American Banker articles from December 2006

American Banker archives from December 2006

An Industry's Elite.(Best in Banking honors went to Richard Fairbank, Angelo Mozilo and Arkadi Kuhlmann)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... American Banker bestowed Best in Banking honors Thursday night in New York City. The Banker of the Year award went to Richard Fairbank of Capital One, while Lifetime Achievement and Innovator awards went, respectively, to Countrywide's Angelo...

Why Some See 'Suitability' as Next Battle for Home Lenders.
December 1, 2006... A new buzzword has mortgage lenders spooked: suitability. The idea, taken from securities law and advanced by some academics and consumer advocates, is to create a fiduciary responsibility for the lender to pick the most appropriate loan...

Basel II, ILCs, Data Security, Crowd onto Senator's Agenda.
December 1, 2006... Sen. Tim Johnson, the incoming chairman of Senate Banking's financial institutions subcommittee, is preparing to push plenty of hot buttons next year, including Basel II, industrial loan charters, insurance reform, data security, and lending to...

Intuit Makes A Deal as It Pursues a New Market: Sees Digital Insight giving it edge with small businesses.
December 1, 2006... Intuit Inc., an electronic banking pioneer that has largely been eclipsed by online banking, hopes to regain its prominence in that market by acquiring the technology vendor Digital Insight Corp. The $1.35 billion deal, announced Thursday,...

People.
December 1, 2006... Roller-Coaster Ride Recent moves by Bank of America Corp. have been both an aggravation and a boon for E-Trade Financial Corp. and its president, Jarrett Lilien. On Oct. 11 the Charlotte banking company threw down the gauntlet to...

Panel to Reopen Details of Military Loan Rate Cap.
December 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Rep. Barney Frank, the incoming chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said Thursday that he plans hearings next year on an amendment to cap lending to military service personnel and their dependents. The...

Security Watch.
December 1, 2006... Breaches Two health-care providers lost an unhealthy amount of patient data. Kaiser Permanente Colorado said Wednesday that a laptop containing information on 38,000 members was stolen from an employee's car in California. The...

FedLine Advantage Glitch Cleared Up After Access Delays.
December 1, 2006... The Federal Reserve said Thursday that its FedLine Advantage online access system had returned to normal operation after glitches earlier in the week snarled automated clearing house access for hundreds of financial companies. Dan...

In Brief: Houston Outfit Has First Buyout Deal.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Family Bancorp Inc., a new holding company in Houston, has agreed to buy the $49 million-asset First National Bank of Refugio, the San Antonio Business Journal reported Thursday. The deal, which would be Family Bancorp's first acquisition,...

In Brief: Conversion Plan Lifts Abington Stock.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The holding company for Abington Savings Bank in Jenkintown, Pa., announced a plan Thursday to convert to a fully stock format. The news -- which one analyst called a "surprise" -- sent the company's stock price soaring. It was up 21% late...

In Brief: Consultant Defends Credit Union Heads.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... A consultant and an investment banker who have advised many credit unions that have converted to mutual savings banks denied this week that managers and directors were motivated by greed. Multimillion-dollar windfalls by executives of...

In Brief: Premier of Calif. Sets Up in Arizona.(Premier Commercial Bancorp)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Premier Commercial Bancorp in Anaheim, Calif., has opened a second bank subsidiary, in Mesa, Ariz. The $317 million-asset company said this week that Premier Commercial Bank, Arizona, opened for business Nov. 10 with $10 million of...

Playing Up Scale At Wintrust for Commercial Lift.
December 1, 2006... Wintrust Financial Corp. is the fourth-largest bank holding company based in Illinois, but many of its customers wouldn't know it. The Lake Forest's company's 15 subsidiary banks in Illinois and Wisconsin have generally downplayed the...

Yearend Bonuses Give Way to Other Incentives.
December 1, 2006... The holiday bonus for advisers at a number of banks has become a thing of the past, replaced with what some say are more effective ways of motivating workers. "Cash bonuses have gone the way of the Christmas goose," said Jeffrey Ellis, a...

