American Banker articles from December 2003

American Banker archives from December 2003

Household's Role in HSBC Global Plans.(Household International Inc.)(HSBC USA Inc.)
December 1, 2003... Ask Martin Glynn almost any question about HSBC USA Inc.'s future and the answer that comes back is the same: Household. Mr. Glynn, who last month became HSBC USA's president and chief executive officer, sees the consumer finance giant...

Reg Relief Fight Between Banks, Credit Unions.
December 1, 2003... Dissatisfied with a regulatory relief measure that encompasses all depository institutions and their affiliates, the credit union industry has broken away from the pack and crafted a bill of its own. The credit-union-only bill, introduced...

A New Push to Break Impasse on Business Checking.(interest bearing corporate checking)
December 1, 2003... Sen. Chuck Hagel has a plan he hopes will jump-start the effort to let banks offer interest-bearing corporate checking accounts. The effort has been held up over the issue of whether to give industrial loan companies similar power on...

EBT Switch: Why Chase Likes What Citi Didn't.(J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc.)
December 1, 2003... J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. said its deal to buy Citigroup Inc.'s electronic benefits transfer, payroll card, and stored value card businesses is all about building share in wholesale payment services, one of its most important operations. ...

Executive Changes.
December 1, 2003... NEW ENGLAND PNC Advisors has named Susan E. Fitzsimmons its Boston region director. Ms. Fitzsimmons was a senior client adviser for northern New Jersey for the investment management business of Pittsburgh's PNC Financial Services...

Reputational Risk Guidance: A Team Effort for Regulators.
December 1, 2003... With the reputations of financial services firms under daily assault, the industry may actually welcome some advice from federal regulators. Guidelines are expected early next year to help both commercial and investment banks hone their...

Washington People.(Matthew Lee)
December 1, 2003... A Novel Dig at Citi Who says there's no drama in financial services? Matthew Lee, general counsel of Inner City Press/Community on the Move, has published a novel titled "Predatory Bender: A Story of Subprime Finance." Though the work...

Nara to Accept Korean Collateral.(Nara Bank of Los Angeles)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Nara Bank of Los Angeles is letting U.S. customers pledge real estate in Korea as collateral for commercial and consumer loans. Single-family homes, apartments, and commercial buildings or undeveloped land can be used, the subsidiary of the...

In Brief: Tenn. Banker Named To Head ICBA Unit.(David E. Hayes)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ICBA Bancard, the payments services subsidiary of the Independent Community Bankers of America, announced last week that it had elected a new chairman: David E. Hayes, the president and chief executive officer of Security Bank in Dyersburg,...

In Brief: Fifth Third Readies Conversion Services.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions will begin offering time-of-sale currency conversion services to its retailer clients next quarter, according to Planet Payment. The subsidiary of Planet Group Inc. of Long Beach, N.Y., will provide...

Court Finds a Fiduciary Risk For Directed Pension Trustees.
December 1, 2003... Banks and other financial institutions that act as directed trustees for 401(k) and other pension plans are facing a new danger, according to the Department of Labor and recent decisions in the Enron and Worldcom Erisa litigation. Those...

In Brief: Outlook Upgraded for Jefferson Pilot Firms.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Standard & Poor's Ratings Services in New York said it has revised its outlook on Jefferson-Pilot Life Insurance Co. and its affiliates --Jefferson Pilot Financial Insurance Co., Jefferson Pilot LifeAmerica, and Jefferson-Pilot Corp. -- to...

In Brief: AAA Rating Affirmed for MassMutual, Units.(Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., CM Life Insurance Co., MML Bay State Life Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has announced the affirmation of its AAA counterparty credit and financial strength ratings for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. and its subsidiaries CM Life Insurance Co. and MML Bay State Life...

In Brief: Hancock Fund's Quarterly Results Up 108%.(John Hancock Preferred Income Fund )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... John Hancock Preferred Income Fund, a closed-end portfolio managed by John Hancock Advisers LLC, has reported net investment income of $15.2 million in the quarter ended Oct. 31, up 108% from the year earlier. John Hancock Advisers managed...

