American Banker articles from February 2003

American Banker archives from February 2003

Commerce's Overlooked Innovation: Franchising.(Commerce Bancorp Inc., Pennsylvania Commerce Bancorp Inc.)
February 3, 2003... A Pennsylvania banking company that most people -- perhaps even many of its own depositors -- think is part of Commerce Bancorp Inc. has quietly amassed nearly $800 million of assets, and is now aiming to more than double its size by moving...

In Focus: Why Savings Plan Might Fly This Time.(tax-advantaged savings accounts)
February 3, 2003... Commercial bankers will get a gift from the Bush administration today: a sweeping proposal to overhaul the tax-advantaged savings accounts that they sell and manage. Skeptics warn that such gifts often have to be returned. At this time of...

OCC Payday Purge Done; Lenders Eye State Banks: FDIC only agency to recognize 'legitimate' market, a lender says.(Office of the Comptroller of the Currency warns payday lenders, national banks)
February 3, 2003... The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has sent what sounds like its final message to payday lenders: "Stay the hell away from national banks." Comptroller John D. Hawke Jr. used those words Friday in explaining the regulator's...

Lincoln Returns To Two Chiefs For Distribution.(Lincoln Financial Distributors to have bank channel, wirehouse wholesaler heads)
February 3, 2003... Thirteen months ago, Steven Long united the leadership of the bank channel and wirehouse wholesaler forces at Lincoln Financial Distributors; by last month, he had left the company, and the bank wholesalers again had their own chief. After...

City National Deal Widens Asset Unit Geographic Reach.(City National Corp. to acquire Convergent Capital Management L.L.C.)
February 3, 2003... City National Corp. announced Friday that it intends to buy a privately held Chicago asset management company as part of a push outside its California base. The Los Angeles banking company signed a definitive agreement to pay about $56.5...

Fed Survey Shows Biz Loan Demand Upside.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Loan demand is finally showing signs of life, according to the Federal Reserve Board's survey of senior loan officers, released Friday. The survey polls 59 domestic and 20 foreign banking companies on loan supply, demand, and quality over...

Executive Changes.(various companies)
February 3, 2003... MIDWEST U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Inc. of Minneapolis has promoted Reed Anderson, a vice president, to senior research analyst. Mr. Anderson will focus on the hardline retail sector. He joined the old Piper Jaffray Cos., which...

Washington People.(industry briefs)
February 3, 2003... Walking the Walk When Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Don Powell said nearly a year ago that he wanted to make his agency a policy-debate leader, he wasn't kidding. Some key Treasury Department officials have downplayed talk...

Lincoln Revamp to Cut 115 Jobs.(Lincoln National Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Lincoln National Corp. said it is reorganizing and cutting about 115 jobs in its Hartford and Schaumburg, Ill., offices. Lincoln Life's operation in Schaumburg, the First Penn-Pacific Life Insurance Co., will focus exclusively on the term...

In Brief: Warwick of N.Y.'s Earnings Up 5%.(Warwick Community Bancorp Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Warwick Community Bancorp Inc. on Friday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $2.1 million, 5% more than it posted for the same period in 2001. The increase came in part from efforts to increase noninterest income and to originate more...

In Brief: GA Financial of Pa. Posts Record Profits.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... GA Financial Inc. reported record earnings for last year, which it credited to strong loan growth and lower overhead. The $858 million-asset parent of Great American Federal Bank said Thursday that net income in the fourth quarter rose 46%...

Unusual Items Provided Less Than Usual Help.(fourth-quarter earnings for banks)
February 3, 2003... It was not buoyant consumer business alone that helped banks meet their fourth-quarter earnings estimates. Some of the largest ones got help from unusual items. The fourth is known as the "kitchen sink" quarter, when companies take all...

4Q Earnings: Despite Check Decline, Deluxe Profits Up.
February 3, 2003... Strong fourth-quarter earnings at Deluxe Corp. seemed to defy the decline in check usage over the past three years, as paper checks ceded market share to electronic payments. Because payment tools such as debit cards save them money, banks...