Great-West in U.S. Bank Deal.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Great-West Lifeco Inc. of Winnipeg, Ontario, announced Thursday that its U.S. subsidiary, Great-West Life and Annuity Insurance Co., has agreed to buy U.S. Bancorp's bundled, full-service, defined-contribution business. The agreement...

Viewpoint: Behavioral Studies: Raising the Savings Rate.
December 1, 2006... If we all behaved as rationally as traditional economic theories assume we do, then the savings rate would be in the double digits, and gathering deposits would be a cinch. We would forgo the day-after-Thanksgiving shopping spree and those...

Viewpoint: Martin on Retailing: It's the Follow-Up that Closes the Sale.
December 1, 2006... "You never get a second chance to make a first impression," is an old and true adage. And it seems that each time I read a commentary on the subject, the time needed for folks to form that impression has shrunk. Though bank branches have...

Viewpoint: SEC's Sarbanes-Oxley Fix Needs Fixing.
December 1, 2006... Perhaps reform of the excessive cost and bureaucracy created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act will be a bipartisan effort, just as the original act was a bipartisan overreaction to the scandals of its day. Future House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is...

Letter To The Editor: OCC: Not So, Popular.(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... To the Editor: The Nov. 17 In Focus column, "Why Popular Reversed Course on a National Charter," [page 1] quotes a representative from Popular Inc. as saying that the OCC would prefer that national banks not engage in subprime lending....

In Brief: Visa Reports Strong Thanksgiving Sales.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Consumer credit card spending over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend was strong, though various market segments reported different trends, Visa U.S.A. Inc. said on Thursday. Spending on electronics and furniture surged, but spending at...

In Brief: FTC Chief Against Data Rule.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras rejected calls Thursday for a national standard to guide financial institutions and other companies on how to protect sensitive data. "The problem is that businesses aren't the same...

In Brief: Wells to Buy a Dallas Firm.(EFC Partners LP)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Wells Fargo & Co. in San Francisco said Thursday it will buy a Dallas factoring company, EFC Partners LP, that focuses on financing businesses in the staffing, manufacturing, and trucking industries. The companies did not disclose the price...

In Brief: OCC, N.Y. in Complaint Deal.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan and New York State Banking Department Superintendent Diana L. Taylor agreed to a memorandum of understanding Thursday for a formal sharing of consumer complaints between their agencies. The memorandum...

Expected Cost Cuts Bring Sovereign An Upgrade by Citi.
December 1, 2006... A Citigroup Inc. analyst upgraded Sovereign Bancorp's shares Thursday and raised his 2007 earnings estimate, citing the company's plan to trim expenses. Michael Diana increased his earnings-per-share estimate for next year by 12 cents, to...

RBC Centura's 4Q Growth Problem: Rising Expenses.
December 1, 2006... RBC Centura Banks Inc. on Thursday became the second Canadian-owned U.S. banking operation to report that expense growth outpaced revenue growth in its most recent quarter. But chief executive Scott Custer said he is optimistic that...

Fairbank's Independence Strategy: Local Retail and National Lending.(Richard D. Fairbank chosen Banker of the Year)
December 1, 2006... Richard D. Fairbank is not easily daunted - or satisfied. The hard-charging consultant-turned-banker could have cashed out after founding Capital One Financial Corp. and nurturing it into one of the nation's best-known consumer brands. But...

El Banco Finds Its Niche Serving Ga.'s Immigrants.(El Banco de Nuestra Comunidad)(Community Bankers of the Year)
December 1, 2006... In banking, as in most services, the competition for customers is largely a zero-sum game, so it's rare for the growth of a new bank to come at relatively little cost to its rivals. But in and around Atlanta, that's exactly what is...

Building Orion on Construction, CRE, Service.(community bank Orian Bancorp)(Community Bankers of the Year)
December 1, 2006... Orion Bancorp Inc. of Naples, Fla., is on a run many community bankers would envy. Its assets have more than doubled in the past two years, to $2.4 billion, its earnings through the first nine months of 2006 were up 41%, and its return on...

A Dealmaker Who Emphasizes the Soft Sell.(John Eggemeyer III of Castle Creek Capital)(Community Bankers of the Year)
December 1, 2006... John M. Eggemeyer 3rd has refined the art of the bank deal, and his approach is anything but pushy. During his initial meetings the chief executive of Castle Creek Capital LLC, a private equity firm in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., looks only...

