American Banker articles from January 2005

American Banker archives from January 2005

Card Lenders Earned More Despite Weak Portfolio Growth.
January 3, 2005... Though loan growth was weak, declining credit losses and cost savings from technology allowed credit card issuers to squeeze more profit out of what they had in 2004. The average return on assets at card businesses rose 10 basis points, to...

Six-Month Extensions For FHLB Directors.
January 3, 2005... Staring down a yearend deadline, on Thursday the Federal Housing Finance Board extended by six months the terms of roughly 30 Federal Home Loan bank directors. The move by the agency's new chairman, Ronald A. Rosenfeld, caught Home Loan...

Veteran Seller Has W.Va. Bank Buying.
January 3, 2005... City Holding Co. of Charleston, W.Va., has its first deal in more than five years, and its chief executive says it may not be done buying. The $2.2 billion-asset company announced Wednesday that it would acquire the $340 million-asset...

Outperforming For a Fifth Straight Year.
January 3, 2005... Bank stocks outperformed the market for the fifth consecutive year, and fund managers, investors, and analysts are naturally wondering how long the rally will last. Most are optimistic that bank stocks will continue to at least keep pace...

Will Dreams of Merger Runoff Come True?(Industry Overview)
January 3, 2005... Last year's big mergers had bankers from Boston to Austin and Miami to Memphis licking their chops at the prospect of luring disenchanted customers. Merging banks can lose 5% to 10% of their deposits in key markets as they convert systems,...

Washington People.
January 3, 2005... Late Follow-Through It has been chic this holiday season for bank regulators to warn consumers about financial pitfalls. On Dec. 7, for the first time, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued "holiday tips" urging...

In Brief: CU Conversion Bid Falls Short.(Lake Michigan's Credit Union will not convert to a mutual savings bank)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... After failing to gain the necessary two-thirds vote from its members, a $1 billion-asset Grand Rapids credit union will not convert to a mutual savings bank. In any other state Lake Michigan Credit Union's conversion attempt would have...

In Brief: Liberty of Georgia to Be Sold.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... Habersham Bancorp in Cornelia, Ga., announced a nonbonding agreement to buy a two-branch bank in nearby Toccoa. The 20-year-old Liberty Bank and Trust, which has $25 million of assets and $20 million of deposits, has struggled to make money...

CEO, Greeter, and Courier.(Mortimer J. O'Shea)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... As the chief executive of a banking company with just three branches and $136 million of assets, Mortimer J. O'Shea has to do a lot of things that executives of bigger ones never trouble themselves with. For example, he routinely answers...

Predator, Payday, Impostor Bills Take Spotlight.
January 3, 2005... A spate of banking laws that took effect New Year's Day include an Indiana predatory-lending law that exempts banks and could lead to similar statutes elsewhere. Amber Van Til, the director of governmental relations at the Community...

In Brief: Insurance Officials Back Disclosure Model.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... The National Association of Insurance Commissioners said Thursday that it had supported model legislation for disclosure requirements that would ensure people could understand how brokers are compensated for selling insurance products. The...

In Brief: Regions Names CEO for Ark. Agency Unit.(Fred B. Stone to replace Allen J. McDowell)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... Regions Financial Corp. in Birmingham, Ala., has named Fred B. Stone to take office today as chairman and chief executive officer of its Rebsamen Insurance agency in Little Rock, Ark. Mr. Stone was to succeed Allen J. McDowell, who retired...

In Brief: MetLife Fills Administrative Chief Vacancy.(Catherine A. Rein )(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... MetLife Inc. in New York has announced the appointment of Catherine A. Rein to be the chief administrative officer, overseeing its human resources, audit, information technology, corporate ethics and compliance, corporate real estate, corporate...

New Broker-Dealer Eyes Community Bank Service.
January 3, 2005... The president of a San Diego broker-dealer that opened last week said he believes he can generate up to $1.5 billion of assets under management this year by selling insurance and investment services through community banks. Michael...

