000 2000 3,919 273,000 1999 3,997 227,000 1998 4,973 187,000 1997 5,515 165,000 1996 6,399 139,134 1995 6,580...

WILLS now PASS?, LIVING TRUSTS HIP.(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... More and more Americans are creating living trusts, giving bankers more opportunities but also increasing their regulatory headaches. Care must be taken to assure that loans to these trusts are ultimately collectable. When Jacqueline...

Angelo MOZILO: DEPOSIT builder: Countrywide's CEO expects its tiny bank in Virginia to amass $20 billion in deposits within three years.(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... In May of last year, Countrywide Home Loans ended 32 years of being labeled a "non-depository" when its parent, Country Credit Industries, purchased a small Federally-chartered bank in northern Virginia. The institution, an...

U.S. Banker Advertising Contacts.
January 1, 2002... GROUP PUBLISHER Jay Berfas Thomson Financial Media 11 Penn Plaza, 22nd floor New York, NY 10001 Tel: 212.631.1462 Fax: 212.564.9832 U.S. BANKER ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVES SouthEAST/MID-ATLANTIC David...