ING Direct Recasts the Internet Model.(Arkadi Kuhlmann)(Innovator for 2006)
December 1, 2006... Innovation does not guarantee financial success. Some innovations never pay off; others pay off for facile adapters rather than the first movers. In the banking industry, where it is relatively easy to copy competitors, the financial...

Mozilo and Countrywide - 37 Years of Growth, and Influence.(Angelo R. Mozilo of Countrywide Financial)(Lifetime Achievement Award)
December 1, 2006... When Angelo R. Mozilo co-founded Countrywide Financial Corp. nearly 40 years ago, the idea of a national home lender seemed far-fetched. Yet Countrywide has lived up to its name and survived the mortgage industry's boom-bust cycles to...

Red Flags, Purchases, IPOs, And Familiar Legislative Debates.(year in review)(Industry overview)
December 1, 2006... The banking industry continued to produce healthy profits in 2006, though as the year progressed evidence of weaker fundamentals appeared. Stiff competition for deposits pushed funding costs higher, and margin compression was a widespread...

The Industry in Its Own Words.
December 1, 2006... "Every time I think it can't get worse at Sovereign, they amaze me and it does - atrocious does not begin to describe it." Nell Minow, the co-founder and editor of The Corporate Library, a governance research firm in Portland, Maine, after...

Capital One: Taking Time To Integrate North Fork.(Capital One Financial Corp.'s acquisition of North Fork Bancorporation)
December 4, 2006... With the closing of its acquisition of North Fork Bancorp., Capital One Financial Corp. has formally embarked on an integration project that Richard Fairbank, the company's chairman and chief executive, says he has no intention of speeding...

Imaging Litigant Dealt a Patent Setback.(DataTreasury Corp.)
December 4, 2006... The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in a re-examination, has dealt a serious blow to a payment processor that has sued many of the nation's largest financial institutions over a patented process for creating and storing digital check images....

A Look at Finance Efforts By Europe's 'Wal-Mart'.(financial services from Tesco PLC)
December 4, 2006... U.S. bankers seeking insight into Wal-Mart Stores Inc. as a financial services provider would do well to take a look at Tesco PLC's experience in the United Kingdom. The Cheshunt, England, retailer is known as the Wal-Mart of Europe. Like...

Executive Changes.
December 4, 2006... MIDWEST LaSalle Bank of Chicago has named Bernard R. Shaw a vice president of its financial services division and put him in charge of the bank's correspondent banking relationships in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Mr. Shaw was a vice...

Washington People.
December 4, 2006... Battling Duo Sen. Christopher Dodd is clearly not the only prominent Democrat with a distaste for credit card companies. Sen. Carl Levin, the incoming chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, criticized the card...

Wachovia Preemption Suit: Gauging the Implications.(Watters v. Wachovia Bank)
December 4, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Now that the Supreme Court has heard oral arguments in a linchpin banking case almost 145 years in the making, two mysteries endure: what the court will do, and just how much does it matter. At issue is whether the preemption...

Provident, BB&T, KeyCorp Shedding Securities.
December 4, 2006... Friday produced balance-sheet reshufflings by three regional banking companies. Provident Bancshares Corp. in Baltimore, BB&T Corp. in Winston-Salem, N.C., and KeyCorp in Cleveland joined a growing list of banking companies offloading...

Ixis Adviser Unit Targets Bank Distribution.(Ixis Asset Management Group)
December 4, 2006... Ixis Asset Management Group, a Chicago wealth manager, says it will increase distribution through banks and registered investment advisers to add to its assets under management. William C. Butcher has been hired to run the wealth solutions...

U.K. Retailers Struggle In Financial Crossover.
December 4, 2006... A decade after entering the financial services industry, British retailers still cannot compete with the country's traditional providers, a study found. The study, released in June by the London banking research firm BankEcon and ECR...

