US Banker articles from November 2006

US Banker archives from November 2006

This Month.
November 1, 2006... 42 Cover Story: Dealing with Economic Pressures Bank profits soared in the first half of 2006, and it's been more than two years since any institution failed - the longest period in the 73-year history of the Federal Deposit Insurance...

Make Way for a Tougher, Yet Productive Year: Bankers may find 2007 tricky to navigate, but "dynamic capitalism" allows for the creative bursts that make economies strong. No doubt banks will play a part.
November 1, 2006... If economist Edmund S. Phelps is fair in his assessment that the West has two economic systems-the "private ownership system" embraced by the U.S., Canada and the U.K., and the "stakeholder and social partner" driven system found in Western...

IPOs: People's Takes Final Step Toward Demutualization: Deal, at $2.6 billion, would be eighth-largest.(Initial public offerings)
November 1, 2006... The long-awaited decision by People's Bank to demutualize and become a fully public company in 2007 could raise an estimated $2.6 billion that's earmarked, say analysts, for acquisitions. The S-1 document, which details the appraisal and...

Scene and Heard.(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... "Despite improvements to [AML] software and vendors' by-now substantial cumulative experience in successful implementations, many projects remain complex, time consuming and fidgety." -Neil Katkov, group manager of Asian research for...

Technology: Wrong AML Product Can Mean Costly Mistake: Celent evaluates 19 vendors, or 55% of options.(anti-money-laundering )
November 1, 2006... With million-dollar fines threatening for non-compliance, banks of all sizes have learned to embrace anti-money-laundering and counterterrorist-funding software as a required tool for doing business. Globally, investment in AML software,...

Hits and Has-Beens.(Capital Bank promoted Robert W. Malburg)(Integra Bank promoted Raymond D. Beck)(Societe Generale Banka A.S. hired Mark London )
November 1, 2006... Two top Morgan Stanley bankers for mergers and acquisitions in Germany have been tapped by Deutsche Bank to reorganize its M&A division: Joachim Ringer and Sascha Held. Societe Generale has hired Mark London to lead its U.S....

FreshInk.(Old Florida Bancshares)(PB Financial Services Corp)(briefs)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... 1. Harris Bank agreed to buy Indianapolis-based First National Bank & Trust for $290 million. Harris called the deal a milestone as it moved toward its goal of doubling its size in five years. Indianapolis is the second-fastest growing market...

Federal Court Rules Against AIG, Giving Shareholders More Clout.(American Insurance Group )
November 1, 2006... In what is being considered the most significant shareholder victory in corporate governance in a decade, a federal appeals court in New York in September rejected a long-standing policy of the Securities and Exchange Commission's division of...

Noted and Noteworthy.(Arturo DiModica and Italian sculptor sued North Fork Bank and Wal-Mart for using the symbol Charging Bull in their advertisement)(Bippy Siegal CEO of Raycliff Capital, launched private-banking firm )
November 1, 2006... It's no bull. North Fork Bank and Wal-Mart were sued by the Italian sculptor of the "Charging Bull," the 7,000-pound symbol of Wall Street's might nestled in Lower Manhattan, for unauthorized use of the 16-foot hulk's image in their...

It's Time for Market-Timing Rules: The SEC's new policy, no longer a one-size-fits-all approach, should help fund managers be more flexible in developing a market-timing policy. But it will cost to set it all up.
November 1, 2006... Administrators for bank-owned mutual funds are breathing a deep sigh of relief after the Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted amendments to Rule 22c-2, the redemption-fee rule, under the Investment Company Act. It also agreed to...

Branch Banking: Renewal a Priority: The Web and call centers are vital, but the branch is the heart of a bank operation. In an excerpt of "Revitalizing U.S. Branch Banking: A Little Less Talk, a Little More Action," Financial Insights examines branch innovation.(Excerpt)
November 1, 2006... Successful retail banks are working hard to establish a unique footprint in an increasingly crowded landscape. In the next three to five years, this difficulty will increase as customers and shareholders become more demanding. For many banks,...

Business Continuity: 1st Metropolitan Fights the Flames: The mortgage firm used Web-based software to keep a burned-down branch in New Jersey humming. It also helped protect deals that were in the pipeline.
November 1, 2006... When one of 1st Metropolitan Mortgage's branches burnt to the ground earlier this year, there was a danger that the figurative flames to its reputation could have been fanned much farther than the literal fire. "We had customers that had...

Retirement Planning: Online Options Compete With Banks: Social Security is waning, and employers are getting out of the pension game. That leaves an open retirement market for brokerages, particularly the Web-savvy.
November 1, 2006... Elected officials may alter Social Security, and even if they don't, it likely won't be nearly enough for future retirees. Add to that the increasing number of corporations that are dumping their pension plans, and it's clear that retirement...

