American Banker articles from July 2001

American Banker archives from July 2001

Parallels Seen In Microsoft, Cards Cases.(credit card companies)
July 2, 2001... An appeals court's mixed ruling in the government's antitrust case against Microsoft Corp. could have implications for the civil lawsuit that merchants have filed against Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International over debit card policies. ...

In a Commoditizing Market, CEO Thinks Service Will Sell.(Resource Bancshares CEO Douglas K. Freeman)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 2, 2001... After 18 months spent turning around troubled Resource Bancshares Mortgage Group, chief executive Douglas K. Freeman wants to make it the Nordstrom's of wholesale mortgages. The competition is putting its energy into cutting costs, Mr....

In Focus: CRA Sunshine Too Onerous? Apparently Not.(Community Reinvestment Act)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... Many bankers and consumer advocates who predicted the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act's "sunshine" disclosure requirement would cast a dark cloud over community reinvestment activities are revising their forecasts. As they file their first annual...

Battle For Wachovia: Filing Details Dissent; SunTrust Seizes on It.(acquisition of Wachovia by First Union Corp.)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... Among Wachovia Corp.'s directors, only Morris W. Offit dissented when a vote was called to reaffirm a friendly merger agreement with First Union Corp. or reopen talks with SunTrust Banks Inc. Mr. Offit has declined to talk about the matter...

Hamilton May Sell Away OCC Headache: The Fla. bank seems primed for a buyout by an international player.(Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Hamilton Bank)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 2, 2001... Regulators may not have to worry about Hamilton Bancorp much longer. After nearly two years of butting heads with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency over Hamilton's loan exposure in Ecuador, the Miami company recently hired the...

Executive Changes.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... MIDDLE ATLANTIC Mellon Financial Corp. in Pittsburgh has named first vice president Donald G. Mulligan a sales officer and hired John Taylor to be a sales officer at Mellon Private Asset Management. Mr. Mulligan is based in New York....

Washington People: Old Pals, Big Bucks.(Carroll A. Campbell gives GOP fundraiser)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... Carroll A. Campbell, president of the American Council of Life Insurers and former South Carolina governor, helped out his pal President Bush last week by organizing the $2,500-a-plate dinner that raised $20 million for GOP congressional...

In Brief: Black Lawmakers Rebut Foe of GSEs.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... African-American lawmakers issued a series of statements last week slamming a lobbying group's study that says minority and low-income homebuyers are ill-served by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. "We already know that Fannie Mae is the single...

In Brief: Bill Would Ease Retirement Advising.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... Legislation introduced last week by Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, seeks to alter a 1974 law that prohibits employers and their retirement savings plan providers from giving investment advice to workers. The Employee Retirement Income Security...

Wash. Thrift Sterling to Buy Realty Lender.(Sterling Financial to acquire Source Financial)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... Cut off by one of its primary lenders, a Spokane, Wash., commercial real estate financing company yielded to the inevitable last week and agreed to sell itself to a local thrift for $10 million of stock. D. Michael Jones, president and...

Take on Jaffray Hire: Integration Has Far to Go.(U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Asset Management )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Asset Management Inc.'s new chief investment officer says the merger integration work on his plate is just some "fine-tuning," but several observers say the hiring of Mark Jordahl indicates that the project is closer...

NextCard Adds Transactions to E-Tailer Rankings.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... NextCard Inc., the company that has attempted to make its name synonymous with credit cards on the Internet, is now trying to offer itself as a leading authority on Internet transaction volume. For two years NextCard has published a monthly...

Preferred Issues: Citi, Hamilton, SunTrust: The Political M&A Game.(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
July 2, 2001... When Citigroup Inc. announced its plan to acquire Mexico's Grupo Financiero Banamex-Accival, the news was seemingly accompanied by one of those immediate collective realizations on Wall Street and beyond that banking's Nafta era had officially...

12% More Used Private Insurance in May.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 2, 2001... In May 166,771 borrowers took out private mortgage insurance while buying or refinancing a home, up 11.9% from April, the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America reported on Friday. Lenders usually require such insurance when a homebuyer...