Payday Lenders Discount Report's 'Quicksand' Title.(report from Center for Responsible Lending)
December 4, 2006... Payday lenders derided a study released last week by the Center for Responsible Lending that said the average payday borrower spends $793 for a $325 loan. The report, titled "Financial Quicksand," said payday lenders earn $4.2 billion a...

NovaStar Closes Branch Deal.(NovaStar Financial Inc.'s acquisition of Oak Street Mortgage LLC branches)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... NovaStar Financial Inc. said Friday that it had closed on the acquisition of 19 retail branches of Oak Street Mortgage LLC of Indianapolis. The Kansas City, Mo., real estate investment trust would not say what it paid for the branches but...

Will Md. Ruling Stem Local Bias Laws?(Montgomery County, Maryland)(anti-discrimination mortgage law)
December 4, 2006... Industry lawyers are hopeful that the defeat of the Montgomery County, Md., ordinance that would have applied anti-discrimination law to mortgage lending, will discourage other municipalities and local governments from taking up similar...

WMC's Chief Exec Explains Why She's Leaving GE Unit.(Amy Brandt, General Electric Co.'s WMC Mortgage Corp.)
December 4, 2006... Amy Brandt, the president and chief executive of General Electric Co.'s WMC Mortgage Corp., said she will leave the company when her employment contract expires at yearend. Ms. Brandt, 34, said she helped pick her successor, Laurent...

Dynamic Project at Scivantage.(brokerage technology company developing new security software)
December 4, 2006... The brokerage technology vendor Scivantage Inc. is developing a security system that uses challenge questions with dynamic answers, making them more resistant to keyloggers. On the surface the Jersey City company's product is similar to...

American Banker's 2006 Banker of the Year Awards Dinner.
December 4, 2006... Capital One Financial Corp. chairman and chief executive Richard Fairbank reflected on Capital One's "lonely journey" from a monoline card company to a diversified financial services firm at American Banker's 2006 Banker of the Year dinner...

In Brief: Bank of America CFO De Molina Resigning.(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Alvaro G. de Molina, Bank of America Corp.'s chief financial officer, said Friday that he plans to resign at the end of the year. Mr. de Molina, 49, was promoted to the job in September 2005. He succeeded Marc Oken, who retired from the...

In Brief: Provident of Calif. To Reserve $2.5M.(Provident Financial Holdings Inc. of Riverside, California)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Provident Financial Holdings Inc. of Riverside, Calif., said Friday that it is setting aside a $2.5 million reserve to cover possible losses stemming from a housing construction project. The $1.7 billion-asset company said it has placed 23...

In Brief: Credit Union Service Seen Lagging Banks'.(service to low- and moderate-income customers)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Credit unions continue to lag banks in serving low- and moderate-income consumers, and the National Credit Union Administration should enhance internal controls to ensure its objectivity, the Government Accountability Office said in two reports...

In Brief: JPM Asks Derivatives Standardization Pact.(J.P. Morgan Chase and Co.)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... JPMorgan Chase & Co. is proposing that the financial services industry standardize retail derivative products to attract more private investors. The $1.3 trillion-asset New York company said it has contacted the Structured Products...

KeyCorp in Deals To Sell Mortgage Unit in 2 Pieces.(Champion Mortgage Co.)(HSBC Finance Corp.)
December 4, 2006... Two victors emerged Friday in the bidding for KeyCorp's Champion Mortgage Co. -- one for its loan portfolio and another for its origination platform. Neither winning bidder is an investment bank, though the sector has been an active buyer...

Latest Deal Would Give M&I Orlando Branches.(Marshall and Ilsley to buy United Heritage Bankshares)
December 5, 2006... Marshall & Ilsley Corp. said its $217 million deal for a privately held bank in Orlando would nearly double its branches in Florida and would continue its effort to enter fast-growing markets outside its home state of Wisconsin. Buying the...

Deutsche Bank Shopping for Servicer.
December 5, 2006... Deutsche Bank AG, which bought two home-loan originators this year, says it plans to buy a servicer next year as it tries to expand and vertically integrate its mortgage-backed securities business. The Frankfurt company expects its...