In Brief: Strength Rating Cut at 2 U.S. Units of Royal.(Royal and SunAlliance USA Insurance Pool)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A.M. Best Co. in Oldwick, N.J., said it has downgraded the financial strength ratings of the Royal and SunAlliance USA Insurance Pool of Charlotte, N.C., and of the Royal Surplus Lines Insurance Co., also of Charlotte, to B, or fair, from...

Freddie Signs Marketing Pact, Says IRS Dispute Almost Over.
December 1, 2003... Freddie Mac, embroiled in the fallout from its accounting scandal, continues to add business relationships and wrestle with the Internal Revenue Service over old ones. The government-sponsored enterprise last month said it would help...

Pick a Number: Gauging Web Banking Use.
December 1, 2003... Pop quiz: The number of people who use online banking will increase next year by: a) 20% b) 15.7% c) 11.5% d) Who knows? Given that there are at least eight research firms proffering conflicting numbers, the answer increasingly appears to...

Taylor Expects Savings from Web Phone.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... When Taylor Capital Group Inc. of Rosemont, Ill., which owns Cole Taylor Bank, moved its corporate headquarters, it also moved its phone system -- to the Internet. The result were savings and the potential for more features, said Manuel...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2003... In the Nov. 24 paper, "States Don't Wait for Fed to Rule on Overdraft" on page 1 was mistaken in calling Washington Mutual's overdraft service Oops. That is the name Tompkins Trust Co. of Ithaca, N.Y., uses for its service. In the Nov. 25...

In Brief: MBNA's Founder and CEO to Retire.(Charles Cawley )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... MBNA Corp. said on Friday that its founder and chief executive would retire at yearend. Charles Cawley, 63, founded the credit card issuer in 1982 as a subsidiary of Maryland National Corp. He had been president since its spin-off in 1991...

In Brief: Lending Is Stable, Fed Says.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A Fed report says banking conditions hardly changed in recent weeks, loan demand was "subdued," lending standards were stable, and loan quality remained solid. The report, released Wednesday, pointed to a pickup in commercial and...

In Brief: Fed Proposes Standards on Regs.(consumer protection regulations )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Federal Reserve Board has proposed tweaks to five consumer-protection regulations. The Fed wants to create a common standard for the disclosures required by Regulation B, which covers equal credit opportunity; Regulation E, which...

In Brief: Wachovia Buys Lender in Maryland.(AMI Capital Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Wachovia Corp. has acquired AMI Capital Inc., a Bethesda, Md., company that makes multifamily loans. A spokesman for the Charlotte company would not say how much it paid. The purchase, announced Wednesday, gives Wachovia full ownership of...

In Brief: Banks End Lower in Quiet Session.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Shares of Countrywide Financial Corp. jumped 2.7% to $105.60 during Friday's abbreviated and mostly uneventful trading session. About 700,000 shares of the Calabasas, Calif. lender changed hands, double what one New York trader said he...

When You Can't Leave Home Without It.(credit card issurers looking at wireless chips to be implanted under the skin)
December 2, 2003... Credit card companies have tried just about everything short of surgical implantation to make themselves customers' first choice when payment decisions are made. And that next step may not be so far off. MasterCard International is one...

Compass' New Direction In Southwestern Market.
December 2, 2003... Compass Bancshares Inc. has become the 31st-largest bank in the United States over the past decade in large part by acquiring banks in the Southwest. But now, like many other large banks, it is expanding further by building rather than...

Reg Relief '03: Why Agencies Are Flying Solo.(the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the other federal agencies are trying to cut financial services' red tape)
December 2, 2003... Bankers have not taken an overwhelming interest yet, but the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the other federal agencies are trudging ahead with an effort to cut red tape for banks, thrifts, and credit unions. After talking with bankers...

Leesport Shops Again, This Time For a Bank.(Leesport Financial Corp.)
December 2, 2003... Raymond H. Melcher Jr. talks like a banker ready to do a deal. In a recent interview the chairman, president, and chief executive of Leesport Financial Corp. said his Wyomissing, Pa., company needs to increase its assets 10% to 15% annually...

IN BRIEF: FinCEN Yields On Transmittal Orders.(Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, funds transmittal orders)
December 2, 2003... The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said Friday that it will no longer let banks encode customers' identity in funds transmittal orders, but it backed off plans to have banks provide customer street addresses. The...

