US Banker articles from September 2007

US Banker archives from September 2007

This Month.(Editorial)
September 1, 2007... 38 Cover Story: She Came, She Saw. Now Will She Conquer? Deanna Oppenheimer was one of the most high-profile bankers in the U.S. when she took on the challenge to remake the retail operations at UK behemoth Barclays. Her job is nothing...

SBA: Loan Policy Unchanged.(Correction notice)
September 1, 2007... A recent story in U.S. Banker contains serious misstatements of SBA loan policy and its fee structure and budget ("After 54 years, Banks Ask: Is the SBA Still relevant?" August). The story says the "SBA recently adopted tougher loan...

In a Global World, is the Blame Game Outmoded?: Cayne's slow response to the firm's mounting crisis is indicative of his willingness to let things run their course. Until, that is, things got woefully off course.(James Cayne CEO Bear Stearns)
September 1, 2007... It's the oldest trick in the management book, as evidenced by the forced resignation of Warren J. Spector, Bear Stearns' co-president and once likely heir apparent to the throne: The blame game is alive and well in corporate America. That...

Merger Mania: Fiserv-CheckFree Deal Shakes Up Industry: Will deal spur new options for competitors?
September 1, 2007... Fiserv's proposed purchase of CheckFree could be considered the capstone deal of a trend in e-banking mergers that propagated for much of the past year. But will it also be known as the deal that ultimately buried independent, pure-play options...

Scene and Heard.(Quotation)
September 1, 2007... "Let's be clear: Too many mortgages have been inappropriately sold to people who didn't understand or couldn't afford them." Victoria A. Reider, acting Pennsylvania Banking Secretary "Perception is the co-pilot of reality." Carla...

Oversight: Hedge Fund Transparency At Issue...Again: But will SEC working group be strong enough?
September 1, 2007... The Securities & Exchange Commission is attempting to shine a spotlight on the most opaque of investments-hedge funds-by creating a working group in its enforcement division to combat insider trading. It will be a liaison with other federal...

Hits and Has-Beens.(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... Harleysville National Bank in Pennsylvania chose former National City evp Paul D. Geraghty as president and CEO, replacing interim chief executive Demetra Takes. Pittsburgh-based TriState Capital, the largest new bank chartered in the...

Fresh Ink.(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... 1. M&T Bank plans to buy Partners Trust for $555 million in cash and stock. With the move, Buffalo-based M&T strengthens its upstate footprint, makes it the deposit leader in the Utica-Rome and Binghamton markets, and bolsters its position in...

U.S., Europe Renegotiates Deal With Swift, Despite Opposition.(Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication)
September 1, 2007... Seems the post-9/11 world is becoming used to Big Brother after all. Despite loud public European criticism against the United States, a deal negotiated between the Bush administration and the European Union in late June allows the U.S....

Noted and Noteworthy.(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... Is ANY wealth manager Still haven't trouble finding enough prospects these days? Well, then they're not looking far enough. In 2006, the number of households with $5 million to invest grew a whopping 26 percent to 930,000 families, according to...

Bank of South Draws Mixed Reviews: The brainchild of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, the proposed Bank of the South would be the Southern Hemisphere's all-purpose development bank. Is it a better mousetrap?
September 1, 2007... Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez-no fan of George Bush or what he calls "Washington's imperialism"-wants an alternative. The leftist rabble-rouser's proposal to create a Bank of the South-sort of a World Bank-International Monetary...

Card Security: Banks to Merchants: Toe the Line: The PCI digital security standard is here, but retailers are struggling with compliance. Analysts say it'll take two years to build a totally secure environment to protect card data.
September 1, 2007... It's not time for tough love yet. But card associations, banks and processors are in the heart-to-heart phase of dialogue with their card-accepting merchant clients about efforts to comply with the Payment Card Industry's digital security...

Healthcare: Banks Can Cure Docs' Payment Pains: Automating healthcare-transaction documents for payers and providers is a tough nut to crack, but there's a healthy opportunity for banks with a strong payments platform.
September 1, 2007... When PNC's Paula Fryland rattles off medical transaction statistics, it sounds like she's painting a daunting picture of a healthcare-payments industry hamstrung by an inefficient claims process and medical professionals who are luddites in...

Relationships: How Much to Charge?: Targeting profitable customers for price cuts is harder than it sounds. Relationship pricing for the masses is here.
September 1, 2007... Linking price and fees for bank products to a customer's profitability sounds simple enough, but guess again. "It's not always the people with the most money in your institution that are the most profitable, it's not even the '80-20 rule,'"...

Payments: U.S. Targeted by RBS In e-Payments Business: RBS is a huge payments player in Europe, and it expects its global multipayments expertise will help it win online business accounts in the United States. It has a good head start.
September 1, 2007... Royal Bank of Scotland has just finished piloting an electronic payments service in the U.S. that it says will facilitate payments from local and foreign customers. Its goal is nothing less than to become the dominant payments player on both...