Capital One Ads Prompt Minn. Suit.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch sued Capital One Financial Corp.'s bank unit Thursday over the ads for its "No Hassle" credit card, which promise a fixed interest rate of 4.99%, the Associated Press reported. The wire service quoted...

Community Banks with Largest Portfolios of Loans to Individuals.(Illustration)
January 3, 2005... On June 30, 2004. Dollars in thousands (Part 1 of 3) 1 Independent Bank Memphis 2 Crescent Bank and Trust Co. New Orleans 3 Glenview State Bank Ill. 4 First Internet Bank Indianapolis ...

Payday Loan Stored-Value Card.(CashNetUSA offers debit cards)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... CashNetUSA LLC said it plans a February launch for a stored-value card designed to let payday loan borrowers get their money faster. Al Goldstein, the president of the Lake Bluff, Ill., payday lender, said funds from the loans will be...

A Teller-Window System to Spot Check Fraud.
January 3, 2005... Primary Payment Systems Inc., which provides database software designed to spot fraudulent checks a day after deposit, plans to begin marketing a real-time product that it says could help deal with the problems associated with faster clearing...

In Brief: Fitch Cancels Rating Warning for Ocwen.(Ocwen Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... Fitch Inc. has lifted a warning that it might lower Ocwen Financial Corp.'s residential primary servicer rating for subprime mortgages and its residential special servicer rating. The New York agency issued the alert in December 2003 amid...

In Brief: REIT Sells 30% Stake in State St. Center.(IPC U.S. REIT of Toronto buys in)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... American Financial Realty Trust, a Jenkintown, Pa., real estate investment trust, has sold a 30% stake in State Street Financial Corp.'s headquarters. IPC (U.S.) Inc., which is majority owned by IPC U.S. REIT of Toronto, paid about $61...

In Brief: $400M Offering by Resource America Arm.(Ischus Capital Management LLC)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... Resource America Inc., a Philadelphia asset manager, said its Ischus Capital Management LLC has closed its first collateralized debt obligation ultimately backed by real estate. The $400 million of bonds are secured primarily by real estate...

In Brief: Calif.'s Silverado Opens an Office in Ariz.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... Silverado Financial Inc., a Pleasanton, Calif., mortgage bank, has opened its first office outside California. Loan officers at the new office, in Phoenix, will focus on selling loans to potential borrowers in southern California and...

$5B of Preferred from Fannie.
January 3, 2005... Fannie Mae was expected to sell $5 billion of preferred stock late last week to help dig itself out of a capital crunch. The sale was to be its largest capital infusion ever. Fannie released details of the offering late Wednesday; it would...

In Brief: B of A Under Scrutiny for Fund Transfers?(Bank of America Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... Law enforcement officials in New York reportedly are investigating allegations that Bank of America Corp. helped transfer millions of dollars for an Uruguayan company with criminal ties. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
January 3, 2005... In the Dec. 14 paper, a page 5 story overstated the Department of Homeland Security's relationship with World-Check. The department says it has tested the company's database of suspected financial criminals but has not decided whether to...

Hibernia Stepping Up Ag Lending.(Hibernia Corp., agricultural lending)
January 4, 2005... Prompted by recent acquisitions in Texas and encouraged by rebounding crop values, Hibernia Corp. in New Orleans is ramping up its agricultural lending. The $21.4 billion-asset company has set up an agricultural lending unit that it said...

M&A Coming For Mortgage Insurers?(mergers and acquisitions)(Industry Overview)
January 4, 2005... Only seven companies write private mortgage insurance, but competition between them is fierce enough that analysts find recent consolidation rumors plausible. Though the most widely discussed scenario has MGIC Investment Corp. buying...

Preview '05: Regulation: New faces, HMDA data, CRA rules all loom.(2005)(Home Mortgage Disclosure Act)(Community Reinvestment Act)
January 4, 2005... Federal regulators will have to make tough decisions this year about potentially explosive new data on lending practices, the flap over community reinvestment exams, and other pressing consumer issues. Their calls are hard to predict, but...

For (Business) Women Only.(banks target women-owned businesses)
January 4, 2005... Banks large and small have created departments that focus exclusively on women-owned businesses, whose number has been growing rapidly for nearly a decade. But some look askance at the strategy. Also inside: Why the new year is expected to...