IN BRIEF: Ohio, N.C. Banks to Pay Flood Act Fines.(violations of the National Flood Insurance Act )(Brief Article)
December 2, 2003... The Federal Reserve Board sanctioned two banks for violations of the National Flood Insurance Act and levied penalties of $50,100 to be paid to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Flood Mitigation Fund. Provident Bank in...

IN BRIEF: FDIC Names Chief Information Officer.(Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Michael E. Bartell)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2003... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has a new chief information officer. Michael E. Bartell, who once held the CIO job at the Securities and Exchange Commission, will oversee the FDIC's computer systems and information-security efforts....

Mortgager's New Bid for Md. Thrift.(American Home Mortgage Holding Inc. seeking to acquire Valley Bank of Maryland)
December 2, 2003... After being blocked by regulators a couple of years ago, American Home Mortgage Holding Inc. of Melville, N.Y., is trying again to acquire a small Baltimore-area thrift. Two weeks ago American Home filed with the Office of Thrift...

In Brief: Accredited Raises '03 Target.(Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. earnings forecasts)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2003... Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. of San Diego on Monday raised its full-year earnings guidance and forecast even higher profits for next year, because of expectations of continued strength in the subprime mortgage market. The lender...

In Brief: Pru Alum Joins Nonprofit Board.(Shekar Narasimhan joined the Community Preservation and Development Corp.'s board)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2003... Shekar Narasimhan, a partner with Beekman Advisors LLC, a firm with dual headquarters in Vienna, Va., and New York, has joined the Community Preservation and Development Corp.'s board, the Washington nonprofit announced last week. Mr....

In Brief: Credit Suisse in Lending Deal.(Credit Suisse Group unit Column Financial to buy majority stake in Investment Property Mortgage)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2003... Column Financial Inc., a New York unit of Credit Suisse Group, has agreed to buy a majority stake in a joint venture of Standard Mortgage Corp. and Hibernia National Bank, both in New Orleans. As part of the deal, announced Wednesday,...

Two Lenders Agree to Cancel Debts in Alleged Land Scam.(Developer Finance Corp. and Litchfield Financial Corp. will offer to cancel the debts of more than 850 former time-share owners allegedly defrauded by a group of developers)
December 2, 2003... The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced settlements in which two Massachusetts lenders will offer to cancel the debts of more than 850 former time-share owners allegedly defrauded by a group of developers. The agency...

In Brief: $500M Hartford Deal For CNA Group Units.(Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. to buy CNA Financial Corp.'s group life and accident, short-term and long-term disability, and certain specialty businesses)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2003... Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. said Monday that it had agreed to buy CNA Financial Corp.'s group life and accident, short-term and long-term disability, and certain specialty businesses for about $500 million cash. The deal...

In Brief: Moody's Affirms Axa Debt, Finance Ranks.(Brief Article)
December 2, 2003... Moody's Investors Service affirmed Axa's senior debt ratings at A2 on Monday, as well as the Aa3 insurance financial strength ratings of its main operating subsidiaries. The outlook for Axa's ratings remained stable, the New York rating...

In Brief: S&P Affirms AA-Plus For Sun Life, Units.(Sun Life Assurance Co. )(Brief Article)
December 2, 2003... Standard & Poor's Ratings Service has announced that it affirmed its ratings for Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada and its subsidiaries, based on the insurer's strong franchise position in Canada and the United States. The ratings outlook,...

Multiplying Assets Eyed Via BNY In-House Link.(Bank of New York )
December 2, 2003... Bank of New York Co.'s integration of its Lockwood Advisors Inc. and Pershing units will create a chance to add 15 to 25 relationships with broker-dealers, banks, and insurance companies during the next six months and to multiply assets under...

PayQuik Offers Low-Cost Entry to Money Transfer.
December 2, 2003... A 3-year-old Philadelphia company called PayQuik Inc. wants to make it easier for all banks, not just the big ones, to enter the money transfer market. PayQuik runs a Web-based money remittance operation for several foreign banks, and this...

Another Software Deal for Fidelity National.(Fidelity National Financial Inc. buying Customized Database Systems Inc.)
December 2, 2003... Fidelity National Financial Inc. will announce today that it has bought Customized Database Systems Inc., a New York company specializing in loan-syndication software. The deal closed Sunday. The Jacksonville vendor, which did not say how...