Big Challenges Ahead for New E-Funds Exec Team.(senior appointments)
February 3, 2003... Four months after taking over the battered e-Funds Corp., Paul F. Walsh is filling in its executive ranks with his own picks. The new management team's not-so-modest agenda: Restore the transaction processor's fundamentals, clean up...

In Brief: FDIC Readies Failed-Bank Site.(to auction loans, credit instruments)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and HanoverTrade Inc. are developing an FDIC-branded Web site that will auction loans and other credit instruments from failed banks. An official with the agency said in a Jan. 23 interview that the site...

In Brief: Tuition Application for VisaNet.(tuition payments through Visa U.S.A. network)
February 3, 2003... Colleges could accept online debits for tuition payments through Visa U.S.A.'s network under a deal between TouchNet Information Systems Inc. and Electronic Clearing House Inc. "All we need for this to be a silver bullet is for every bank...

In Brief: Moody's: Ga. Loans Too Risky.(predatory-lending statute)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Moody's Investors Service Inc. says Georgia's Fair Lending Act has made the risks of including certain loans in securitizations too high to conform with the rating agency's standards. The state's predatory-lending statute, which applies...

Fannie Gets and Exercises Bragging Rights from S&P.(Standard & Poor's gives high rating to corporate governance practices at Fannie Mae)
February 3, 2003... Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive Friday touted its corporate governance Friday, citing an almost-perfect rating of its practices from Standard & Poor's. Speaking at a Women in Housing Finance luncheon in Washington, Franklin D....

Schwab Separates Chairman, CEO; U.K. Unit Sold.(Charles R. Schwab to step down from co-CEO role; Barclays PLC acquires Charles Schwab Europe)
February 3, 2003... Charles R. Schwab will step down as a co-chief executive officer of Charles Schwab Corp. in May, leaving David S. Pottruck the sole CEO. The two men have shared the job since 1998. Mr. Schwab, 65, who founded the San Francisco discount...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
February 3, 2003... In Friday's paper, a page 18 news brief about Riggs National Corp.'s fourth quarter overstated a charge related to a technology contract. The amount was $1 million, not $1 billion. Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved....

Upgrades for Golden West Despite the Rate Outlook.(Golden West Financial Corp.)
February 3, 2003... Golden West Financial Corp.'s solid fourth quarter has prompted several analysts to raise their price targets for its stock, though rising or even stable rates could hurt the thrift company's main revenue source, mortgages. Six of the 16...

In Brief: Big Board: Error Halted Trading of Citi.(New York Stock Exchange trading of Citigroup Inc. stock)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Officials at the New York Stock Exchange said that it erroneously halted trading of Citigroup Inc.'s common stock for one minute on Friday. Trading of Citi shares stopped at 2:13 p.m. Friday and resumed at 2:14 p.m., according to a...

In Brief: OCC Asserts Power Over National Banks.(Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency made another move Friday to keep state officials from badgering national banks. Proposing a multifaceted rule, the OCC clarified that it has sole authority over national banks. After noting...

In Brief: FDIC Approves Limited-Liability Rule.(state-chartered banks could save on local taxes)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. approved a rule Friday that could let state-chartered banks save on their local tax bills. The agency voted unanimously to let state-chartered banks become limited-liability companies, which pay fewer...

4Q Earnings: Bye-Bye Cash and Pro Forma As Banks Rediscover GAAP.(generally accepted accounting principles)
February 4, 2003... With accounting practices under scrutiny, most large banking companies played it safe and shunned the once-popular pro forma methods and relied on generally accepted accounting principles to present fourth-quarter results. Of the nation's...

A Growing Refi Tactic Has Brokers Seeing Red.(mortgage brokers beating refinancing prices to retain customers)
February 4, 2003... As the refinance boom enters its third year, mortgage brokers have spotted an increase in a little-discussed lender practice that surfaces during sustained periods of falling rates. Call it eleventh-hour customer retention. Upon notice that...