In GSE Talks, Step Toward Compromise.(government-sponsored enterprise oversight)
December 5, 2006... WASHINGTON -- House Democrats and the Bush administration are closing in on an 11th-hour deal to reform government-sponsored enterprise oversight, but, lacking Senate support, it is not expected to pass before Congress adjourns at the end of...

Top Processors, Slimmed Down, Find Their Moment.(Bank of New York, Mellon Financial merger)
December 5, 2006... During his tenure as chief financial officer of First Union Corp., and then Wachovia Corp., Robert P. Kelly became known as an executive who understood how to manage -- and then match up to -- the expectations surrounding a significant merger....

In Brief: BB&T Expands Executive Team.(Donna Goodrich, Clarke R. Starnes III)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... BB&T Corp. has added two members to its executive management team as it looks to bring younger managers into top leadership positions. The $119 billion-asset Winston-Salem, N.C., banking company said Monday that Donna Goodrich, the manager...

In Brief: Ryan Beck Shutters Bond Arm.
December 5, 2006... We are not authorized to publish this article provided by Dow Jones. (c) 2006 American Banker and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.americanbanker.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

In Brief: Fannie to Issue a Restatement.(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Fannie Mae said Monday that it plans to file its restated financial results for 2002 through mid-2004 after the market closes Wednesday. The filing also will include earnings for the second half of 2004, which the government-sponsored...

In Brief: FDIC Offers Guidelines on Short-Term Loans.(short-term, low-cost, small-dollar loans )(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. released draft guidance encouraging insured institutions to offer short-term, low-cost, small-dollar loans as an alternative to nonbank lenders. Under the guidance, released Monday, FDIC-insured...

In Brief: Standard Basel Method Called Best Option.(risk-based capital requirements)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Largely critical of regulators' implementation of Basel II capital reforms, a leading group of professors and economists said that the so-called standardized approach to the reforms is "the best of an unappealing set of options." In...

In Brief: San Francisco FHLB to Hit Target in 2010.(Federal Home Loan Bank retained earnings)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco told members that it will not meet its $296 million target for retained earnings until 2010. The target is based on a proposed rule that the Federal Housing Finance Board is expected to adopt. ...

Minority-Owned Banks Would Like Regulatory Flexibility.
December 5, 2006... Federal regulators are about to get an earful from minority bankers. Upon a recommendation from the Government Accountability Office, three of the four federal banking regulators plan to survey minority bankers -- particularly at...

Franklin of Houston Continues Its Shift.(Franklin Bank Corp. acquires First National Bank of Bryan)
December 5, 2006... Franklin Bank Corp. in Houston is counting on its latest deal to accelerate its transition from a wholesale thrift to a more traditional community bank. The $5.2 billion-asset Franklin announced Monday that it is buying the $517...

Visa, Safeway Arm Have a Prepaid Reloading Pact.(debit card deal with Blackhawk Marketing Services)
December 5, 2006... Visa U.S.A. Inc. has a deal with Safeway Inc.'s Blackhawk Marketing Services Inc. that will let it begin its widely anticipated foray this month into the reloadable debit card market. Technology developed by Visa to let consumers reload...

In Brief: MasterCard Unveils Fees for Euro Area.(debit interchange fees for single European payment area)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... MasterCard Inc. has published the debit interchange fees that will take in effect in Europe when the "single European payment area" goes live. The Purchase, N.Y., credit card company's European subsidiary announced the fees for its Maestro...

In Brief: Amex, Golf Group in A Sponsorship Pact.(United States Golf Association )(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... The United States Golf Association has announced its first sponsorship agreement ever, with American Express Co. The New York card company said Monday that the multiyear agreement would help it expand its brand with golfers. The...

In Brief: Credit Union Card Portfolio Sales Slow.(Industry overview)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Credit unions are expected to sell fewer credit card portfolios this year than in 2005, a consulting firm says. Tim Kolk, a managing partner at Brookwood Capital LLC, a Petersborough, N.H., company that advises credit unions, said in an...

In Brief: Diebold Adds Chief For Data Security.(Scott M. Angelo)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Diebold Inc. has hired Scott M. Angelo to be its chief information security officer. The North Canton, Ohio, automated teller machine company announced the hiring Monday. Mr. Angelo is responsible for all information technology security...

