American Banker articles from January 2004

American Banker archives from January 2004

Syndicated Share Shifts From Top 3.
January 2, 2004... U.S. syndicated lending fell once again in 2003, with market share shifting away from the three leading banks. Though the number of loan deals rose 3.2%, the dollar amount underwritten was just over $963 billion, a drop of 7.8%. Still,...

Will Tax-Free Savings Reemerge As White House Agenda Item?
January 2, 2004... For banks and some other financial companies, the sleeper issue on Capitol Hill this year could be new savings products. Industry representatives say they would invest political capital in a Bush administration initiative to establish...

More Optimism on Card Issuers From Market, Rating Agencies.
January 2, 2004... Consumer credit quality was a big question mark when 2003 started, but now it looks like some answers are in. Over the year the stock market and even the ratings agencies seemed more optimistic about the sector. Fitch Inc., Moody's...

SBA Cuts7(a) Cap by Over Half for FY '04: Some lenders worry that $2 million limit may be gone for good.
January 2, 2004... Banking groups and lawmakers are fuming over the Small Business Administration's plan to cut the maximum size of its popular 7(a) loans by more than half, to $750,000, beginning Jan. 8. Douglas Heye, the agency's press secretary, said...

Holiday Dilemma.(Bank of America Corp. Kwanzaa-themed gift card backfires; banks predicted to dominate brokerage)
January 2, 2004... Holiday Dilemma Bank of America Corp. spent more than $50 million in 2003 on campaigns to woo multicultural customers, but its recent pitch tied to the African-American celebration of Kwanzaa backfired. The nation's largest consumer...

Fed Raises Budgets for Supervision, Compliance.
January 2, 2004... Two divisions of the Federal Reserve Board that regulate banks are getting decent raises for the next two years to keep up with industry changes, according to the central bank's new budget. The Fed allocated $84.4 million to the division of...

In Brief: Ohio Bank De-Lists Stock.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Indian Village Bancorp Inc. of Gnadenhutten, Ohio, said will no longer register its stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The $97 million-asset company said Tuesday that the benefits of being a reporting company did not offset...

In Brief: N.J. Bank's CEO Quits Under Fire.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Unity Bancorp Inc. of Clinton, N.J., said Anthony J. Feraro had resigned as the president and chief executive officer of the company and its bank subsidiary, Unity Bank. Mr. Feraro had been on voluntary leave since November while the...

In Brief: Day 1 on NYSE for Florida Bank.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Shares of First National Bankshares of Florida Inc. begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol FLB. The Naples company was created when F.N.B Corp., also of Naples, split its Florida and Pennsylvania subsidiaries in...

In Brief: InfiCorp Buying Ohio Bank's Portfolio.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Peoples Bancorp Inc. of Marietta, Ohio, said it will sell its $6.4 million credit card portfolio to InfiCorp Holdings Inc., an Atlanta company that manages Visa and MasterCard credit card portfolios on behalf of financial institutions. The...

In Brief: Tips on Collections from MasterCard.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... The top 100 U.S. banks have charged off nearly $1 trillion of credit card receivables since 1993, according to Purchase Street Research, a unit of MasterCard International. An improvement of 1 basis point in chargeoff rates would save a...

In Brief: ICBA Unit Buys Visa Card Portfolio.(TCM Bank buys portfolio from Midwest Independent Bank)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... The Independent Community Bankers of America's TCM Bank has acquired a $3.1 million consumer credit card portfolio from Midwest Independent Bank of Jefferson City, Mo. The business taken over consists of Visa-brand credit card programs for...

The Spin on Amex's Wheel' Deal.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... It's too early to say if American Express Co.'s product placement deal with one of the top syndicated television shows succeeded in getting more people to sign up for Blue Cash American Express cards. But it certainly was an eye-catching...

Lesser-Known Investments Burgeoned in Troubled '03.
January 2, 2004... Institutional investors searching for alternatives to the troubled mutual fund market last year boosted assets in products like Pipes and publicly registered direct participation programs. The asset total in Pipes, or private investments in...

Ginnie: Servicing Plan Will Help Lenders Lend.
January 2, 2004... In the past two years a number of large lenders have been enlisting Ginnie Mae's help in their efforts to minimize their exposure to mortgage servicing rights. The more income these lenders expect to receive for servicing loans, the larger...

Getting Handle on the Problems That Cost You the Most Busines.
January 2, 2004... The hole-in-the-bucket formula should be the first lesson taught in marketing. Even if good customers hang in after an unpleasant experience, they won't give you new assets to manage. In five recent studies, we found that a company risks...

