US Banker articles from January 2009

US Banker archives from January 2009

Making the Case for Better Leadership, Profits; "Claw-back" clauses, which allow a bonus to be recalled for any individual who causes a firm harm, is one way to address compensation. But the real issue is how better leadership can drive profits.(Commentary)
January 1, 2009... Byline: Holly Sraeel, Editor-in-Chief It's hard to muster any sympathy for Merrill Lynch's John Thain, or Morgan Stanley's John Mack. The CEOs of both firms are passing on their bonuses for 2008 (this is the second straight year Mack...

GREEN INITIATIVES: Going Off the Grid; First National Bank of Omaha turned to fuel-cell technology for energy independence to ensure the bank could continue to operate no matter what Mother Nature threw at it. Besides preparing the bank for disaster, the technology has had the added bonus of drastically reducing the bank's carbon footprint.(Fast Forward)
January 1, 2009... Byline: Glen Fest With a regional history of killer tornados - including a 1980 spring evening when seven twisters touched ground in nearby Grand Island - it's no surprise that the first floor of the First National Bank of Omaha's...

Community Banks Present United Front; In response to negative banking news, four Alabama community banks teamed up to create an ad campaign touting their strengths in order to calm jittery customers.(Marketing)
January 1, 2009... Byline: Anthony Malakian Despite Wall Street's failure and bank bailouts, all is well in Alabama's Calhoun County. That's the message that four community banks are sending their customers. Cheaha Bank, Farmers and Merchants Bank, NobleBank...

AD Beat: America's Most Convenient Ad Campaign; TD Bank wants to ease concerns among Commerce customers that things will change. To that end it's adopted the same ad campaign and retained Regis Philbin.(Toronto Dominion )
January 1, 2009... Byline: Anthony Malakian There are many reasons why Toronto Dominion Bank Financial Group snatched Commerce Bancorp last year: a customer base that extends up and down the East Coast and $5 billion in total assets not the least of the...

Sticking To His Knitting; With its back-to-basics approach and soaring earnings - and, yes, mortgage loan growth - Ron Hermance's Hudson City Bancorp has emerged as an industry darling. Now, tough times on Wall Street are threatening to take a bite out of housing prices in Hermance's core markets. Will the guy who's been held up as a modern-day George Bailey be able to keep the ball rolling? Can anyone?(Cover Story)
January 1, 2009... Byline: John Engen Never in his wildest dreams did Ron Hermance, Jr., expect to become a national media darling, held up in such publications as Newsweek and The New York Times as exhibit No. 1 that yes, in fact, bankers can make money in...

East On Ice; The financial crisis has rolled from the bond trading desks of Manhattan across Eastern Europe to Asia. Now, as recession bites into those economies, the future of outsourcing in those locales is uncertain.(Outsourcing)
January 1, 2009... Byline: Michael Dumiak This Past summer the broad avenues and squares of Kiev were bustling with color and life; young people clambered over the Soviet-era hilltop park overlooking the Dnieper plain and thronged the cafes and nightclubs...

As Ax Falls at Big Banks, Community Bankers Zero In; The layoffs at large banks have put a lot of talent on the street; some community bankers sees this as an ideal hiring opportunity, but others wonder if big bank talent can make the switch.(Main Street: Community Banking & Finance)
January 1, 2009... Byline: Anthony Malakian It's been a dreary holiday season and the world of finance is feeling it hard. According to labor-tracking firm Challenger Gray & Christmas, the financial sector cut 91,356 jobs - just in November. That's the...

As Deposit War Heats Up Smart Pricing Is Vital; Competition for deposits is fierce and getting more so. Those banks that embrace pricing and profitability optimization technologies may find themselves the winners in this pitched battle.(Consumer Finance (Deposits))
January 1, 2009... Byline: Anthony Malakian Banks are falling in love all over again with consumer deposits; add to this newfound affection the industry's new entrants - Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and American Express - and what you have is an...

