US Banker articles from September 2003

US Banker archives from September 2003

Mergers, Main Street And Staying Independent: Privately held banks are benefitting from big-bank sprawl, picking off customers from their larger brethren with more intimate customer service and strong ties to the community.
September 1, 2003... While bank M&A activity stalled in the past year, investment bankers are eagerly awaiting the deal-making to heat up again. Good news for them, yet it won't be like the merger-mania days of the late 1990s when deals were written on the back...

Quattrone Trial: Personality Crisis: Yards from Wall Street, stars are set to come out.
September 1, 2003... When superbanker Frank Quattrone goes on trial in a few weeks, sticky late-summer Manhattan's federal court will need just a spark to ignite all that high octane mixed with air-conditioning. The jet fuel starts with Quattrone,...

Scene and Heard.
September 1, 2003... "They are conservative justices who see themselves as conservative justices and, in fact, are." Geoffrey Stone, Chicago law professor, on swing Supreme Court justices Kennedy and O'Connor. "I saw this a year ago; a collector thought he...

Currency Fraud: Hey Buddy, Can You Spare A Million Dollar Bill?: New counterfeit scam hopes for one big payday.
September 1, 2003... Giving new meaning to the old expression "not worth the paper it's printed on," a new counterfeit scam is hitting the streets in ridiculously large denominations. Even while many people try to avoid the inconvenience of carrying a...

Hits and Has-Beens.(Marjorie Magner becomes chairman and CEO of Citigroup's global consumer group; notes other news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... As the new Citigroup begins to take shape, Marjorie Magner becomes chairman and CEO of the firm's global consumer group. Her former COO position in the group hadn't been filled at press time. Magner says among her goals are stepping up...

Fresh Ink.(JPMorgan Partners and C. Dean Metropoulos plan to buy Pinnacle Foods Corp. from buyout firm Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst; notes other news)
September 1, 2003... 1. JPMorgan Partners, the private equity arm of JP Morgan Chase, and C. Dean Metropoulos plan to buy Pinnacle Foods Corp. from buyout firm Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst for $485 million. 2. Metropoulos will continue to serve as Pinnacle's...

On Policies and Paper: Citi Insists on Paper Trail: Others let customers stop the paper onslaught.(Citigroup)
September 1, 2003... They send credit card statements through e-mail, arrange for all kinds of bill payment and post all the information a checking account holder could want on a central Web site. But most big banks are still chunking out millions of paper...

Pipeline.(McDonald Financial Group Affluent Consumer Confidence Index)
September 1, 2003... Rose-Colored Glasses Rich people are "significantly more optimistic" about the economy, according to the McDonald Financial Group Affluent Consumer Confidence Index. It's up 10 percent since the last survey in April and seven percent since...

Ethics: Costs Down for Executive Suites? One Item, Anyway.: Price hikes for scandal insurance slow for some.(Premiums for directors and officers liability insurance are finally easing for banks and financial institutions)
September 1, 2003... Premiums for directors and officers liability insurance, after several years of triple-digit increases, are finally easing for banks and financial institutions-sort of. These premiums only went up by half in the second quarter, in a year-...

The World According to Sandy: Deals And Denouement in Financial Services.(Book Review)
September 1, 2003... Tearing Down the Walls How Sandy Weill Fought His Way to the Top of the Financial World.and Then Nearly Lost It All By Monica Langley Simon & Schuster, 446 pages, $27 The legacy of Citigroup chairman and CEO Sanford Weill-a...

Word Is...: There's Not Enough Air to Carry A Check Bounce Like Binghamton's.(Adam Weitsman may set record for check kiting in $1 billion federal case)
September 1, 2003... If guilty as charged, youthful art collector, former nightclub owner, fashion plate and entrepreneurial gadfly-about-town Adam Weitsman of Vestal, NY may set a record for check kiting in a $1 billion federal case. Sentences if convicted range...

Noted and Noteworthy.(Wachovia ads)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Wachovia, yes. The print ads that use "Choney Island" in explaining to New Yorkers streaming through Grand Central that the bank's name is pronounced Wok-ovia, not Watch-ova-ya. Wachovia, no. The TV spot. Cool guitar, supplied by veteran...

