US Banker articles from January 2003

US Banker archives from January 2003

Michael Milken Revisited. Same Drive, Different Agenda.
January 1, 2003... Milken, never without full-throttle agenda, isn't talking. But that doesn't mean his people don't have a lot to say-about Mike's cancer research, philanthropy and his record. Many would argue Wall Street's never been the same. In his day,...

Brokerage: Making Merrill: Stan O'Neal's troops weather changing of the guard.(Merrill Lynch)
January 1, 2003... Facing the worst securities downturn in more than three decades, Merrill Lynch continues to cut costs wholesale. It'll emerge in the new year as a firm completely made over. In recent months, the world's biggest brokerage stepped up its...

Scene and Heard.
January 1, 2003... "Men don't have a patent on intelligence and I think that everyone is realizing that." Jill Denham, CIBC's svp of retail markets, on the steady strides women executives are taking to the upper levels of the financial industry. Even so, men...

Small Business: Fleet Gets Close to Mom-And-Pops in the Big Apple: It has 43 percent of SBA loans made in NYC in '02.(Fleet Bank)
January 1, 2003... Let it never be said that Fleet Bank doesn't care about the little guys. In New York City, the bank controls the small business lending market, where it extended 905 loans-$57.5 million, or 43 percent of all SBA loans-in the metro area in 2002,...

Hits and Has-Beens.(executive appointments, various companies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Moves are afoot at Merrill Lynch following E. Stanley O'Neal's Dec. 2 crowning as CEO. CFO Thomas Patrick has been bumped up to a new position called executive vice chairman after successfully cutting costs (and 9,000 jobs). Ahmass Fakahany,...

Fresh Ink.(takeovers in banking, commercial credit industries)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... 1) HSBC has been sniffing around for a takeover target in the U.S. to cover its losses in Asia. The London-based banking company finally made its move, agreeing to acquire Household International, the Chicago-based consumer lender for $14.2...

Mutual Funds: Christening a Biotech Fund in Foul Weather: InvestBio's strategy is to start at the bottom.
January 1, 2003... In the best of times biotechnology funds are an iffy proposition. Diversified Biotechnology Holdings have launched one in the worst of times-the InvestBio Opportunity Fund, which recently passed $1 million in assets. Biotechnology will...

Pipeline.(news from financial services industry)
January 1, 2003... Mystery of Miles-They May evaporate The bankruptcy of United Airlines has left a number of corporate creditors on the hook; banks like Wells Fargo, Bank of New York, Bank One and HSBC are potentially stuck holding the bag for millions. But...

Europe: Continental Wealth Managers Closing Gap: Upper-class clients still shopping for advice.
January 1, 2003... European wealth managers are handling nearly one-third of global wealth assets-and drawing roughly 27 percent of the $800 billion expected to be earned worldwide by the end of 2007. The bulk of these fees will come from rich and upper-class...

Sovereign's Sidhu Looks Golden.(Sovereign Bank CEO Jay Sidhu getting bonus)
January 1, 2003... In a lean season for many financial executives Sovereign Bank CEO Jay Sidhu is set to book his second bonus in a row. The head of the $40 billion-asset Philadelphia-based firm, in New York for a week of meetings, confirmed that his company hit...

Noted and Noteworthy.(Treasury Secretary nominee John W. Snow cancelled membership at Augusta National)
January 1, 2003... Copyright c 2003 Thomson Media. All Rights Reserved. Treasury Secretary nominee John W. Snow took Sandy Weill one further on the Golf Issue, taking his name off the rolls at Augusta National over its refusal to take on women members. Bush...

Shining Their Shoes in the Lobby: Finance runs strong on the Hill-only healthcare and communications lobbyists compete, and it's not that close. Finance interests abroad are geared for the new term, as well.
January 1, 2003... Copyright c 2003 Thomson Media. All Rights Reserved. As the cold sets in and a new Congress is sworn, the denizens of Gucci Gulch-that is, Washington's K Street lobbyists--will be coming out of hibernation. There's a GOP majority on the...

Mortgage: Predicting When They're Going to Pay: Sure, the refi boom is great. But prepayment risk can be just as dicey as credit risk, and there are new ways to gauge the likelihood.
January 1, 2003... Fleet, PNC, Mellon, Homeside Lending. The list of banks selling off their mortgage units keeps growing despite record activity in the mortgage market-compliments of a trend that's an even bigger drain than defaults. "Banks jump in and out of...

Meeting the Call of the Boy Band Generation.(Generation Y will start to graduate from college in 2003)
January 1, 2003... Generation Y is getting ready to graduate from college and enter the workplace. A much more loyal and techie bunch than their Gen X siblings, they're demanding sophisticated, interactive marketing from their bankers. GTGNPOSTTYL. To the...

AD Beat: America's Tax Maven In The Maelstrom of Money: H&R Block's been on the hot seat in 2002, torched by lawsuits over deceptive marketing charges related to high-interest tax-refund lending. Now it's next up.
January 1, 2003... Despite boosting ad spending in 2003, there's not a peep in H&R Block's new tax season ads about legal matters. Not about the matter in Texas over improperly disclosed fees and interest rates from refund anticipation loans, allegedly marketed...