In Brief: Northern Trust Opening Minneapolis Office.(Northern Trust Corp., Minnesota)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... Northern Trust Corp. said Monday that it plans to open a private client services office in Minneapolis this month. John McClure, the president of the Chicago trust and processing company's Midwest region, said in a press release that the...

CEO: SunTrust Has Tools To Compete in N. Carolina.(L. Phillip Humann of SunTrust Banks Inc.)(North Carolina)
January 4, 2005... North Carolina is the home of Bank of America Corp. and Wachovia Corp., but SunTrust Banks Inc.'s top executive says it can compete effectively with them once it brings its brand into the state's banking market this spring. L. Phillip...

In Brief: Centrue Buying Illinois Community Bancorp.(Centrue Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... Centrue Financial Corp. in Kankakee, Ill., closed 2004 with the announcement that it was buying a small bank in southern Illinois. The $600 million-asset company said late Friday that it would pay $3.3 million in cash and stock for Illinois...

In Brief: CKF Bancorp of Kentucky to Go Private.(CKF Bancorporation Inc., Danville, Kentucky)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... Another small community bank has announced plans to deregister its stock, extending a trend that emerged after passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002. CKF Bancorp Inc. in Danville, Ky., said it would file an application with the...

In Brief: BankAtlantic Expands Late-Night Program.(BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Florida)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... Six months after it began offering late-night hours at a Miami branch, BankAtlantic Bancorp of Fort Lauderdale has extended the service to four more branches. On Monday the additional branches in Broward, Hillsborough, and Miami-Dade...

In Brief: TNB Buys Three Credit Union Portfolios.(TNB Card Services, Rio Grande Credit Union, First Community Federal Credit Union)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... TNB Card Services, a Dallas credit and debit card processor for credit unions, has purchased the credit card portfolios of three of its credit union customers. The purchases closed in November and were announced Monday. TNB did not say how...

How One Debit Acquisition Led to Another.(Industry Overview)
January 4, 2005... The three deals that reshaped the debit industry in the last year -- two of which have closed -- were built on one another and on earlier changes, analysts say. All three deals followed a decade of consolidation in the industry and...

In Brief: Wells Closes Deal For Strong Financial.(Wells Fargo and Co. acquires Strong Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... Wells Fargo & Co. announced Monday that it had completed its acquisition of the mutual fund company Strong Financial Corp. Adding Strong's $29 billion of assets under management makes Wells one of the nation's 20 largest mutual fund...

In Brief: Legg Mason Closes Scudder Office Deal.(Legg Mason Inc. purchases Scudder Private Investment Counsel offices from Deutsche Bank)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... Legg Mason Inc. announced Monday that it had completed its purchase from Deutsche Bank of the Scudder Private Investment Counsel offices in New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Chicago. The deal was announced Nov. 15. Its terms were not...

In Brief: '04 Index: Small Cap Outgrew Large Cap.(stocks)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... Small-cap stocks outperformed large-cap equities for a sixth consecutive year in 2004, according to the small-cap Russell 2000 Index. The index reached an all-time high at the end of 2004, the company said on Friday. Both investment styles...

In Brief: S&T Buys Two Agencies in Western Pa.(S&T Bank, Bennett Associates Inc., Cowher-Nehrig and Co., Pennsylvania)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... S&T Bank in Indiana, Pa., announced Monday that it had acquired Bennett Associates Inc. and Cowher-Nehrig & Co., (the Bennett Group), two multiline insurance agencies in Cambria County, Pa. The agencies are in Ebensburg and Nanty Glo,...

In Brief: Upstate N.Y. Bank Buys Agency in HQ City.(Tompkins Trustco Inc., Tompkins Insurance Agencies Inc., Banfield and Associates Inc., Ithaca, New York)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... Tompkins Trustco Inc. in Ithaca, N.Y., said Monday that its subsidiary, Tompkins Insurance Agencies Inc., had bought Banfield & Associates Inc., an insurance agency in Ithaca. The deal was closed Friday with the merger of Banfield &...