Lenders Are on Notice About Their Risk-Based Pricing.
January 2, 2004... Historically, the Fair Credit Reporting Act has required lenders to provide "adverse action" notices to consumers when their credit applications are declined or when a consumer rejects a lender's less favorable counteroffer. These notices...

Will Retailers Stampede to Drop Signature Debit?
January 2, 2004... Come February, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., will no longer accept MasterCard debit card purchases unless they are authorized with a personal identification number rather than a signature. The world's largest retailer was one of millions of...

Fed Report Belittles GSEs' Contributions.
January 2, 2004... To the Editor: Released just in time to provide some Scrooge-ish grumbling for the holiday season, Federal Reserve Board economist Wayne Passmore's report on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ["No Homeowner Help from GSE Subsidy: Fed," Dec. 23,...

In Brief: Credit Union to Use Speech Recognition.
January 2, 2004... US Airways Federal Credit Union of Moon Township, Pa., plans to use a speech-recognition system to take loan applications by phone. Members will be able to access the system, which will use natural-language speech-recognition software from...

In Brief: Banknorth Gets Import-Export Portal.
January 2, 2004... Banknorth Group Inc. is now in the international trade business. Corporate customers of the Portland, Maine, company can use its new online trade portal to access records, track the status of purchase orders and letters of credit, and pull...

In Brief: Nat City Joins Auto-Loan Database.
January 2, 2004... National City Corp. says it is the first banking company to take part in an online service that matches up auto-loan applicants with lenders. The Cleveland banking company has begun enrolling the 2,900 new- and used-car dealers in its...

In Brief: VeriSign to Purchase Guardent.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... VeriSign Inc. has agreed to buy Guardent Inc., a provider of computer security for financial services companies. VeriSign, of Mountain View, Calif., already provides network security services. It said in Wednesday's press release announcing...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
January 2, 2004... In Wednesday's paper, the page 4 story about the new leader of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network misidentified the bank his great-grandfather founded and his uncle runs. It is First National Bank of Albion, Neb., which has $37.4...

HUD Kills a GSE Multifamily Program.
January 2, 2004... The Department of Housing and Urban Development has declined to renew a program that encouraged Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase small multifamily properties. The "bonus points" program began in 2001 and allowed the...

In Brief: 1st Community of Va. Entering Tennessee.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... First Community Bancshares Inc. in Bluefield, Va., announced Wednesday that it is buying $172 million-asset PCB Bancorp Inc. in Johnson City, Tenn., for $36 million in cash. The deal, expected to close in the first quarter, would mark First...

In Brief: Fannie and Freddie's Capital Adequate.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were adequately capitalized as of Sept. 30, their regulator said Wednesday. Fannie had $32.75 billion of core capital, $1.32 billion more than its minimum requirement, and $33.54 billion of total capital, $5.69...

In Brief: Schwab Ads Court a Wider Clientele.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Charles Schwab Corp. kicked off the New Year with a new branding campaign that will attempt to convey how the San Francisco company has morphed from a discount broker that catered only to retail investors. Slated to run through late...

HSBC Closes Out Year With a Flurry of Deals.
January 2, 2004... HSBC Holdings PLC ended 2003 by announcing its third deal in as many days. The London banking giant, which has been reorganizing its portfolio of businesses recently and divesting noncore operations, announced Wednesday that it had sold...

U.S. Banking Companies with Highest Multiples of Net to Salary, Benefits: In the second quarter of 2003. Dollars in thousands.
January 2, 2004... Multiple Net income Salaries and benefits Return on average assets 1 First Financial Holdings MHC Renton, Wash. 5.35 $3,840 $718 1.12% 2 Dairyland Bank Holding Corp. La Crosse, Wis. 4.87 2,451 503 2.94 3 Amboy Bancorp. Old Bridge, N.J. 4.55...

FACT Rules, Preemption, Tying Top D.C. Agenda.
January 5, 2004... Federal banking regulators already have so many deadlines looming that 2004 promises to be one of their more hectic years in some time. The biggest priorities are familiar: credit reporting and preemption rules. But those matters will...

Clearer Signs of Shakeout In the Mortgage Business.
January 5, 2004... As 2003 wound down the mortgage industry suffered two more casualties. Radian Group Inc. last week announced plans to shut down its money-losing settlement-services unit. The Philadelphia mortgage insurer said the main reason was its...

Even Without Citi-Sears Deal, Busy Year for Card Portfolios.
January 5, 2004... Even without Citigroup Inc.'s landmark acquisition of Sears, Roebuck and Co.'s $29 billion portfolio, 2003 was an unusually active year for credit card deals. Sixty-one card portfolios with more than $15 million of receivables were bought...