Ethnic Niche Players Not Under the Radar Anymore: Third in a series.
February 4, 2003... Big banks waking up to the opportunities in ethnic niches have some catching up to do against the community banks that have thrived for years in this area. Some of those smaller banks, having established themselves with one or two ethnic...

TODAY'S NEWS.
February 4, 2003... Large banks are increasingly offering the free checking accounts popularized by community banks five or six years ago. Page 3 WASHINGTON Regulators said Fannie and Freddie should disclose six specific pieces of data about securities...

Bush Budget Fleshes Out Plan for FDIC.
February 4, 2003... The Bush administration tucked its most concrete plan yet for overhauling the deposit insurance system into the $2.23 trillion budget request it sent to Capitol Hill on Monday. White House officials also used the four-volume, 1,685-page...

Big Banks Warming to Free Checking.
February 4, 2003... Small banks and thrifts in recent years have offered free checking to differentiate themselves from giant competitors, but more of the largest banks are now doing the same. The trend has accelerated over the past year as banks and thrifts...

Agencies Urge Fannie, Freddie To Disclose More.(information on mortgage-back securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac )
February 4, 2003... Regulators said Monday that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should disclose more information about the mortgage-backed securities they issue, and advised the two mortgage companies to work with the investor community to establish a method for...

IRS Slows Relief to Credit Unions in CD Mess: The Credit Union Journal.
February 4, 2003... Dozens of credit unions and banks awaiting repayment for ill-fated investments with the defunct Bentley Financial Services will have to keep on waiting. An initial payout of $220 million from the broker's estate to victims, most of them...

In Brief: Prosperity Acquiring MB Unit in Dallas.(MB Financial Inc. sells Abrams Centre Bancshares Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2003... MB Financial Inc. has agreed to sell its $94 million-asset Dallas-based banking subsidiary, Abrams Centre Bancshares Inc., to Prosperity Bancshares Inc. of Houston for $16.3 million. Mitchell Feiger, MB's president and chief executive...

In Brief: Taylor of Ill. Posts Flat Profits for 4Q.(Taylor Capital Group Inc. )(Brief Article)
February 4, 2003... Taylor Capital Group Inc. on Monday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $3.9 million, unchanged from a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 22%, however, to 35 cents. For the full year, Taylor reported a net loss of $41.4 million, or...

In Brief: Record Earnings At Capitol of Mich.(Capitol Bancorp Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2003... Capitol Bancorp Ltd.'s fourth-quarter earnings jumped 77% from a year earlier, to a record $5.2 million. The $2.4 billion asset-company on Friday attributed the gain to significant increases in assets and noninterest income. After...

In Brief: LSB of Indiana Posts 25% Profit Gain.(LSB Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2003... LSB Financial Corp. said Monday that its 2002 earnings rose 25.5%, to a record $2.7 million. Earnings per share rose nearly 24%, to $1.97, for the parent of Lafayette Savings Bank. It credited a $1.6 million rise in net interest...

In Brief: Mo.'s Commerce Cuts Board by Two.(Commerce Bancshares Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2003... Commerce Bancshares Inc. said last week that it reduced its board of directors from 15 to 13 to increase the representation of independent directors. William Sullins, the vice chairman of the Commerce Bank St. Louis subsidiary, and Robert...

Variables Give Hartford Record 2002 Annuity Sales.(Hartford Financial Services Group)
February 4, 2003... Though, industrywide, sales of variable annuities were soft compared with fixed, Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. managed to turn its strong focus on variables into a banner 2002. "Frankly, we've had a terrific year, against a...

In Brief: Janus' Profits Down 46% on Asset Drop.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2003... Janus Capital Group Inc. said that its quarterly net income fell 46% because of declining assets under management and revenues. The unit of Stilwell Financial in Kansas City, Mo., announced in September that it would reorganize its funds...

In Brief: Alliance Slips 22% In Operating Profit.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2003... Alliance Capital Management Holding LP said a 14% decline in assets under management led to a 22% decline in operating profit in the fourth quarter. The investment management company, a unit of Axa Financial Inc., announced Thursday that...