Image Specialists Tackling the Day 2 Problem.(checks that cannot be processed automatically or must be returned)
December 2, 2003... Return items and exceptions have been considered stumbling blocks on the path to exchanging digital check images for processing. But now at least two companies claim to have solutions. An exception item is a check that cannot be processed...

Another MBNA Upgrade, This Time from Prudential.(rating upgrade)
December 2, 2003... Favorable consumer spending trends and improving credit quality have been attracting analysts to MBNA Corp. for months, and now Prudential Equity Group Inc. has joined the crowd, giving it a top rating. Prudential analyst Bradley Ball...

In Brief: FirstMerit to Record Charges of $19M.(Brief Article)
December 2, 2003... FirstMerit Corp. said Monday that it would take charges of more than $19 million this quarter because of the sale of its manufactured housing loan portfolio and the refinancing of loans from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati. The...

In Brief: Bill Seeks Budget Before Fannie Probe.(would require the Department of Housing and Urban Development to submit a detailed spending plan for a special accounting investigation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2003... The final draft of a massive omnibus appropriations bill would require the Department of Housing and Urban Development to submit a detailed spending plan next month for a special accounting investigation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The...

In Brief: Jeweler Sues Amex Over Card Acceptance.(DRF Jeweler Corp. accused American Express Co. of pressuring merchants who accept its charge cards to also accept its credit and debit cards)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2003... In a lawsuit filed Monday, DRF Jeweler Corp. of New York accused American Express Co. of pressuring merchants who accept its charge cards to also accept its credit and debit cards. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern...

In Brief: Visa Post-Thanksgiving Volume Rose 12%.(transaction volume on Visa U.S.A. cards the two days after Thanksgiving)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2003... Transaction volume on Visa U.S.A. cards the two days after Thanksgiving -- a period the retail industry calls a bellwether for the full holiday shopping season -- rose 12% from last year, to $6.5 billion. Retail spending on Visa's credit...

In Brief: Comerica Buying Back Its Stock Again.(Brief Article)
December 2, 2003... Comerica Inc. said Monday that it would immediately resume its share repurchasing plan. The Detroit bank said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that its board had the authority to buy back 5.3 million common shares...

Mixed Outlook on '03 Bonuses.(management bonus survey)
December 2, 2003... Employment and compensation experts are divided on whether a recovering stock market will translate into bonuses on Wall Street this year. Forty-two percent of managers surveyed this quarter by the New York staffing firm Wall Street...

Buffett Buys: Positive Signs For Pre-Fab?(Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. buys FirstMerit's portfolio of manufactured housing loans)
December 3, 2003... Two years ago FirstMerit Corp. stopped originating manufactured housing loans but did not sell its portfolio -- an indication of how moribund the market was at the time. One year ago Conseco Inc. sold its manufactured housing finance...

Citi Touts Internet as Client Acquirer.(Citibank)
December 3, 2003... Over the last decade financial services executives have viewed Web banking as everything from a heaven-sent cost-saver to a necessary evil. Today one school of thought claims that the Web will prove its mettle as a way to help banks acquire...

Hibernia of La. Makes Deal To Leap Into Texas Top 15.(to acquire Coastal Bancorp Inc. of Houston )
December 3, 2003... After eight years of slow, steady growth in Texas, Hibernia Corp. of New Orleans has struck a deal that would double its deposits and branch network there. The $17.6 billion-asset company said Monday that it would buy the $2.6...

Blocked Once In Florida, BB&T Finds A New Target.(to acquire Republic Bancshares Inc. )
December 3, 2003... BB&T Corp., aware of investors' unease with acquisitions, has in recent months pledged to slow its pace of purchases, but Tuesday's deal for Republic Bancshares Inc. of St. Petersburg, Fla., shows that it remains a buyer. The...

In Brief: Agencies Have Plan for Improving Notices.(federal regulators have developed a proposal aimed at simplifying the privacy notices that financial services companies must send to customers )
December 3, 2003... Eight federal regulators have developed a proposal aimed at simplifying the privacy notices that financial services companies must send to customers each year. The proposal, which the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued on Tuesday,...