CIBC Leaves No Branch Behind In Restyling Retail: Linda Dentay, vp and CIO of retail branch technology, discusses the company's branch renewal and changes in the roles of sales and service.
January 1, 2003... Three years ago, when the competition was pouring money into Internet banking, CIBC put $260 million in a ground-up branch renewal initiative-$180 million of which went to tech upgrades. Good thing this happened during the late '90s, when cash...

The Caffeine in Commerce: CEO Vernon Hill is laughing his head off these days. Why not? His bank is an investor's dream and a rival's nightmare. Welcome to the big apple.
January 1, 2003... In an industry not known for shaking things up, commerce Bancorp is doing just that-and giving high-and-mighty bigger banks something to sweat about. The Cherry Hill, NJ-based company's long hours, free coin counters and convenience-oriented...

How Long Will Women Have to Wait: Women dominate the front lines of the financial industry, making up a majority of the employees. And yes, there are a lot of sharp women execs out there. But it's far more lonely at the top. Glass ceiling or slow going?
January 1, 2003... Many executives dismiss gender as a workplace issue- even the women. Maybe they're in denial. At the highest levels in finance, equal representation of both sexes remains elusive. The numbers are particularly startling in banking, where 75...

Making Money: The Old-Fashioned Way.(asset managers at banks could be beneficiaries of post-bubble stock market)
January 1, 2003... Once considered too stodgy for those seeking big returns on their investments, bank asset managers could wind up the beneficiaries of the post-bubble stock market. Yet banks' sales cultures lag behind that of brokerage firms-a thorny issue that...

Growing Pains in the Persian Gulf.
January 1, 2003... As the beating of Washington's war drums echo across the globe, the West's unremitting focus on Iraq has spurred an unintended, but welcome overture from its wealthy Gulf neighbors to reform their highly protected bank sectors. Persian...

Persian Gulf Economic and Banking General Indicators 2001.(Illustration)
January 1, 2003... (part 1 of 2) Bahrain Kuwait 1 Sovereign ratings, foreign currency A-/A-2 A+/A-1+ 2 Sovereign ratings, local currency A/A-1 A+/A-1+ 3 Outlook ...

Holding on In Lebanon (Ohio): Dayton and Cincinnati are growing to look more like Dallas-Fort Worth, and big banks are moving back toward building branches. How does a life-long community banker keep up?
January 1, 2003... In a county that's wedged between the two big Ohio cities and criss-crossed by interstates, Lebanon Citizens National Bank's been able to step up nicely as bedroom communities and farmland give way to businesses, industry and four-way...

Finding a Successful And Legal Way to Avoid Paying Bank Taxes: Community banks are lining up to take advantage of tax laws that allow them to avoid taxes by changing classification.
January 1, 2003... An alphabetic shift allowing for tax avoidance would seem like a no brainer-and it could turn out to be that for community banks in most states. Community banks are changing in droves to S-corporations, from the usual C-corporations, which...

Texans Look to Put a Cap On Mold-Spawned Mess: When did the Lone Star State morph into New Jersey? When homeowners insurance rates ballooned and hallways turned black. Residents complain about lost sales; Austin pols are set to act.
January 1, 2003... Texans like things big, but one super-sized characteristic of their state is making them hot under their Stetsons. Homeowners insurance rates, jacked up by a widely publicized mold panic, seem set to stay at a sky-high ceiling. And the...

Finally Some Help for New York City's Little Guys Tied Up in Red Tape: Scott Krady.(help for small business)
January 1, 2003... Getting a hand in the incentives pot has been a daunting task for struggling small businesses in New York City. Help has arrived to cut through the bureaucracy. The chilling impact of 2001's terror attacks-which so far have claimed a...

Out with Spreadsheets. In with Outsourcing.: Fed up with its antiquated commercial lending system, Rabobank left the days of spreadsheets and time-consuming data entry for complex deals behind when it opted to outsource to Alltel.
January 1, 2003... A year ago, Utrecht-based Rabobank had more than $300 billion in assets, branches around the globe and an old, frustrating commercial lending system. "The loan systems we were operating on were just out of date. I mean, we were doing complex...

Growth, Regulations and Interest Rates. The Economy's 'Soft Spot' Turns to Growth.: Investors needed and regulators failed to provide a risky but not uncertain trading environment. Regulatory policy should aim at minimizing uncertainty with consistent and enforced rules.(forecasts)
January 1, 2003... The economy hit a soft spot toward the end of the third quarter. Worries about a possible war with Iraq and the continued threat of additional terrorist strikes here in the U.S. had caused businesses and consumers to become much more cautious....

Picking Partners for Added Profits.(payment providers)
January 1, 2003... Throughout financial services, the challenge to retain customers and satisfy shareholders is more fierce than ever. Executive decisions are under heightened scrutiny from stockholders and regulators. Banks face new competition from interstate,...