Compass' Unified Account Designer Steps Down.(Todd Smurl)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... A round of staffing cuts at Compass Bancshares Inc. has led to the exit of one of the architects of its unified managed account platform. Todd Smurl said he resigned last week as managing director of investments at Compass Bank's wealth...

Wealth Management Media Scan.
December 5, 2006... Window Washing Hedge fund managers are starting to take on the responsibilities of more traditional investment firms, says Time magazine. Fortress Investment Group's November IPO exemplifies the shift from a world where fund managers are...

Credit Unions with the Most Assets: On June 30, 2006. Dollars in thousands.(Financial report)
December 5, 2006... June 30 Year earlier Change 1 Navy Federal Credit Union Vienna, Va. $25,600,081 $25,002,001 2.4% 2 State Employees Credit Union Raleigh 13,631,852 12,705,704 7.3 3 Pentagon Federal Credit Union Alexandria, Va. 9,015,476...

In Brief: Calif.'s First American Appoints Unit Chief.(Curt G. Johnson, First American Corp. )(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... First American Corp. of Santa Ana, Calif., has promoted Curt G. Johnson to president of its First American Title Insurance Co. He succeeded Gary L. Kermott, who recently became the unit's vice chairman. Mr. Johnson, whose promotion was...

In Brief: CapitalSource's Investment Head Leaving.(Jason M. Fish)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... CapitalSource Inc. said Jason M. Fish, a co-founder of the Chevy Chase, Md., real estate investment trust and commercial finance company, will step down Jan. 2 as its chief investment officer. Mr. Fish will remain the vice chairman of...

In Brief: Synovus Banks on Systems Integrations.
December 5, 2006... Synovus Financial Corp. says it has saved money and improved its customers' experience by integrating a growing array of in-house and outsourced data processing systems. The $31.3 billion-asset Columbus, Ga., banking company recently...

In Brief: Zions Unit Uses Mapping Tool in Site Picks.(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Nevada State Bank says it expects to make better decisions about where to build branches in the booming Las Vegas market by combining in-house data with publicly available information using a visual mapping tool. The bank, a unit of Zions...

In Brief: Security Software Firm in Monitoring Pact.(Actimize Inc. )(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... The security software vendor Actimize Inc. has agreed to make its products compatible with technology from 41st Parameter Inc. Actimize, a New York company, said last week that it would support the use of 41st Parameter's PCPrint in its own...

Alternative Credit-Scoring Firm Gets Patent for System.(Pay Rent Build Credit Inc.)
December 5, 2006... Pay Rent Build Credit Inc. said it hopes the patent it received for its proprietary credit-scoring method, will help fend off some of the major credit bureaus trying to use similar systems to reach a growing market for credit data on...

In Brief: Schwab May Use Sale Proceeds for Bank.(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Charles Schwab Corp. might use cash from the pending sale of U.S. Trust to Bank of America Corp. for an acquisition to strengthen its bank, chairman and CEO Charles R. Schwab said Monday at an investor day in San Francisco. The company...

In Brief: Central Pacific Under a Compliance Order.(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Central Pacific Financial Corp. in Honolulu has been ordered by regulators to beef up its Bank Secrecy Act compliance procedures. The $5.4 billion-asset company said after the stock markets closed Friday that it has agreed to a...

In Brief: First Charter of N.C. Sells a Benefits Unit.(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... First Charter Corp. in Charlotte announced Monday that it has sold its employee benefits management subsidiary to an undisclosed buyer. The $4.8 billion-asset company had bought the unit, Southeastern Employee Benefits Services, in 2003. It...

Countrywide Spitzer Deal A Disclosure Precedent?
December 6, 2006... In the first settlement stemming from the 2004 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, Countrywide Financial Corp. has agreed with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to expand product disclosures and the monitoring of pricing decisions. ...

UBS Mortgage Appetite Spurs Split with Wells.(Wells Fargo & Co.)
December 6, 2006... UBS AG, which has been expanding in mortgages lately, plans to shutter a four-year joint venture with Wells Fargo & Co. that makes home loans to the Zurich company's U.S. wealth management clients. Mari Hope, a spokeswoman for UBS, said...