Site Authentication: Making Sites Spoof-Proof: An interoperability project by the FSTC aims to standardize how banks validate their sites to users.(Financial Services Technology Consortium)
November 1, 2006... That head-butting episode during this summer's World Cup did more than floor a mouthy Italian soccer player. It also spawned gobs of Web traffic to the official World Cup 2006 site by users looking for an explanation of what set French star...

Making a Brand Work: Two new studies show the importance of a logo that works and a brand that can be trusted, particularly if a security breach strikes. And if that brand is sullied, consumers will walk.
November 1, 2006... There is no aspect of a bank's image more fragile than its brand. Defined by reputation and trust, the brand is often an illusively designed identifier that needs to be nurtured carefully, no matter what public relations nightmares muddy the...

AD Beat: Snip, Snip, Snip. Discover's Sharp Message Cuts to Core.: Don't be afraid: Those slicing scissors are only here to help. Discover's new campaign encourages consumers to chop up their other credit cards and adopt its brand instead. But are the ads too focused on the negative?
November 1, 2006... A sea of dancing, hungry scissors may be Stephen King's idea of playful companions, but Discover Financial Services saw instead a captivating image to help differentiate its credit card from industry giants MasterCard, Visa and American...

Reality Check: The banking industry has never been more profitable, but with the yield curve inverted and consumer lending stalled, and an economic slowdown in the works, the winning streak looks to be in jeopardy. Are banks ready - and will more CEOs opt to sell out?
November 1, 2006... William Ryan, CEO of TD Bank- north, has seen a version of this movie before, and he doesn't like the ending. Never mind that some of his banker kin are betting that the economy's strength will continue while rate pressures ease, and that the...

Me Worry?: Yeah, It's not too soon to worry about what will happen to the economy in a presidential election year.
November 1, 2006... Eighteen months from now, we will be in the middle of a presidential election year. It will be the time of primaries and conventions. Eighteen months before the 2000 election, we were wondering how long we could ride the upside of prosperity...

An Internet Bank Caters To An Unlikely Roving Crowd: MyRVBank.com, a unit of Bank of Internet, aims its services at an older, traveling set for now. With a demographic, not a geographic footprint, Bank of Internet is poised to attract many more subsets.(Company overview)
November 1, 2006... The Bank of Internet, technically based in San Diego, has no real branches to speak of, but hopes to be a pioneer in the banking industry. The FDIC-insured operation trades on the Nasdaq, but conducts all its operations online. President...

A Nation of Debit-ors: Paying Now, Not Later: The credit-card culture seems to be drying up, as debit-card usage skyrockets. Since debit cards are linked to checking accounts, that's good news for small banks wanting to get in on the action.
November 1, 2006... There's much talk about the U.S. being a nation of debtors. We do love our plasma screens, shiny new cars (SUVs one year, hybrids the next) and PlayStations. But there's a trend that seems very counter to this slap-it-on-the-credit-card...

Underused Tool Could Provide Potential Boon to Banks: Though like-kind exchanges have been around for years, their use is becoming more popular. Still, experts say, banks should be taking advantage even more, both as a participant and as an intermediary.
November 1, 2006... The use of like-kind exchanges is increasing, but some outside experts say that banks still aren't taking advantage of them as much as they should. A like-kind exchange allows a person or company to defer capital-gains taxes on the sale of...

'Business 24/7' Helps BofA Recommit to Small Biz: Banks talk about dedication to small-business customers, but many offer products that don't fit the bill. But Bank of America's new online tool aims to change all that.
November 1, 2006... Small-business owners recently received a big gift from Bank of America: potential help with the onerous task of paperwork. Administrative chores that happen behind the scenes of any company, like payroll and bill payment, are especially...

A Trademark Saved is More Than a Penny Earned.
November 1, 2006... With the growing trend of consolidation in the banking industry, some well-known names in the Illinois banking industry seem to be disappearing. For example, Chicago-based MB Financial recently announced plans to buy Oak Brook Bank, which...

Organic Growth Through Innovation.
November 1, 2006... Shareholders are speaking in unison: acquisition is no longer the path for banks to achieve profitable growth. With many superior targets already purchased, and others having an acquisition premium baked into their share prices, banks can no...

Winning Through Competitive Differentiation.
November 1, 2006... The look-alike branch-banking industry largely avoided the tough issue of competitive distinctiveness while it basked in the roaring market of retail banking of a few years ago. But the issue has returned with a vengeance now that the party is...