VantisLife in Credit Union Focus.
January 4, 2005... VantisLife Insurance Co. says it is looking beyond banks to form more alliances with credit unions in order to increase its scale. Though VantisLife -- which operates in Connecticut, its home state, as Savings Bank Life Insurance Co. --...

In Brief: Quicken Loans Founder in an NBA Deal.(Dan Gilbert invests in Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... Quicken Loans Inc.'s founder and chairman, Dan Gilbert, is leading an investor group that is buying a majority stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mr. Gilbert confirmed in a press release Monday that he would buy the majority stake in the...

In Brief: Sheetz to Accept MC's PayPass Card.(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... MasterCard International said Monday that a second store chain had signed up to accept its PayPass contactless payment card, which transmits data by radio waves. All of Sheetz Inc.'s 305 convenience stores -- in Pennsylvania, West...

In Brief: Metavante Sells Unit Serving Small Plans.(Metavante Corp. sells 401k Retirement Plan Services to Emjay Corp. and Retirement Advantage Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... Metavante Corp., an aggressive acquirer last year, has sold 401k Retirement Plan Services, an operation specializing in retirement programs for companies with fewer than 300 employees. The buyers were Emjay Corp., a unit of Great-West Life...

In Brief: 1st Data, Sovereign Renew Agreement.(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... First Data Corp. said Monday that it had signed a five-year renewal of an agreement with Sovereign Bank of Wyomissing, Pa., to provide merchant processing in the Middle Atlantic states through a joint venture, Sovereign Merchant Services. ...

In Brief: Hypercom Trims '04 Estimate by a Third.(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... Hypercom Corp. has cut its earnings estimate for 2004 by about a third, citing a shift in the product mix and currency fluctuations, among other factors. The Phoenix maker of point-of-sale terminals and other products forecast Dec. 20 that...

In Brief: Bethpage CU Adds To 1st Lenders Pact.(First Lenders Data Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... First Lenders Data Inc. of Austin said Monday that Bethpage Federal Credit Union expanded a year-old contract for real estate services. First Lenders now will provide the credit union, which is based on New York's Long Island, with...

Walgreen Blames System Overload; Experts Skeptical.
January 4, 2005... Walgreen Co. says it will reimburse up to 4 million customers who were overcharged on credit and signature debit card transactions during the holidays. Michael Polzin, a spokesman for Deerfield, Ill., drugstore chain, said unexpected...

Subprime Lender Shares Seen Retaining Strength.
January 4, 2005... Shares of subprime lenders outperformed other financial services stocks, as well as the broader market, last year, and observers say the subprime lenders' stocks could do so again this year, if credit quality remains strong. The subprime...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
January 4, 2005... In the Dec. 23 paper, the chart on page 6 understated Whitney Holding's second-quarter net interest margin, and the chart on page 7 mistakenly omitted the company. The correct figure, 4.31%, tied Whitney for 119th place by that measure among...

In Brief: New FHA Limits Lag Home Price Rise.(United States. Federal Housing Administration)(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... The Federal Housing Administration's single-family mortgage limits increased 7.7% on Jan. 1, mirroring the rise in conforming loan limits announced in November. The Department of Housing and Urban Development division will now insure...

In Brief: Banking Shares Fall; Schwab Downgraded.(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... Bank stocks underperformed a falling market Monday as mixed economic figures were released. Stocks enjoyed a brief upswing in morning trading but quickly turned, and banks were among the groups hardest hit. The American Banker index of...

Editor's Note.(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... There are two schools of thought when it comes to meeting the banking needs of women-owned businesses. Many banks have created special divisions to cater to this sector, citing its fast growth over the past decade or so. These include large...

Extra Value: Cross-Selling Not an End unto Itself.
January 4, 2005... As the financial industry has become increasingly enamored with cross-selling products and services, it is confounding how many haven't learned or don't understand how to do it profitably. My friend Kevin Link, executive director of the...

