US Banker articles from March 2005

US Banker archives from March 2005

Rants and Raves.(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... In Search of Accountability I'm glad to see someone in this business has the brains and guts to write what is truly relevant ("Doing What's Right Trumps What's Expected," February 2005). I am so tired of CEOs hiding their incompetence with...

Tackling ID Theft: Will The Real Jane Doe Stand Up?: Identity theft is a business issue. A bank's reputation can be damaged by how poorly it responds, while the financial implications to victims can take years to untangle.
March 1, 2005... Imagine stopping by a dealership with the intent of buying a new car-a small gift to yourself. With a perfect credit history and a low debt-to-earnings ratio, there's little standing between you and driving a new car out of the showroom. Or so...

Security: ID-Theft Fears Spark Bank's Cellphone Ban: California institution's policy is first in the nation.
March 1, 2005... Citizens Bank of Nevada County, a little bank in California, aims to thwart identity theft by banning mobile phone use in its five branches, fearing that cellphone cameras might be used to snap photos of sensitive documents. Research...

Scene and Heard.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... "Generally, there is a predisposition toward America and its values." CHRISTIAN BARNETT, an executive director at BrandBuzz, on U.S. banks selling their brands abroad "They have big, starry eyes and think they're going to make lots of...

In Memoriam: Recalling a Citigroup Icon: Ex-CEO turned anemic bank into powerhouse.(Walter Wriston)(Obituary)
March 1, 2005... Decades ago, a miffed St. Louis banker confronted Walter Wriston after Citibank issued its new national MasterCharge credit card. "You sent my wife a credit card with a $1,000 credit line," the Missourian declared to the New York CEO. "What are...

Hits and Has-Beens.(hires and promotions)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... LaSalle Bank senior svp and CFO Thomas M. Goldstein will assume responsibility for the company's mortgage and home-equity lines of business and is being named chairman, president and CEO of its subsidiary, ABN AMRO Mortgage Group. He joined...

FreshInk.(SVB Financial Services)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... 1. Colonial BancGroup plans to buy First Federal Savings Bank for $232 million in cash and stock. The deal, combined with Colonial's pending acquisition of Union Bank of Florida, will make it the state's fifth-biggest commercial bank and the...

Risk Management: Mid-Tier Banks Make Chief Risk Officers a Priority: Enterprise-risk focus growing, but small banks lag.
March 1, 2005... When $27 billion, Memphis-based First Horizon National Corp. formed an enterprise-risk committee last year, it was joining the ranks of institutions that acknowledge the increasing importance managing all risk types: market, credit, liquidity,...

Pipeline.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Spurring Diversity The Mortgage Bankers Association and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage hope to increase diversity in the mortgage industry with the creation of a new Mortgage Career Paths education program. The program offers free professional...

Disaster Recovery: Tsunami's Wrath Missed Many Banks: One Sri Lankan bank official feels 'very lucky'.(Ivan Fernando of Commercial Bank.)
March 1, 2005... Ivan Fernando, southern regional manager for Commercial Bank in Sri Lanka, is one of many grateful South Asians. Though the December 26 Asian tsunami claimed 295,000 deaths in 11 countries, his bank lost only one employee. The secretary, in her...

Minnesota's Top Cop Gets a 'No, No, No, No' from Capital One.
March 1, 2005... Long considered an innovator for its use of savvy, data-driven marketing, the $79 billion Virginia-based consumer lender Capital One is now seeing the ups and downs of being a leader. Or, as the Japanese say: The nail that sticks up gets...

Noted and Noteworthy.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... In wired San Rafael, CA, Tamalpais Bank is showing the extent to which even small companies are calling for help to get basic information systems working properly. The $301 million, five-branch bank recently reached out to an e-mail security...

What Would All the Lawyers Do?: Seeking court, not tort, reform, the GOP is pushing a bill that would force interstate class-action suits to be heard in federal, not state courts. Banks say it's about time.(Grand Old Party)
March 1, 2005... Financial services firms hope a resurrected bill designed to force large interstate class action suits to be heard in federal-not state-courts will pass this session without fanfare. Dubbed the "Class Action Fairness Act," the bipartisan bill...

Security: Pssst? What's The Password?: Firms are betting on password management and user provisioning. Reducing help-desk calls is a plus, but these tools are also powerful for bank compliance and security.
March 1, 2005... There's a city in Latin America where the incidence of bank robbery and fraud is so high, where fears of an inside job are so acute, that a leading bank has chosen to randomly assign its tellers to different branches every single day. In...

Pitching U.S. Brand Abroad is a Tough Sell: Is English a powerful marketing tool or a turnoff? Does the same humor work everywhere? Below: the answers.
March 1, 2005... HSBC's "world's local bank" campaign, translated into 19 languages-from Maltese to Malaysian-in 76 countries where the bank has outlets, is a sure sign that the London-based institution knows something about promoting a global brand. "You...