Signature Continues to Sign Up Talent and Depositors; In less than eight years, Signature Bank has gone from an idea to the 10th largest commercial bank in New York City. It all hinges on hiring the right people and delivering a high-touch client experience.(Wealth Management (Recruitment))
January 1, 2009... Byline: Anthony Malakian If Joseph DePaolo needs reminding why Signature Bank was created, he simply looks out the window of his 12th floor corner office on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Across the street is HSBC-the bank that acquired his...

Perfecting Loan Portfolio Pricing.(OpEd)
January 1, 2009... Byline: Brent Lippman, CEO of Response Analytics With GSes mandated to shrink, it is unlikely that other buyers will take their place until the risks of purchasing packaged loans on the secondary market are better known. This means that for...

The Industry's New Year's Resolutions; Out with the old, very bad 12 months - okay, 18 months - and in with the 'change,' if there's some to spare. Here are five ways to start digging out of this recessionary ditch.(The Economy)
January 1, 2009... Byline: Joseph Rosta It's true that putting things into perspective enables priorities to be established and, more, executed. After slogging through 18 months of writedowns, bank seizures and management failings, there is no better time...

FISCAL POLICY: TARP Tax Exemption Faces Congressional Assault; Treasury notice was issued to spur purchases.(Troubled Asset Relief Program )
January 1, 2009... Byline: Joseph Rosta The myriad efforts to hold together the U.S. financial sector have been accompanied by a series of Treasury regulatory notices designed to ease the implementation of these measures. Most of the changes went unnoticed,...

Scene and Heard.(Front and Center)(Quotation)
January 1, 2009... "Congress and regulators aren't on the same page. Congress is saying 'lend!' while regulators are saying 'don't lend!'" Dory Wiley, president and CEO of Commerce Street Capital. "It's panic mode. They're trying to survive by cutting...

TALENT MANAGEMENT: New Year's Resolution: Succession Planning; Boards must take lead and not rely on CEO.(Front and Center)
January 1, 2009... Byline: Michael Sisk Bank boards of directors have a long list of New Year's resolutions, what with the lax credit and risk management practices that rotted out so many balance sheets. But there is another issue that deserves to make this...

Hits and Has-Beens.(Fred Goodwin resigns from Royal Bank of Scotland)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... In January, Sir Fred Goodwin officially departs Royal Bank of Scotland. His successor is Stephen Hester, who has hinted that some U.S. operations may get sold, such as Citizens Financial Group, led by Ellen Alemany, and RBS Greenwich Capital....

FreshInk.(Front and Center)(Benjamin Franklin Bancorp)(briefs)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... 1. $247 billion-asset U.S. Bancorp acquired two failed California thrifts, $12.8 billion-asset Downey Financial Corp. and $3.7 billion asset PFF Bancorp Inc., adding $12 billion in deposits. 2. Houston-based Prosperity Bank, which has $6.8...

IM Everywhere.(Word Is...)(Instant messaging )
January 1, 2009... Byline: Michael Sisk Instant messaging is quick, real-time, and permits multiple simultaneous conversations. It's a powerful tool, it's become ubiquitous, and banks have had to log IM for several years now. More lightly regulated areas of...

Noted and Noteworthy.(Word Is...)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Given the media's coverage of the credit freeze, one would think absolutely no lending is occurring. Not true: Banks are lending at record levels, according to recent Federal Reserve statistics. Commercial and industrial loans, at $1.6 trillion...

Lessons From the S&L Bailout; Comparisons between the S&L bailout and TARP are not perfect, but the earlier episode does offer lessons about what works and what doesn't-if only more people paid attention.(The Inside Track: Policy, Players and Politics)(troubled asset relief program)(savings and loan crisis)
January 1, 2009... Byline: Michael Sisk It's inevitable that today's financial crisis gets compared to the nation's savings and loan bailout, which cost taxpayers about $250 billion in today's dollars. Painful as that earlier episode was, those who lived...