S Corp Law Lowers the Bar, Raises Questions.
January 4, 2005... After years of pleading on Capitol Hill, banks were rewarded in October with a law that overhauled the qualifications for a corporate structure that has significant tax advantages and helps protect small companies against takeovers. The...

Relationships Matter to Women-Owned Firms.
January 4, 2005... In Seattle's crowded banking market, Cascade Bank of Everett, Wash., pitches itself as the local bank that understands women business owners. In February the $1 billion-asset bank launched a Women's Financial Group that offers banking...

Need for Capital Is Fueling Conversion Trend.
January 4, 2005... These are busy times for stock sales by mutual thrifts. Through November, 20 thrifts had fully converted into stock companies, sold a portion of themselves to the public, or sold the part that was withheld from the market the first time...

The Investor vs. the Professor: Battle at thrift pits brother against brother.
January 5, 2005... Columbia University economics professor Charles Calomiris is well known in industry circles for his books on banking and as a member of Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee, a group of academics who critique banking regulation. Despite...

New Merrill Exec Eyes 'Locational' Convenience.
January 5, 2005... A year after starting to compete for bank deposits, Merrill Lynch & Co. has hired a longtime retail banker to step up its efforts to attract new customers and get its current ones to bring their bank relationships to Merrill. On Monday the...

Ginnie Mae Reaches Out To Industry.(United States. Government National Mortgage Association)
January 5, 2005... Since Michael J. Frenz became Ginnie Mae's executive vice president and chief operating officer in October, one of his priorities has been looking for changes that make it easier for investors and lenders to do business with his agency. ...

Executive Changes.
January 5, 2005... MIDWEST Conseco Inc. of Carmel, Ind., has hired James E. Hohmann as its chief administrative officer and Anthony B. Zehnder as its head of corporate communications. They have also been named executive vice presidents. Mr. Hohmann...

OTS Delays Proposal to Revamp Data Collection.(Office of Thrift Supervision)
January 5, 2005... The Office of Thrift Supervision has indefinitely postponed changes to its quarterly financial reports. As a result of the changes, the OTS would have collected new data on interest rate exposures but streamlined other rate-related...

In Brief: AFSA Hires Gov't Affairs Official.(American Financial Services Association appointed Matthew J. Gannon)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... The American Financial Services Association has hired Matthew J. Gannon as director of federal government affairs. He started Monday and reports to William Hempler, who joined the AFSA in the summer as its senior vice president for federal...

In Brief: Insurance Group's '05 Agenda.(Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America )(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America said Monday that insurance regulatory reform and an extension of federal terrorism insurance are among its top legislative priorities. The trade group supports more consistent state...

FDIC's Inspector General Reaps $38M, 15 Convictions.(United States. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.)
January 5, 2005... Recent investigations and audits by the Office of the Inspector General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have resulted in 15 convictions and more than $38 million of fines and restitutions. The statistics, included in the inspector...

In Brief: Community CU of Tex. Plans Conversion.(Credit Union in Plano)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
January 5, 2005... The nation's largest community-chartered credit union announced plans this week to convert to a mutual savings bank. The $1.7 billion-asset Community Credit Union in Plano, Tex., would be the largest to convert to a bank. Gary Base,...

In Brief: QCR Holding of Ill. Opens a Third Bank.(Rockford Bank and Trust)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... QCR Holding Inc., of Moline, Ill., said Tuesday that it has launched Rockford Bank and Trust Co. The new bank is the third the $832 million-asset QCR has opened in the past 10 years. Rockford Bank and Trust, in the Illinois city of the...

School Ties: A Crash Course.(Bank of New York usualy hosts dinners to get the upper hand on high school students)
January 5, 2005... Many banks fail to take advantage of a great resource: nearby colleges and high schools. Bank of New York used this method when it was the largest bank in Westchester County, N.Y.: Many high schools have annual dinners to honor their...

Credit-Report Disputes and Other FACT Act Effects.
January 5, 2005... One of the myriad compliance issues created by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act: There will be more credit-reporting disputes, and banks will be handling more of them. The act, an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, was...