AML: Diligence Becomes More Pricey: Proposed regulatory rollback from the Treasury's FinCEN is aimed only at small banks, while the big boys turn to more expensive options to ease compliance-related burdens.(anti-money laundering )
September 1, 2007... As a share of the estimated $50 billion-plus pie of bank technology spending, the $147 million that U.S. institutions spent on anti-money laundering compliance products last year was barely a flake of crust. Yet the headache of AML...

'Lemonaire'-Stand Kits A Sweet Sell at Umpqua: Nobody would call the bank stodgy, but its new multimedia project to lure small-business owners makes it look downright juvenile. And why not? Customers just wanna have fun.
September 1, 2007... Seven-year-old Jonathan sure is a cute kid. Cunning, too. The star of Umpqua Bank's four-minute video, "The Lemonaire," the freckle-faced redhead weaves a charming tale of how he spent his summer vacation: Becoming CEO of his own lemonade-stand...

AD Beat: Sovereign Strengthens Pitch for Red Sox Fans: With a second deal featuring former Sox second baseman Jerry Remy, the Philly bank is attempting to strike another emotional chord with New Englanders.
September 1, 2007... New England is Red Sox territory-and no bank knows that better than an outsider like Philadelphia-based Sovereign. That's why the $90 billion institution is placing another bet on a Red Sox connection first made when it first signed up former...

She Came, But Can She Conquer? (maybe): Deanna Oppenheimer, one of the most high-profile bankers in America, has spent the last two years remaking the UK retail business at Barclays, one of the largest financial companies in the world. They arrive together at a crucial crossroads.(Interview)
September 1, 2007... From her windswept office window, Deanna Oppenheimer can look out and see the huge forces of the world facing her down. They want to roll over people she cares about, scatter them, turn her and her institution out for interlopers. But...

WOES Cause Gloom To Spread: The mortgage problems that market prognosticators have been expecting for a couple of years are finally coming. And they've quickly soured the mood in financial services M&A.(Statistical data)
September 1, 2007... Mergers and acquisitions in the financial sector kept a fairly solid pace in the first half of the year, but current market turmoil is darkening the industry's landscape. Banks and thrifts saw 153 deals worth $52 billion in the first half,...

Top 50 Advisors by Deal Value.(Statistical table)
September 1, 2007... Bank & Thrift Mergers in 2007 Ranked by announced deal value No. of Deal Value Rank Firm Deals (in millions) 1 Morgan Stanley ...

The Tastiest Takeover Plum in Town? Commerce Bank.(Commerce Bancorp )
September 1, 2007... With Vernon Hill out, Commerce finds itself prey to top banks, especially foreign ones, looking to do a deal. Its low-cost deposits and steady growth make it such a plum target that even investors may be willing to overpay. Commerce...

Top 25 Advisors' Fees.
September 1, 2007... Pending and Completed Deals in First Half, 2007 Rank Buyer Target Announced Deal Value ($M) Completed Deal Value ($M) Buyer's Financial Advisors Target's Primary Advisor Seller's Financial Advisor Fees ($000) 1 Bank of America...

Association Consolidation Doesn't Worry Small Banks: A planned merger between the ABA and the ACB prompts the question of whether a larger size or a hyper focus is the best way to lobby Congress. It also raises the issue of how the ICBA will fare.(American Bankers Association )( America's Community Bankers)
September 1, 2007... The banking industry is divided over the benefits of the pending merger between the American Bankers Association and America's Community Bankers, two top trade associations and lobbying groups. The key questions? Is bigger better in lobbying...

NSF, Overdraft-Protection Fees Drawing Greater Fire: Which came first: the overextended customer or the bank's overdraft-protection fee? Either way, the cycle continues. And banks are increasingly becoming hooked on these fees to bolster profits.(Non-sufficient funds)(Survey)
September 1, 2007... Non-sufficient funds fees and overdraft-protection fees are drawing a hard look from the House of Representatives, even as banks grow ever more dependent on both kinds of fees for their bottom line. These two kinds of checking-account fees...

Technology Can Drive Out Payment-Chain Inefficiencies: A small group of banks has begun using the latest aid in the supply-chain finance arena: logistics technology from shipping companies. That makes it much easier to keep tabs on global supply chains.(UPS Capital Corp.)
September 1, 2007... The same technology that firms like United Parcel and DHL have built over the years to track packages is tailor-made to keep tabs on payments and invoices as well. The global reach of that technology is especially helpful because most of the...

Building a Patent Portfolio.
September 1, 2007... The financial-services industry holds a dominant position in the U.S. economy, but a precarious position in the world of intellectual property. Within the industry, third-party attacks have ignited an interest in intellectual property for...

The Local Link In Branch Efficiency.
September 1, 2007... Across the nation, major banks are scurrying to reinvigorate their far-flung branch networks as tight conditions persist in retail banking. No longer enjoying lofty growth in consumer loans and deposits, players are searching high and low for...

Data Breaches' Sophistication Prompt 'Digital Dozen' Standards.
September 1, 2007... With more than $49 billion lost each year to identity theft, there is no room for mediocrity as the fight against fraud continues to escalate. The amount of money stolen from financial institutions as a result of fraudulent financial schemes is...