In Brief: Amex Unit to Offer Morningstar Advice.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2003... American Express Retirement Services has announced the selection of Morningstar Associates to supply independent investment advice to retirement plan participants. The new platform, which is scheduled to be introduced this summer, is to...

In Brief: 1st Hawaiian Extends SEI Investments Link.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2003... SEI Investments said it has been chosen by First Hawaiian Bank to continue administering and distributing its Bishop Street Funds through 2008. Bishop Street Funds is First Hawaiian's family of proprietary mutual funds, with more than...

Will Bank One Renew First Data Cards Contract?
February 4, 2003... First Data Corp.'s beleaguered credit card processing business, which had a profit gain of only 2% in 2002, is facing another challenge as it renegotiates a contract with Bank One Corp., one of its biggest processing customers. Its deal...

Microsoft Money Seen Gaining on Quicken.
February 4, 2003... Microsoft Corp.'s Money software for personal financial management has never enjoyed the same popularity as Intuit Inc.'s Quicken, but there are signs that Microsoft's growing entrenchment in banks' core processing systems is giving Money an...

In Breif: Clearing House Arm In 3-Group Merger.
February 4, 2003... The Clearing House, the payment processor and bank association, said Monday that the check-clearing arm of its organization had merged with two similar groups in the New York area to form the National Check Exchange, which will be run under the...

In Brief: SafeHarbor Hired For SunTrust FAQs.(SunTrust Banks INc.)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2003... For a banking company with a strong emphasis on home-grown service, SunTrust Banks Inc. has taken an unusual approach to handling some questions from online customers: Asking somebody else. SunTrust has hired SafeHarbor Technology Corp. to...

In Breif: FirstBank of Tex. Plans IT Revamp.
February 4, 2003... FirstBank Southwest executives say its new information technology structure will save money and reduce IT headaches. The First Perryton Bancorp Inc. subsidiary has decided last month to convert to a core processing system with digital-image...

State St. Hustles to Avert Loss of Deutsche Clients.
February 4, 2003... State Street Corp. said it beat its own schedule by buying most of Deutsche Bank AG's global securities services operation Friday and starting to move customers to its own systems Monday. Early preparations and regulatory approvals made it...

In Brief: Fla.'s F.N.B. Acquiring Charter of Tampa.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2003... F.N.B. Corp. announced Monday that it would acquire $701 million-asset Charter Banking Corp. of Tampa for $150 million in cash. The deal would give F.N.B. an entry in the Tampa Bay region and would increase its assets in Florida to $3.4...

In Brief: Finance Firms Sue to Block LA Predator Law.(American Financial Services Association)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2003... The American Financial Services Association filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in Los Angeles to keep the city's predatory lending ordinance from going into effect. The suit, filed Friday, argues that the ordinance, which the City Council...

In Brief: Wachovia to Shutter 64 Carolina Branches.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2003... Wachovia Corp. said Monday that it will close 64 of its 502 branches in North Carolina and South Carolina in May when it combines the branch networks of its two predecessor banks. The 64 branches are among more than 200 of the company's...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
February 4, 2003... In Monday's paper, "City National Deal Widens Asset Unit Geographic Reach" on page 2 overstated the price City National Corp. agreed to pay for Convergent Capital Management LLC. It is $49 million, including about $7.5 million of debt to be...

4Q Earnings: Rate Jitters Shake LendingTree Stock.
February 4, 2003... Though LendingTree Inc. posted stellar fourth-quarter results Monday morning, its shares were down 10% by midday. Behind the drop, analysts said, were fears that rising interest rates might cut into profits at the Internet lending exchange....

TODAY'S NEWS.
February 5, 2003... Commercial lender Comerica is refocusing on branches to bolster its service to small-business clients. Page 2 WASHINGTON The FDIC has started an online publication with detailed analysis of economic conditions and banking trends in...