In Brief: Bush to Sign FCRA Renewal Bill Thursday.(Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... President Bush is scheduled Thursday to sign into law the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, a White House spokesman said. The bill, which was the financial services industry's top legislative priority this year, would permanently...

Executive Changes.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... NEW ENGLAND Standish Mellon Asset Management Co. LLC of Boston, the fixed-income unit of Mellon Financial Corp. of Pittsburgh, has hired Chris Austin as director of consultant relations. The newly created job grew out of a July...

Fed's Laundering Actions Way Up.(Federal Reserve Board 11th anti-laundering action this year)
December 3, 2003... The Federal Reserve Board slammed Putnam County Bank in Hurricane, W.Va., with a Bank Secrecy Act enforcement action on Monday, the central bank's 11th anti-laundering action this year. That is more than twice as many orders as it issued...

Fed Says Basel II Standards Will Stay -- for Now.
December 3, 2003... Addressing the industry's biggest beef about impending international capital standards, Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman Roger W. Ferguson Jr. said Tuesday that banks will be allowed to use internal models to determine regulatory capital...

Post-Merger Rx: Change Slowly, Reassure Fast.
December 3, 2003... Anyone who follows the banking industry has heard the horror stories about banks that bought up other banks only to watch depositors take flight. That should be no surprise for acquirers that cut rates on savings, increase rates on loans...

Mich.'s North Country Says Would-Be Buyer Backed Out of Deal.(North Country Financial Corp. )
December 3, 2003... The troubled North Country Financial Corp. of Manistique, Mich., has revealed that a prospective buyer pulled out three days after making an offer. The $453 million-asset company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday...

In Brief: Mich.'s Capitol Plans To Buy First Carolina.(Capitol Bancorp plans to buy First Carolina State Bank )(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Capitol Bancorp of Lansing, Mich., plans to buy First Carolina State Bank in Rocky Mount, N.C., for $10.7 million in stock and cash. The deal, announced Monday, is expected to close early in the second quarter. Capitol, a $2.7...

In Brief: Another Calif. Deal For First Community.( First Community Bancorp to acquire Harbor National Bank)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Continuing its rapid expansion, First Community Bancorp in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., plans to buy another southern California bank for $35.5 million in cash. The $2.4 billion-asset bank holding company said Monday that it would pay about...

In Brief: CFO Quits Abruptly At Unizan of Ohio.(James J. Pennetti)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Unizan Financial Corp. of Canton, Ohio, said that its chief financial officer, James J. Pennetti, resigned on Monday for "personal reasons." James H. Nicholson, the chief operating officer, will handle Mr. Pennetti's duties while the $2.8...

In Brief: Stolen Machine With Wells Data Found.(stolen computer that contained account information about several hundred thousand Wells Fargo & Co. custom)
December 3, 2003... A California man could get hard time for stealing hard drives. Police in Concord, Calif., have recovered a stolen computer that contained account information about several hundred thousand Wells Fargo & Co. customers. On Nov. 25,...

In Brief: Experian Unveils Collection Product.(Collection Advantage )(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Experian Inc. has a new product that it says will help lenders collect. The Costa Mesa, Calif., credit bureau says Collection Advantage uses credit scoring, locator information, and analytics to help agents prioritize accounts by...

In Brief: Four Chinese Banks Designate Hypercom.(preferred-provider status )(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... The payment terminal manufacturer and software provider Hypercom Corp. announced Tuesday that it had gained preferred-provider status from four Chinese banks. They are Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, China...

In Brief: Credit Union Sales Of Portfolios Up.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Survey results released Tuesday said this is shaping up as a banner year for credit card portfolio sales at credit unions. As of Sept. 30, 43 portfolios with more than $1 million of receivables had changed hands, versus 41 for all of 2002....

In Brief: St. Paul, Travelers Decide Exec Lineup.
December 3, 2003... The St. Paul Cos. Inc. and Travelers Property Casualty Corp. announced executive appointments Tuesday for the company to be known as The St. Paul Travelers Cos. after completion of the merger unveiled Nov. 17. Jay S. Benet, 51, was named...

In Brief: Hartford's Ratings Affirmed After Deal.(credit rating for Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. )(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Standard & Poor's Ratings Service has affirmed its A-minus long-term counterparty credit rating for Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. and its AA-minus counterparty credit and financial strength ratings for The Hartford's operating...