Lending Tree Buying Domania of Boston.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... LendingTree Inc. has agreed to buy Domania Inc., a Boston customer acquisition and retention firm, from Primedia Inc., American Banker has learned. Neither side would say how much LendingTree is paying. Steve Kropper, a co-founder and the...

Washington People.
January 5, 2004... Off to a Good Start It is that time again when, full of hope and optimism, folks make resolutions to guide us in the new year. In the spirit of holiday giving, American Banker has crafted suggestions for some involved in the financial...

Mad-Cow Seen No Immediate Threat to Agricultural Lenders.
January 5, 2004... The plunge in beef prices since the discovery of mad cow disease in Washington State does not yet represent a threat to bank lending to cattle producers. That is the consensus of agricultural lenders amid a scare that has forced new...

Sterling Completes Klamath Purchase.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Sterling Financial Corp. of Spokane said Friday that it has acquired Klamath First Bancorp Inc. of Klamath Falls, Ore. The $147 million acquisition, announced in July, increased Sterling's asset total to more than $5.6 billion. Sterling now...

Finding the Profit Opportunities in Risk Management.
January 5, 2004... Amid heightened competition and continued economic uncertainty, North American credit card issuers are finding that acquiring and keeping profitable customers has become a real gamble. Consequently, many are seeking to improve risk...

Deal Activity Signals Life Insurer Rebound.
January 5, 2004... The life insurance industry is poised for an upturn as the market rebounds and the consolidation market heats up, observers are saying. Life insurers have suffered from low interest rates and poor investment performance, said Jack Gibson,...

In Brief: Legg Mason Buys Singapore Asset Manager.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Legg Mason Inc. announced Friday that it has bought Rothschild Asset Management's Singapore subsidiary. The unit manages $1 billion of fixed-income and equity assets in separate accounts and unit trusts. About 70% of its assets are in...

In Brief: Mutual Funds Added 1.2% to Assets in Nov.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Assets held in mutual funds grew 1.2% in November, according to data from the Investment Company Institute. The aggregate growth in mutual fund assets was $82.4 billion, to a total of $7.24 trillion, the institute said Tuesday. Stock,...

Is 2003 Tough to Beat? Expenses Will Be the Key.
January 5, 2004... The industry is expected to post a record $100 billion in profits for 2003, and with the prospect of lower mortgage revenues and muted commercial loan demand, it's hard to imagine a much better showing this year. Union Planters Corp. got...

Zions Thriving in New Bond Niche.
January 5, 2004... Zions Bancorp. says taking a step away from the government bond business has helped it get closer to its institutional customers. The Salt Lake City bank relinquished its role as a primary dealer for government bonds in April 2001. At the...

Visa Seeking Real-Time Fix for Volume Glut.
January 5, 2004... Visa U.S.A. is beginning to implement real-time processing to keep up with the explosion in consumer use of plastic to pay for everything from fishing hooks to seafood dinners. "Our position is that real-time capabilities absolutely will...

Even More Potential SeenFor Citi Stock This Year.
January 5, 2004... Though its price has doubled in the last 14 months, Citigroup Inc.'s stock has landed on a number of top-pick lists for this year. Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. Inc. of Arlington, Va., and A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. of St. Louis on Friday...

In Brief: Hudson of N.J. to Take $2.3M 4Q Charge.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Hudson United Bancorp of Mahwah, N.J., said Friday that it will take a $2.3 million charge when it reports fourth-quarter earnings this month. In a press release the company cited the December shutdown of its correspondent banking...

In Brief: Coast Financial to Hike Provision 43%.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Coast Financial Holdings Inc. of Bradenton, Fla., said Friday that it will make a fourth quarter loan-loss provision of $2.3 million, 43% more than the third-quarter provision. The increase reflects two soured loans totaling $780,000,...

In Brief: Two Insurance Deals for Community First.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Community First Bankshares Inc. of Fargo, N.D., announced two insurance-related deals Friday. It said it had acquired the Arnold & Arnold Inc. insurance agency of Littleton, Colo., and a book of insurance business from Colorado Benefit...

In Brief: Lawmakers Challenge Terror Effort.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee are demanding more information about how the Office of Foreign Assets Control collects information from banks on suspected terrorist financing and money laundering. In a...

In Brief: PNC Buys United National of New Jersey.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... PNC Financial Services Group said Thursday that it had completed its acquisition of United National Bancorp of Bridgewater, N.J., for about $677 million in cash and stock. United's shareholders will receive about $321 million in cash and...