Cue Music for Supreme's Next Dance: Sandra Day O'Connor is still on board as Rehnquist gets set to open the new term. The rule for the last few has been a docket full of business issues; this one's no exception.
September 1, 2003... With headlines still warm over its last term, the nation's high court prepares this month to go back to the bench holding a docket full of cases with finance and business interests. So much hubbub surrounded the Supremes earlier this...

IT Strategy: The Linux Revolution: The operating system's surprising popularity-particularly on Wall Street-has turned an open source code play by Linux collaborators into a day at the beach.
September 1, 2003... It is fair to say that Wall Street is neither a place given to bouts of whimsy, nor one inclined to tolerate that trait in others. But when executives began first learning about Linux, an operating system with an open source code created in...

Disaster Recovery: Mobile Banks to The Rescue: Disaster recovery is critical in finance; September 11th proved that. Mobile units can assist banks when any disaster strikes.(Community National Bank of Grand Forks )
September 1, 2003... When flood waters began raising the level of the Red River on April 19, 1997, and state officials evacuated the 50,000-person town of Grand Forks, ND, executives at Community National Bank of Grand Forks knew they were in for trouble. ...

Risk Management: Braving Basel II Storm: The soon-to-be revised accord puts more immediate burden on international banks, yet large U.S. banks see it as a means to gain greater risk control, capital efficiency.
September 1, 2003... Banks that embrace rather than resist Basel II, the mammoth proposal designed to control operational and credit risk, will claim a greater competitive advantage in the marketplace, reap higher return on capital and obtain greater shareholder...

U.S. Banks' Cost Cutting Is Lucrative Gig for India: Financial firms' desire to slash costs of back-office operations, particularly in call centers, has made India a hotbed for offshoring and outsourcing. But is this educated, English-speaking labor pool the answer?
September 1, 2003... Financial services firms operate at a time when the pressure to cut costs mounts every day-forcing executives to keep a sharp lookout for any hint of inefficiency, any chance to streamline operations by reducing costs by even a fraction of a...

AD Beat: Lots of Giveaways, But Always Linked to Brand: Jousting for attention doesn't get any tougher when banks are up against free drinks and naked women. In a town full of gimmicks, Nevada State Bank turns up the heat.
September 1, 2003... Between the neon lights and lure of casinos and the state's 50 banks scrapping over business, $2.8 billion Nevada State Bank faces quite a battle for recognition. "It's hard to stand out in a town with naked ladies being hunted by...

Jumping the Gap: Marketing to Multiple Generations: Marketing automation expert and consultant Donald Layden Jr. sees banking as a game the whole family can play. And if it's played right, that family's business will be the gift that keeps on giving for decades to come.
September 1, 2003... The young and up-and-coming are a new generation of customers, and getting to them through parents and grandparents can lock in future business. This may seem obvious, but banks have just started using technology to keep track of the territory...

And Now, The Feature Presentation: Monterey banker looks for triple-digit growth through Technicolor.(Monterey County Bank opened branch on site of old single-screen movie theater )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... It's hard to turn down a free movie. It's something Monterey County Bank customers do daily. The $98 million privately-held community bank in Monterey, CA-home to Clint Eastwood and Doris Day- recently opened a branch on the site of an old...

Savvy or Just Somethin' Fishy?: Selling fish at Seattle's Pike Place is downright fun. Can banks be like that?
September 1, 2003... The shenanigans at Seattle's Pike Place Fish Market are a one-of-a-kind entertainment experience. Workers put on a daily show, chumming up passers-by and making a spectacle throwing fish to each other for packing. It draws crowds and...

The Reality of Perception.(E*Trade Financial is discussed)
September 1, 2003... It's a good thing Mitch Caplan is all work and no play-a trait he wears as a badge of honor. Caplan took the helm after E*Trade Financial's eclectic and outspoken CEO Christos Cotsakos resigned under pressure from the board, no doubt feeling...

Still Water Stirring.(Buyouts and mergers in financial sector were sluggish at mid-year)
September 1, 2003... Buyouts and mergers in the financial sector were sluggish at mid-year, with names changing places in the league tables, but the deals looking the same. But economists say optimism is returning to the executive suite, and with that comes...