Nationwide's 3Q Variable Sales Fell As Fixed Revived.(Nationwide Financial Services Inc.'s third-quarter overall annuity sales through banks )
December 3, 2003... A precipitous drop in variable annuity sales left Nationwide Financial Services Inc.'s third-quarter overall annuity sales through banks down 18% from the second quarter. The Columbus, Ohio, insurer had $756 million of annuity sales...

In Brief: Putnam Adds Timing Fee to More Funds.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Putnam Investments said Tuesday that it has expanded its effort to assure long-term investors it has their interests at heart by applying to more of its funds a 1% redemption fee on the short-term fund trading known as market timing. It...

In Brief: 1st Albany Asset Unit Hires Hollister Team.(FA Asset Management hires investment management team The team from Hollister Investment Management )(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... FA Asset Management, the investment management unit of First Albany Companies Inc., announced Tuesday that it has hired a value-oriented investment management team. The team from Hollister Investment Management, a unit of Phoenix...

In Brief: Investment Bank Starts Asset Unit.(National Bank Financial Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... National Bank Financial Inc., a Canadian full-service investment bank, said Tuesday that it had formed an asset management unit. Asset Management Finance Corp., with offices in New York and Boston, is to supply financial solutions for...

In Brief: Northern Trust Gets $5.4B Fla. Mandate.(chosen by Florida to manage $5.4 billion of assets for the state retirement system)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Northern Trust Corp. said it has been chosen by Florida to manage $5.4 billion of assets for the state retirement system. The Chicago banking company announced Monday that Northern Trust Global Investments had been selected by Florida's...

In Brief: Survey Gauges Impact of New Jersey Law.(predatory lending law)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... New Jersey's new law against predatory lending could reduce mortgage lending there by at least $4.2 billion a year, a lender survey concluded. The survey polled 16 of New Jersey's 25 biggest lenders in the days before the law went into...

In Brief: Bourne End Sells U.K. Shopping Center.(Bridewater, UK)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc. said Tuesday that Bourne End Properties PLC, which it partly owns, had sold a 97,000-square-foot shopping center in Bridgewater, England, for $23.5 million. In a press release the Portland, Ore., company said...

In Brief: Countrywide Gets More Clues Support.(Countrywide Home Loans had bought a more extensive annual license of technology from MindBox )(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... MindBox LLC announced that Countrywide Home Loans had bought a more extensive annual license of technology used in the lender's Clues automated underwriting system. MindBox's ARTEnterprise software now can be used in every Countrywide...

In Brief: Argent Names Business-Controls Exec.(Argent Mortgage Co. , Randy Pool)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Ameriquest Capital Corp.'s Argent Mortgage Co. LLC wholesale subsidiary announced Tuesday that it had named Randy Pool the executive vice president of its business-controls group. He will oversee broker and vendor management, post-closing...

In Brief: 3Q Best So Far in Home Price Appreciation.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Home prices appreciated at the fastest rate this year in the third quarter, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said Monday. The average single-family home price increased 1.19%, versus 1.17% in the previous quarter, the...

In Brief: CheckWorks Offers Its Batch Software.
December 3, 2003... A vice president at SunTrust Banks Inc. says it has been using software from CheckWorks Inc. to download batch orders of check images, improving customer service without burdening other image-retrieval systems. Last week, CheckWorks...

In Brief: 1st Citizens Taking A Byte Out of Crime.(First Citizens Bank will begin using commercial software to monitor fraud and other financial crimes)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Next month First Citizens Bank will begin using commercial software to monitor fraud and other financial crimes. First Citizens BancShares Inc. of Raleigh says its $12.4 billion-asset banking company is installing the Investigation Case...

In Brief: U. of Calif. Sues TD Bank and RBS.(University of California suit against Toronto-Dominion Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland related to Enron)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... The University of California has added Toronto-Dominion Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland to the myriad of financial companies it is suing for allegedly defrauding Enron Corp. shareholders of billions of dollars. In a court filing Tuesday,...

In Brief: FDIC Finalizes $1.2B Budget for 2004.(Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. )(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Tuesday approved a 2004 budget that will keep its day-to-day spending nearly flat and more than double its spending on capital investments. The FDIC is budgeted to spend $1.2 billion next year, up from...