The Tech Scene: New E-Check Concept -- It's Evolutionary.
February 5, 2003... Back in the late 1990s many people in the banking industry believed the world of e-commerce would require new payment instruments. Entrepreneurs came up with virtual cash schemes, while bankers worked by consortium to develop electronic checks....

Statehouse Report: Maryland: In Search of A Beefed-Up Exam Force: Hiring not an option, regulator wants to contract out for help.
February 5, 2003... The Maryland Department of Financial Regulation expects legislation to be introduced this week in the General Assembly that would increase its funding and re-sources and, it hopes, better prepare it for an Allfirst-like debacle. The...

Double Play: E-Trade Adds ATMs, Eyes Credit Cards.
February 5, 2003... Having installed a new leader little more than a week ago, E-Trade Group Inc. is rapidly moving on its plans to expand its banking operations. The online brokerage has stepped back into the credit card business, after a disappointing first...

2003 House FDIC Bill Is Replay of '02.
February 5, 2003... Key leaders of the House Financial Services Committee said Tuesday that they were committed to moving ahead on a deposit insurance reform bill by next month and would hold fast on some of its most controversial items. Chairman Michael G....

Comerica Joins Stampede Back to Branch Banking.
February 5, 2003... Comerica Inc., whose core commercial lending business has buckled in the economic downturn, is refurbishing old branches and opening new ones to bolster its service to small-business clients. The Detroit banking company now has 350 branches...

Executive Changes.
February 5, 2003... NEW ENGLAND Hartford Life Insurance Co. in Connecticut has promoted Carol A. Harnett to national practice leader for group disability and life insurance in its group benefits division. She had been the director of wellness and ability...

GOP's Bachus Stresses Action on Privacy, ID Theft.(Rep. Spencer Bachus)
February 5, 2003... A key House Financial Services Committee Republican on Tuesday declared his support for preempting state financial privacy laws and said he plans hearings on identity theft, bank telemarketing practices, and other consumer privacy concerns. ...

FDIC Starts Quarterly Analysis.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2003... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has started a quarterly online publication with detailed analysis of state economic conditions and banking trends on insured institutions in each of the 50 states. "We continue to strive to provide...

Wash. Credit Unions in Ad Blitz.
February 5, 2003... Bankers in western Washington are bracing for a media onslaught by the state's largest credit unions, which hope to take deposits away from banks by touting the credit unions' new practice of sharing branches. The nine have banded together...

Comment: Here's a Switch: Preparing to Deal With Deflation.(Editorial)
February 5, 2003... It is ironic that, despite soaring budget deficits, there is more fear these days of deflation than inflation. The explanation: The exceptional productivity of American industry and the low cost of imports appear to make price increases...

Shake-Up Coming at GSE Oversight Office.
February 5, 2003... The Bush administration was on the verge Tuesday of announcing its plans to nominate a former banker to lead the agency overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- just hours after their current supervisor, Armando Falcon Jr., delivered a major...

65% of Loans Went Via Brokers in '02.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2003... Mortgage brokers probably originated 65% of all home loans last year, according to a managing director at Wholesale AccessMortgage Research and Consulting Inc. In an interview, David Olson said that his preliminary estimate "could be off...

In Brief: AIG's AAA Rating Put Under Review.
February 5, 2003... Fitch Ratings on Tuesday put the AAA senior debt rating and other long-term, fixed-income security ratings of American International Group Inc. on rating watch negative after AIG said it would take after-tax reserve charges of $1.8 billion in...

In Brief: Wachovia Automates Annuity Sales.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2003... Info-One, a provider of insurance and annuity sales information and technology products and services owned by Wachovia Insurance, said that its sister company Wachovia Securities automated its annuity selling process with Info-One's Vards...

In Brief: Watson Wyatt Buys IBM Actuary Unit.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2003... Watson Wyatt Insurance and Financial Services Inc. has announced its acquisition of the life actuarial consulting group from IBM Business Consulting Services. The deal lets Watson Wyatt's U.S. insurance and financial services practice...