In Brief: Visa Sets Point-of-Sale Record.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Visa U.S.A. Inc. card purchases once again set a point-of-sale transaction record in the year that ended Sept. 30. Purchases rose 16.8% from the previous year, to $956.4 billion, the San Francisco company said in its annual report, released...

In Brief: Moody's: Better Nov. Card Data.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Credit card metrics improved across the board in November -- chargeoffs and delinquencies fell, while consumer payments and portfolio yields rose. Chargeoffs, which have been dropping for 12 consecutive months, fell 65 basis points from a...

Loan/Deposit Ratio Leaders Among Bank Holding Companies: On June 30, 2004. Dollars in thousands.
January 5, 2005... (Part 1 of 3) 1 MetLife Inc. New York 2 California First National Bancorp Irvine 3 Community Financial Services Atlanta 4 Countrywide Financial Corp. Calabasas, Calif. 5 First...

Boston Private Plans Growth In a New England Deal Flow.
January 5, 2005... The private banking unit of Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc. says it plans to move beyond the city with a couple of acquisitions in New England this year. Mark D. Thompson, Boston Private Bank and Trust Co.'s chief executive officer,...

In Brief: Fannie Mae Hires Deloitte as Auditor.(Federal National Mortgage Association planing to sign contract with Deloitte & Touche L.L.P.)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Fannie Mae plans to hire Deloitte & Touche LLP as its new independent auditor, having dismissed KPMG LLP last month following an accounting scandal. Deloitte & Touche will perform an audit of 2004 results and a reaudit of prior-period...

In Brief: New Affordable Multifamily Post at Freddie.(appointed Paul McDermott)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Freddie Mac has created a position to oversee increasing its purchases of small multifamily loans and portfolios, as well as loans on subsidized affordable-apartment properties. The government-sponsored enterprise said Tuesday that it had...

In Brief: Golden Parachutes at SunGard.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... SunGard Data Systems Inc. of Wayne, Pa., which is spinning off much of its business, has promised golden parachutes as large as three times pay to 35 top executives. On March 31 the company is to spin off its availability services...

In Brief: $290M Contract for Accenture.(with Caixa Catalunya of Barcelona)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Accenture Ltd. of New York said Tuesday that it will continue to provide technology support to the $41 billion-asset Caixa Catalunya of Barcelona, Spain's third-largest savings bank, under a 10-year, $290 million outsourcing contract. The...

Credit Unions Take the Lead in P2P Services.(PayPal-style online transfers from one person's account to someone else's at another bank)
January 5, 2005... After false starts, some banks are again offering limited person-to-person money transfer services. But the most ambitious P-to-P seems to be coming from much smaller outfits -- especially credit unions. No large bank offers PayPal-style...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
January 5, 2005... In the Dec. 28 paper, a page 4 news brief reported on a Greenlining Institute study that mistakenly listed BB&T Corp. among the banking companies with less than 10% minority representation on their boards. The advocacy group has corrected...

In Brief: Moody's May Upgrade BB&T's Debt Ratings.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Moody's Investors Service said Tuesday that it is reviewing the debt ratings of BB&T Corp. and its subsidiaries for a possible upgrade. The firm previously had a positive ratings outlook on the debt of the regional banking company, which...

In Brief: Comerica Names New Chief Economist.(appointed Dana Johnson)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Comerica Inc. said Tuesday that former Bank One Corp. capital markets executive Dana Johnson would become its chief economist Feb. 1 following David Littman's retirement after 35 years at the Detroit company. Mr. Johnson spent 18 years at...

Boston Private, Schwab Hit With Downgrades.
January 5, 2005... Boston Private Financial Inc. and Charles Schwab Corp. received downgrades this week. Analysts at Advest Inc. and BankAtlantic Bancorp's Ryan Beck & Co. removed their "buy" ratings from shares of Boston Private, in part because of a run-up...

CIT Embraces Another Low-Risk Consumer Line.
January 6, 2005... CIT Group Inc., a company best known for financing purchases of airplanes, trains, and office equipment for businesses, has shown little appetite for consumer lending, but that may be changing. Its deal, announced late Tuesday, to acquire...