Online Banking: Street Says Good Riddance to WingspanBank.com.(Bank One Corp. shuts down WingspanBank.com)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... It appears that WingspanBank.com, which Bank One Corp. launched with a lot of fanfare two years ago and announced last week that it was shutting down, will have few mourners. The Chicago company's stock rose 52 cents Thursday, the day it...

Zions CFO Quits to Focus on Charges.(Dale Gibbons)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... Zions Bancorp named its capital markets head as interim chief financial officer Friday after Dale M. Gibbons, who is facing criminal charges of drug possession and child endangerment, resigned from that position Thursday night. The Salt...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... A story on page 10 Wednesday, "New Board for Ex-Advanta Chief," erred in stating that Alex W. "Pete" Hart is on the board of Corillian Corp. His son Alex P. Hart is both a board member and president of Corillian. A page 1 graphic Thursday...

Deal Won't Lift 1st Union On Syndicated List, Yet.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... In its bid for Wachovia Corp., First Union Corp. has been claiming that the purchase would significantly boost its syndicated lending activities -- and one day it might -- but the improvement certainly would not be immediate. In the second...

In Brief: CIBC to Pay $95 Million for Juniper Stake.(Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Juniper Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce plans to pay $95 million in cash for a 40% stake in Juniper Financial Corp., and it has signaled its intention to later buy a controlling stake, 51%, in the online bank, according to an application filed with...

In Brief: Synovus-FABP Deal Barely Beats Deadline.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... With less than a day left to initiate pooling-of-interests mergers, Synovus Financial Corp. snuck in under the wire Friday when it announced a $100 million deal for FABP Bancshares Inc in Pensacola, Fla. Synovus said it would merge FABP's...

In Brief: 360 Networks Files for Protection.(bankruptcy protection)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2001... A telecommunications firm, 360 networks, which has $1.2 billion of senior secured bank debt, filed for protection from its creditors Friday. The Vancouver, British Columbia, company and several subsidiaries filed for protection under the...

Visa, Fleet Step Up the Smart Card Pace: Wrapping up a big month for alliances aimed at consumer adoption.(Visa U.S.A., FleetBoston Financial Corp.)(Statistical Data Included)
July 3, 2001... With most U.S. bank card issuers still sitting on the smart card sidelines, the companies that are already in the game are redoubling their efforts to promote chips and their uses. In recent weeks, Visa U.S.A. and a series of partners --...

M&T Small-Cap Unit Buys Back Independence.(M and T Bank Corp. divests Martin Andres and Company Inc. to former owners who rename it Conestoga Capital Partners)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 3, 2001... After changing ownership twice in six years, a small-cap money manager has returned to its boutique roots and one of its original owners under the name Conestoga Capital Advisors. The Conshohocken, Pa., firm, which started in 1990 as...

M&A Slide Continues;Financials Buck Trend.(mergers and acquisitions market overview)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 3, 2001... The financial services industry was its own best customer during a grim second quarter in the merger and acquisition business advising. The six biggest M&A announcements (dueling offers for Wachovia Corp. accounted for the fourth and fifth...

TODAY'S NEWS.
July 3, 2001... Bank of America put its consumer products chief in charge of monitoring risk management at its business lines. Page 2 WASHINGTON The number of thrifts at high risk from exposure to interest rate shifts reached a two-year low in the...

Regulators Slam SEC Broker-Dealer Rule.(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... Federal bank regulators savaged an interim Securities and Exchange Commission rule Monday that implemented broker-dealer provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, saying it instituted "overly complex, costly, and unworkable requirements" for...

B of A Exec Given Task Of Gauging Risk at Units.(Bank of America Corp. names Amy W. Brinkley chairwoman of credit risk policy)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... Bank of America Corp. named its consumer products chief, Amy W. Brinkley, as chairwoman of credit risk policy, a new position that aims to make revenues less volatile by putting more focus on risk at the business level. Ms. Brinkley, 45,...