B of A Reveals Another SEC Inquiry.
January 5, 2004... Bank of America Corp. could face civil charges for record-keeping violations stemming from a previously undisclosed investigation of trading activities by its corporate and investment banking division. Eloise Hale, a spokeswoman for the...

Lenders Worried as Insurers Push Mold Costs to Builders.
January 6, 2004... A Massachusetts jury's award in a case involving a condominium infested with toxic mold has rung alarms in real estate lending and development circles. The jury in late November awarded over $500,000 to a Gloucester woman who had sued her...

No Longer Behind the Scenes at Countrywide.
January 6, 2004... It was hardly surprising that Countrywide Financial Corp. promoted Stanford L. Kurland to president Monday; for years he has been widely seen as the heir apparent to its chairman and chief executive, Angelo R. Mozilo. Less known to...

New Warning On Backing of Mutual Funds.
January 6, 2004... With consumers continuing to threaten heavy redemptions of troubled mutual funds, federal regulators on Monday reiterated sharp limits on the support banks may provide the fund companies they advise. In a policy statement, the Office of the...

Executive Changes.
January 6, 2004... MIDWEST LaSalle Bank of Chicago has hired David A. Gozdecki as a senior vice president of business development in its asset-based lending unit, LaSalle Business Credit LLC. Mr. Gozdecki was a senior vice president at Fleet Capital...

Watershed Year for Nation's Credit Unions.
January 6, 2004... Even bankers acknowledge that 2003 was the most important year for credit unions since 1998, when Congress first allowed them to serve businesses and groups unrelated to each other. Regulatory changes in the past 12 months have made it...

What's Behind NCUA Backing of Bill.
January 6, 2004... At the same time the NCUA is relaxing restrictions on credit union expansion and lending, it is backing legislation that the agency's critics say would make it harder for credit unions to become banks. Not many have credit unions have made...

In Brief: Putnam Approves New Trading Fee.(Brief Article)
January 6, 2004... Putnam Investments' board of trustees announced Monday that it had approved a 2% short-term trading fee on any fund shares in retail accounts that are exchanged or traded within five days of purchase. The fee is being implemented to curb...

In Brief: Ameritrade Finishes Bidwell Acquisition.(Brief Article)
January 6, 2004... Ameritrade Holding Corp. said Monday that it had completed its purchase of the online broker Bidwell & Co. The acquisition of the Portland, Ore. company adds 100,000 accounts and $5 billion of customer assets to Ameritrade, which is based...

In Brief: Manulife USA Site Adds Adviser Info.(Brief Article)
January 6, 2004... Resources for financial advisers have been added to Manulife USA's variable annuities Web site. Registered users can now access the latest market forecasts and other market information from such investment management firms as T. Rowe Price...

In Brief: AIC Wins Dalbar Award for Service.(Brief Article)
January 6, 2004... Dalbar Inc. said Monday that Toronto's AIC Group of Funds was the winner of its 2003 Mutual Fund Service Award for service by a Canadian company to English-speaking clients. Dalbar, a financial research firm based in Boston, evaluates...

John Hancock Sees Rider Getting a Bank Following.
January 6, 2004... John Hancock Financial Services has introduced a universal life insurance policy with a long-term-care rider that it says could be a hit at banks. Performance UL Core, launched in December, fits the needs of many bank customers, said Paul...

In Brief: Hartford Buys CNA Businesses.(Brief Article)
January 6, 2004... Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. said Monday it has completed the purchase of CNA Financial Corp.'s group life and accident and short-term and long-term disability businesses for approximately $500 million in cash. The transaction,...

In Brief: New Account from Maritime Life.(Brief Article)
January 6, 2004... Maritime Life, a Halifax, Nova Scotia, subsidiary of John Hancock Financial Services, on Monday introduced a term deposit account that lets customers invest in the equity and bond markets, while guaranteeing their initial deposit. The...

In Brief: Willis Buys Vision of Alabama.(Brief Article)
January 6, 2004... Willis Group Holdings Ltd., a New York insurance broker, said Monday it has acquired the assets of Vision Insurance Group, a Montgomery, Ala., risk management and insurance brokerage firm. The New York insurance broker did not say how much...

Pitches And Patents.
January 6, 2004... Kicking the Tires Anti-Laundering Tool Barlow Research Associates Inc. has started an online project that lets people view a "test drive" of major banks' small-business online banking systems. "You can't evaluate a bank's Internet...

Disaster Planning Focus Has Shifted to Continuity.
January 6, 2004... If your bank is like many others, you probably have a disaster recovery plan that was last overhauled for Y2K, and possibly updated and modified in the aftermath of 9/11. Unfortunately, these will no longer satisfy regulatory expectations --...