Top 50 Leaders by Deal Value: 2003 Bank & Thrift Mergers and Acquisitions thru June 30, 2003 (ranked by announced by deal value*).(Illustration)
September 1, 2003... Rank Firm Announced Number Deal Value of Deals (millions) 1 Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. ...

Top 20 Three Years at a Glance: 2003 Bank & Thrift Mergers and Acquisitions thru June 30, 2003 (excludes hostile/unsolicited and terminated transactions).(Illustration)
September 1, 2003... (part 1 of 3) 2003 Advisors position as of June 30, 2003 Rank Firm Announced Number ...

Top 25 Advisors' Fees: 2003 Bank & Thrift Mergers and Acquisitions thru June 30, 2003 (ranked by deal price at completion).(Illustration)
September 1, 2003... (part 1 of 4) Rank Buyer Name/Location 1 M&T Bank Corporation/Buffalo NY 2 Banknorth Group/Portland ME 3 Citizens Financial Group/Providence RI 4 Chittenden Corporation/Burlington VT 5 ...

Top 25 Leaders by Number of Deals: 2003 Bank & Thrift Mergers and Acquisitions thru June 30, 2003 (ranked by announced by number of deals*).(Illustration)
September 1, 2003... Rank Firm Total Number Announced Deal of Deals Value (millions) 1 Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. 13 5301.9 Sandler O'Neill &...

Drop That Battle Axe, Braveheart!: Glasgow and Edinburgh welcome invasion of U.S. financial firms.
September 1, 2003... U.S. financial services firms are stomping into Edinburgh and Glasgow faster than King Edward's British troops stormed the region 700 years ago. But no modern ancestor of William Wallace is lifting a sword to halt this invasion: The Americans...

A Town's Small-Bank Top Dogs Feud, Family Style: In timber and iron ore country up north, four generations of the Wilcox family run one of their community's most successful businesses. And they're not the only banking family in town.(Grand Rapids State Bank)
September 1, 2003... Clair Wilcox was 26 and couldn't write a loan when he took over his father's bank in 1950. Now he's the semi-retired patriarch of Grand Rapids State Bank, a $240 million bank in a Minnesota town of 8,000 that's been owned and operated by the...

One Takes the High Road, One Takes the Low Road: And if borrower and lender meet in the middle of a former Western Union chief executive's Web site, maybe they cut a deal which leaves out a lot of the heartache brought on by bad debts.(Debt Resolve His firm offers banks and other lenders credit card collection services through electronic bidding)
September 1, 2003... Combine eBay and Repo Man and what do you get? A company called Debt Resolve. Well, at least you get the idea behind Debt Resolve. The White Plains, NY start-up aims to soften the tough, sometimes harassing collection tactics finance...

No Interest! No Problem? Leverage Lures Investors.: Funds offering a bigger bang for the buck are proving ever-more popular among supposedly rattled investors, prompting a flurry of new launches. But the juice that boosts returns can also increase losses.
September 1, 2003... The second quarter, and June in particular, saw record cash going into closed-end mutual funds. Since they're all leveraged to some extent, they raise the bar on the amount of bets made with borrowed capital. Thirteen closed-end funds...

Risk Tool Gauges Impact of Market, Political Volatility: Northern Trust is betting institutional portfolio managers will latch onto any tool that analyzes "event-driven" effects on their portfolios. Given what's going on, it's likely a safe one.
September 1, 2003... Institutional portfolio manager Bob Newland sounds like a football coach. He never actually said that "the best offense is a good defense," but he might as well have given his enthusiasm for a new risk management tool from Northern Trust....

Branch Delivery System Is Cornerstone of Retail Banking.
September 1, 2003... During the late 1990s, many assumed that people would flock to the Internet for banking services and that branch banking would quietly fade away. But, increasingly, the retail banking industry is realizing that assumption was wrong. While a...

Is DIP Financing Risky Business?(Boom in bankruptcies results in corresponding increase in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing)
September 1, 2003... The last two years have been banner ones for business bankruptcies. Nearly 80,000 companies sought court protection in 2001 and 2002. What's even more remarkable is the size of some of the companies that filed. More than 150 of the country's...