US Banker articles from May 2006

US Banker archives from May 2006

Wells, Schmells: Kovacevich is Kidding, Right?(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... I just received your March issue of U.S. Banker ("Tough Act to Follow"). Does Wells Fargo have ownership interest in U.S. Banker? I have never read a bigger bunch of nonsense in my whole life. While you can't disagree with the financial...

Banking Evolution From Risk Takers to Rock Stars: Imagine, for a moment, if someone likened J.P. Morgan, Walter Wriston or Robert Rubin to rock stars. It's an undignified thought, at best. Welcome to public company "campaign management.".
May 1, 2006... If the U.S. banking industry ended the 19th century marked by companies whose owners were free-wheeling, wealthy risk takers, then it began the 21st century with companies whose CEOs were likened more to rock stars than financial executives....

Scene and Heard.
May 1, 2006... "It's hard to control buzz on the Internet." -Adam Salacuse, president of Boston-based agency Alt Terrain, a specialist in subviral marketing. "The hardest thing is to make them understand that they shouldn't spend it all." -David...

Commercial Lending: Loans in Hurricane Areas Count as CRA Investments: Small banks can lend outside home markets.
May 1, 2006... Anne Arvia, president and CEO of Chicago-based ShoreBank, focuses on making loans in inner city neighborhoods to help revitalize low-income areas. And now she wants to help in the rebuilding efforts in the Gulf area after hurricanes Katrina and...

Hits and Has-Beens.(Citigroup Inc. (New York, New York))(Capstone Bank N.A.)(Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Citigroup chief executive officer Charles Prince, 56, succeeded Sanford Weill, 73, as the company's chairman last month. Weill becomes chairman emeritus. Capital Bank of Burlington, NC, recently named Fairfax C. Reynolds (left) as evp,...

Fresh Ink.(Bank acquisitions)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... 1. Capital One will acquire New York-based North Fork for $14.6 billion in cash and stock, creating one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S. based on deposits. North Fork shareholders will get a 22.8 percent price premium for their stock Capital...

Pipeline.(New Alliance Insurance Co aims to invest in financial industry Lithos Capital Partners)(consumers lack basic Credit card details)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... New Alliance Aims to invest in financial industry Lithos Capital Partners, a new private equity firm founded by former Pacific Exchange chairman and CEO Philip DeFeo and Vestar Capital Partners, is earmarking $500 million for private-equity...

Top 100 Banks of 2005.(bank ranking)(Statistical table)
May 1, 2006... (Ranked by 3-Year Average ROE) The largest U.S.-based, publicly traded banks succeeded in recent years in three main areas: strong asset quality, a booming mortgage market and acquisitions accretive to earnings, says Alina Ifteni, a bank...

Banks, Other Financial Firms Join To Fight 'Net-Bought Child Porn.(National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to fight against child pornography)
May 1, 2006... Fourteen of the globe's most prominent financial organizations have joined the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and its sister organization, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, to stop the flow of money...

Noted and Noteworthy.(H and R Block Inc.)(Shapiro Haber & Urmy L.L.P.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... "Sales leakage" is one the most pervasive customer-management problems facing U.S. retail banks, according to a recent survey of 195 financial institutions by Aite Group. The researcher found that 26 percent of respondents couldn't be...

Can an Outsider Succeed in D.C.?: The ICBA's new chair is determined to pass legislation to ease life for community banks. And, yes, she'd like to get those pesky credit unions to pay their share of taxes.(Terry Jorde, CEO of CountryBankUSA)(Interview)
May 1, 2006... How could the CEO of a tiny rural landlocked bank in North Dakota possibly make waves in Washington, D.C.? Well, you'd just have to meet Terry Jorde, who heads CountryBankUSA, to understand how Midwest "nice" translates into "dynamism" on...

Intellectual Property: Are Banks Patently Unaware of IP Issues?: Bankers breathing easier because their BlackBerrys still work will have no relief from industry patent disputes. IP litigation is a booming business against financial institutions.(DataTreasury Corp.)
May 1, 2006... With a hit list of more than 70 names casting a BlackBerry-shaped shadow over the industry, DataTreasury is the underdog in its legal battles with the big boys. "The U.S. financial industry is treating them...phenomenally worse than...