In Brief: Good Year for Prime, Superprime Portfolios.
January 6, 2004... The pretax return on assets for prime and superprime credit card portfolios reached a 15-year high of 4.40% in 2003. So says Robert K. Hammer, a card industry investment banker who started tracking these statistics in 1988. The results were...

In Brief: Continental in Deal with Western Union.(Brief Article)
January 6, 2004... Continental Airlines customers can now pay at Western Union agent locations for tickets reserved through the Internet. "More than a quarter of Americans still prefer to pay for products and services in cash, either out of choice or...

In Brief: U.S. Bank Selling Buxx in Branches.(Brief Article)
January 6, 2004... U.S. Bancorp has begun selling Visa Buxx cards through its branches in addition to over its Web site. The Minneapolis bank said last month that customers can now purchase, load, and reload the prepaid cards in all 2,201 of its branches....

Regulators Propose Simpler Data-Sharing Policy Notices.
January 6, 2004... The privacy notices banks are required to send their customers each year could be in for a major overhaul. Eight agencies that regulate financial services are beginning to question nearly every aspect of the notices, which were mandated by...

In Brief: OCC Adopts National Bank E-Filing Rule.(Brief Article)
January 6, 2004... The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Friday that it had adopted a final rule allowing national banks to file all corporate applications electronically. The rule adopts without changes an interim rule that the OCC issued in...

In Brief: Hearing Today on Bush Respa Proposal.(Brief Article)
January 6, 2004... The House Small Business Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing today into the Bush administration's recent decision to proceed with a proposal to revamp the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. The hearing, Respa: Working Behind Closed...

In Brief: Bank of N.Y., State Street Lead Stock Gains.(Brief Article)
January 6, 2004... Banking stocks made hearty advances Monday, lifted by support from several quarters as well as strong performances by the broader markets. Bill Durand, the head of trading at Swiss Reinsurance Group's Fox-Pitt Kelton Inc., said financial...

In Brief: Sky of Ohio Buys Spencer-Patterson Agency.(Brief Article)
January 6, 2004... Sky Financial Group Inc. of Bowling Green, Ohio, said Monday that it had acquired Spencer-Patterson Agency Inc. of Findlay. The price -- about 90% of which was in Sky stock -- was not disclosed. Spencer-Patterson sells professional...

Healthy Market Seen for Corporate Debt.
January 6, 2004... We are not authorized to publish this article provided by Bloomberg News. Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.thomsonmedia.com http://www.americanbanker.com

New Originations Are Key To Florida Thrift's Outlook.
January 6, 2004... Keeping a simple balance sheet is the best way for thrifts to weather a risky interest rate environment and the mortgage slowdown, says Harbor Florida Bancshares' chief executive. Michael Brown, who is also the Fort Pierce company's...

Countrywide Drops Grant Thornton for A Better Fit'.
January 7, 2004... Countrywide Financial Corp. has chalked up some of the financial industry's strongest growth, and along the way it has worked hard to diversify, adding business lines and expanding overseas. So it might have seemed a natural time for the...

Has Discover Lost Ground to Card Rivals?
January 7, 2004... Last year was a difficult one for Discover Financial Services Inc. With declines in transaction volume and active accounts, it was a tough enough year to lead some analysts to conclude that the credit card issuer is losing significant...

Puzzling Over OFAC Letter's Implications.
January 7, 2004... Banking industry representatives are closely watching an inquiry by two leading lawmakers into the Office of Foreign Assets Control, saying it raises the specter of more money-laundering legislation or regulatory actions. Last month Sen....

Some Critics Softening on B of A-Fleet.
January 7, 2004... Bank of America Corp.'s planned acquisition of FleetBoston Financial Corp. was the biggest banking deal announced last year and, at least for now, is the big question mark of this year. Bankers, analysts, investors, and others continue to...

EXECUTIVE CHANGES.
January 7, 2004... MIDDLE ATLANTIC Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corp., a Jersey City arm of the Farm Credit System, said that Jamie B. Stewart will become its president and chief executive officer next month. He will succeed James Brickley, who has...

Only Foes Get Podium at Respa Reform Hearing.
January 7, 2004... Witness after witness at a hearing Tuesday lambasted an administration plan to overhaul the federal regulations governing mortgage closings. So one-sided was the debate that hardly a word was spoken in support of the plan, which would...

Locals on the Board: Insights and Issues.
January 7, 2004... The professions of the people elected to a community bank board can strongly influence the bank's programs and policies. Their individual experiences and biases can play major roles in persuading fellow directors to take or avoid certain...