AD Beat: Frost Bank is at 'Home on the Range': Frost Bank and agency McGarrah Jessee stave off local and out-of-town competition with compelling ads that shame most big banks. They're Texans first, bankers second.
March 1, 2005... Shooting portraits of Texas cowboys and cowgirls for Frost Bank's latest ad effort has brought award-winning photographer Robb Kendrick face to face with some rugged types straight out of a Spaghetti Western-with names like Rooster Falcon and...

The Populist Banker: Remembering the Masses: Sam Shrivastava hopes to be the architect of Wachovia's mass-market segment-some 70 percent of its customers. So why's he first to hold the job?(Interview)
March 1, 2005... After designating executives for specific retail banking segments-affluent, upper mass/lower affluent, small business, Hispanic-Wachovia realized the bank's largest customer group didn't have a caretaker of its own. So it appointed Sam...

Risk Aversion as an ART: East West Bank chief Dominic Ng doesn't fancy himself the creative type. But his refusal to stray from what he knows-serving the financial needs of the Asia-Pacific communities and deciding to hold on to two now-famous Tyrus Wong paintings-have proved exceptionally wise and profitable. Yes, there is an art to running a bank.
March 1, 2005... From opposite reception-area walls at East West Bancorp headquarters, two corresponding oil paintings bear English script letters fashioned into the shape of Chinese calligraphy. After a second look, one might only make out the words: "East" on...

The A Listers.(of banking industry)
March 1, 2005... High Finance's 25 Most Influential People embody passion and power-and share the propensity to wield both to drive change. Savvy and self-directed, these personalities-financial execs, legislators and regulators-define the rules by which rivals...

Banks Can 'Factor' in New Revenue Stream: A Texas bank offers a three-tiered service in accounts-receivable financing, which can provide unplanned income and aid local cash-strapped small businesses. Little banks can play like big boys.(State Bank and Trust Co.)
March 1, 2005... Community banks looking for new ways to generate income and help small-business owners who don't qualify for credit can try factoring virtually risk-free, thanks to a new program offered by $1 billion State Bank in La Grange, TX. ...

Branch Manager Becomes The New Quarterback: As large and mid-sized banks become more retail-focused, they're redefining the branch manager's job. Less operations- and administration-oriented, their eyes are on the bottom line.
March 1, 2005... On the economically depressed east side of Detroit, Renee Murril manages National City's top-performing branch. Profits for the Jefferson/Coplin banking center she oversees jumped 44 percent last year over 2003. Her branch outperforms the...

Small Businesses Wonder If Banks Understand Them: Bankers say small-business loans are more competitive than ever, and they have the falling profit margins to prove it. The SBA set a record in loan guarantees. Yet small businesses still struggle.(small businesses administration promots small business loans)
March 1, 2005... In mid-2003, Joe Rosario tried to get a small-business loan of under $25,000 to help make ends meet at his popular cafeteria-style restaurant in downtown Manhattan. Though Rosario's Italian Bistro is packed on weekdays for lunch, business has...

Second-Lien Loans Gain Traction, But Doubt Reigns: Secondary loans can earn up to 1,000 basis points more than senior secured bank loans, but there is ongoing concern over just how well investors are compensated in a bankruptcy proceeding.
March 1, 2005... An underutilized corporate-financing scheme is gaining steam, giving companies another potential source of funding. Second-lien loans, a type of loan that falls below the standard senior secured loan in a company's capital structure, came...

JPMorgan Chase, Citi Dive Deep in Hedge Funds: Hedge-fund managers are seeing increasing inflows, particularly from institutional investors, as transparency deepens. Plus, there's growing competition among more funds looking for hot investments.
March 1, 2005... Banks are expanding their hedge-fund operations. Citigroup, for one, is greatly broadening its operations. And JPMorgan Chase, which recently paid about $750 million for a major stake in hedge-fund Highbridge Capital Management, is also...

U.S. Banker Advertising Contacts.(Directory)
March 1, 2005... GROUP PUBLISHER Jay Berfas Thomson Media One State Street Plaza New York, NY 10004 Tel: 212.803.8690 Fax: 646.264.6800 OUTSODE THE U.S. Please contact the Publisher U.S. BANKER ACCOUNT RRPRESENTATIVES...

Want the Edge? Look to Economic Precognition.: Thanks to SOX-imposed cost increases, some executives of small to mid-sized companies are considering taking their organizations off the public market. That means they'll be looking for new sources of financing.(Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)
March 1, 2005... Any company can do well when the economy is expanding. What separates the women from the girls is precognition, the vision that allows the anticipation of where the opportunities are coming from year after year. That skill is never more in...

BOLI is Still a Great Tool For Financing Benefits.(bank-owned life insurance)
March 1, 2005... Bank executives might have been startled by the federal government's release of an interagency statement at the end of 2004 regarding the purchase and risk management of bank-owned life insurance. The bulletin rescinded earlier guidelines for...