The Soft, Secret Sell Of Online Street Hawking: Word-of-mouth marketing is valuable, say marketers, but the online practice is blurring the distinction between ethical and unethical conduct. Can bank marketers use this natural buzz?
May 1, 2006... It starts as an annoying buzz, one that seems only seems to fade deeply-but not quietly-into the skull, repeating itself, repeating itself, repeating itself. Some call it undercover marketing; many call it street marketing; others term it...

AD Beat: BB&T's Expensive Bet Offers No 'Opportunity': The bank's multi-million-dollar campaign to rebrand itself, its most expensive spend ever, is confusing, text-heavy and, well, not very communicative. But it works for BB&T.(BB&T Corp.)
May 1, 2006... BB&T lost an opportunity. A big one. Its pricey new ad and rebranding campaign, "There's Opportunity Here," makes a brave attempt to differentiate the Winston-Salem, NC-based bank from its competitors. However, the effort falls flat. The...

Power, Progress and Public Responsibility.
May 1, 2006... History Revisited, 1891-2006 As U.S. Banker celebrates its 115th anniversary, the magazine's retrospective revisits the players, policies and power brokers that brought sweeping change to American life while working to maintain the...

Banking Today For Tomorrow.
May 1, 2006... Banking, like any industry, has had clear moments that defined it, shaped it and made it what we know in the U.S. today. However, with those changes, one thing has remained constant: banking will continue to be a critical part of our everyday...

Consolidation Mania.
May 1, 2006... About 15 years ago bank regulators became much more permissive of consolidation, allowing banks to merge with free-market abandon; it's been quite a transformation to watch. In 1990, the country had 12,343 commercial banks, according to the...

How to Grow In a No-Growth Industry.
May 1, 2006... The goal of all progressive management teams is to create high, predictable, profitable growth that enhances shareholder, customer and employee value. Many in the banking business have given up on growth in the basic deposit and lending...

With CRA, Is There Common Ground?(Community Reinvestment Act of 1977)
May 1, 2006... For many bankers, especially community bankers, the Community Reinvestment Act is more than a bit like the tax code: It's confusing and time-consuming, and relief doesn't appear likely. The 1977 law, which owes its existence largely to the...

Confidence Backed By Deposit Insurance.
May 1, 2006... The Great debate over federal deposit-insurance reform came to a close earlier this year when President Bush signed into law changes that will boost coverage of some retirement accounts this year and other bank accounts starting in 2010. The...

From Russia With Love: FSVC Makes a Connection: Aiding banks in developing countries is more than just a mission for this non-profit group. It's dedicated to changing the lives of overseas bankers and those Americans who volunteer abroad.(Financial Services Volunteer Corps)
May 1, 2006... Community bankers who think they have their hands full with compliance questions, technology snafus and fickle customers should thank their stars: At least they're not in Russia. Just ask Kent Needham, president of $300 million-asset First...

Umpqua's Strategy Gives New Feel to Neighborhoods: Expanding on his CEO Ray Davretail-branch push, Umpqua is is embarking on "neighborhood stores" that he says can be brought to market at half the cost of a traditional branch in just six weeks.
May 1, 2006... "Belly up to the bar" has been given a whole different meaning at Umpqua Bank. But such a diversion from traditional bank thinking-teller bars, coffee bars, and chocolate bars, for example-is nothing new for CEO Ray Davis, whose latest...

Cracking Big Leagues Is No Slam-Dunk at SunTrust: Today's sports stars may be unprepared for a contract's windfall of cash. Some haven't even written a check. Wealth managers know that serving this clientele is not as easy as it looks.(SunTrust Banks Inc.)
May 1, 2006... SunTrust officially expanded its wealth-management services into the glamorous sports world last month, creating a division that focuses exclusively on this lucrative niche. However, this clientele demands special attention. SunTrust's...

Is a FedEx Model of Money Movement in Banking's Future?(wire transfers, online bill pay and funds transfers fast growing)(FedEx Corp)
May 1, 2006... Easy money movement like funds transfers and payments is a key desire of most bank customers. With the rise of online banking, this desire has been heightened, with most consumers rating the need for seamless money movement to be among their...

Where Tech Intersects Compliance.(technology)
May 1, 2006... Peter Schwartz' seminal text on business and scenario planning, The Art of the Long View, suggests that all business planning must be rooted deeply in the underlying business context. For financial services providers, either industry suppliers...