In Brief: Manulife Offers Universal Life Policy.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2003... The Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. has introduced a universal life product. Manulife UL-LC is designed to give affordable lifetime insurance protection, the company said on Monday. Clients who desire additional security have the option...

2 Merrill Units to Advise Women, Black Investors.
February 5, 2003... To reach affluent women and African-American investors, Merrill Lynch & Co. has started two units that will try to hire minority advisers in an effort to develop more relationships with the target groups. The new units, which were...

FBI Bottleneck Spawns Fingerprint-Scan Service.
February 5, 2003... A new fingerprint service from National Background Check Inc. targets community banks frustrated by Federal Bureau of Investigation delays. The Columbus, Ohio, company will scan prints and submit them electronically to the American Bankers...

Bank One to Issue Card for Unbanked.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2003... Bank One Corp. will issue a Visa debit card in April that draws funds directly from PayMaxx Inc. payroll accounts. The PayMaxx PayCard will let employees make purchases or access cash at Visa point of sale locations, automated teller...

In Brief: M&I Upgrading Image Services.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2003... A unit of Marshall & Ilsley Corp. plans to streamline the digital-image services it offers to retail banks. Marshall & Ilsley Support Services Corp. is working to install a comprehensive document management system at its Fair Lawn, N.J.,...

In Brief: '02 Profit at Bank of Internet.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2003... Bank of Internet USA says it has achieved its first full year of profitability and plans to raise more capital. The Internet bank, which was established in 2000, reported last week that its pretax fourth-quarter profit climbed fivefold from...

In Brief: A Resignation and a New Title at Treasury.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2003... The Treasury Department announced Tuesday that Deputy Secretary Kenneth Dam had resigned and that it had created a deputy assistant secretary position for critical infrastructure protection and compliance policy. Treasury named Michael A....

In Brief: Frank Predicts Defeat on Realty Brokerage.(Barney Frank)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2003... The top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee said Tuesday that he supports banks' efforts to expand into real estate brokerage but thinks the National Association of Realtors will defeat them. "Because of the political...

In Brief: Chargeoffs Top 7% Again in S&P Index.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2003... Bank credit card chargeoff rates continued to climb in December, to 7.5%, according to an analysis of securities backed by credit cards. Standard & Poor's Credit Card Quality Index tracks data from these securities, which make up about...

In Brief: B of A Unit's High-Yield Chief Resigns.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2003... Banc of America Securities said Tuesday its high-yield chief had resigned to form his own business. Fred Cohen, the head of leveraged finance and high-yield capital markets at the investment banking unit of Bank of America Corp., quit to...

Fifth Third Due for Harder Slap than It Suggested?
February 5, 2003... The outcome of a regulatory investigation into risk management and internal controls at Fifth Third Bancorp. could be more severe than the company indicated at a conference last week, a Lehman Brothers analyst said Tuesday. On Sept. 10 the...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
February 5, 2003... In Monday's paper, "Unusual Items Provided Less than Usual Help" in the Market Monitor section understated J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s securities gains last year. It reported $747 million for the fourth quarter and $1.5 billion for the year; the...

... But Shells Out For Mortgage Tech Vendor.(Bank of America Corp. to acquire Framework Inc.)
February 6, 2003... Though Bank of America Corp. is in cost-cutting mode, growth remains the operative word at its home mortgage business. The Charlotte company is expected to announce today that it has acquired Framework Inc., a Tarrytown, N.Y., vendor of...

M&A Dealing Pa. Town Out of Local Banks.(Doylestown, Pennsylvania banks being acquired by larger firms)
February 6, 2003... Since the end of September, all three banks headquartered in Doylestown, Pa., have agreed to be bought by larger holding companies based in Pennsylvania. And unless a new bank pops up by the end of the third quarter -- unlikely, since no...

Mortgage Mantle Now A Burden to 1st Tenn.(First Tennessee National Corp.)
February 6, 2003... First Tennessee National Corp. is trying to shake its reputation as a mortgage lender, but old perceptions die hard. Over the last two years the Memphis company, which has beaten analysts' expectations for eight consecutive quarters, has...