Debt Underwriting Up Sharply in 2Q; Junk Bonds Soar.(2nd quarter, 2001)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 3, 2001... Corporate bond underwriting activity gained momentum during the second quarter, amid weakness throughout the capital markets. Quarterly proceeds of U.S. corporate debt underwriting -- which includes investment grade and high yield debt, as...

In Brief: OCC Floats Rule On Web Activities.(Office of the Comptroller of the Currency proposes rule for electronic banking activity)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency proposed a rule Monday aimed at making it easier for national banks to engage in electronic activities. The agency will accept comments until Aug. 31 on the proposal, which would establish four...

In Brief: Credit Unions File Retaliatory Brief.(against banking industry)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... Credit unions, backed by the Justice Department and the National Credit Union Administration, struck back at the banking industry Monday, filing a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals here in the two-year-old lawsuit over credit union...

OTS Finds Lower Risk in Industry, Says Its Efforts Pay Off.(United States Office of Thrift Supervision)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... Federal thrift regulators said that first-quarter data on interest rate risk issued Monday show that their continuing efforts to curb exposures have started to pay off. Only 20 thrifts, or 2.1% of the industry, are at high risk from...

Comment: You'd Better Look Before You Leap Into Fee Income.(bank management)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... By now most community bankers recognize the importance of fee income. They cannot live on spread alone, a point John Walker and Michelle Gula of BNK Advisory Group of Northampton, Pa., stressed in their chief financial officers workshop at a...

Farmers, Lenders Seek Steadier Aid in '02 Bill.(2002 farm bill)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 3, 2001... Congress is preparing to debate the 2002 farm bill, and farmers and their bankers have spent weeks preparing their wish lists. Topping both groups' agendas: more predictability in government assistance. Both say they are grateful...

In Brief: Neuberger Berman Goes to Washington.(opens new office location)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... Neuberger Berman has opened an office here to serve the high-net-worth market. Headed by Bruce S. Tanous, 46, it will target wealthy individuals, trusts, foundations, and family offices. Before joining Neuberger Berman, Mr. Tanous was...

In Brief: Fidelity Unit Names Chairman/President.(Richard Horlick )(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... Richard Horlick has been named chairman and president of Fidelity Management Trust Co. Mr. Horlick, who had been president of Fidelity Invest-ments' international institutional business, in London, will report to Peter J. Smail, president...

In Brief: Paragon Group Life Opens 2 Web Sites.(benefits website information)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... Paragon Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of MetLife Inc., has started two Web sites for its group variable universal life customers. e-Enrollment and e-Service both went live on Thursday and will be added to MetLife's MyBenefits employee portal...

In Brief: Guardian-Berkshire Merger Completed.(Guardian Life Insurance Co, Berkshire Life Insurance Co)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America, has completed its acquisition of Berkshire Life Insurance Co. of Pittsfield, Mass. The deal was originally announced in September and was completed Monday. Berkshire Life will be responsible for...

Ga. County Measure Puts Lenders on Defensive.("predatory" bank ordinance restrictions)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... Lenders fighting antipredator measures at the city and state levels now have a new battlefront -- Georgia. Last Thursday, DeKalb County, the state's second-largest, enacted an ordinance restricting county agencies from depositing money in...

In Brief: MGIC's Culver Named Association President.(Curt S. Culver)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... The Mortgage Insurance Companies of America announced Monday that Curt S. Culver, president and chief executive officer of MGIC Investment Corp., had been elected president of the association. Mr. Culver, who is also president and CEO of...

In Brief: PMI in Deal for Australian Mortgage Insurer CGU.(PMI Group Inc. buys CGU Lenders Mortgage Insurance Ltd)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... The PMI Group Inc. has announced that it will buy CGU Lenders Mortgage Insurance Ltd., Australia's fourth-largest mortgage insurance company, from British insurer CGNU PLC for about $40 million. The deal is expected to close in the third...

In Brief: NetBank Deal for Market Street Closes.(Market Street Mortgage acquisition information)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... NetBank announced Monday that its purchase of the Clearwater, Fla.-based lender Market Street Mortgage has closed. NetBank, a five-year-old independent bank with $2 billion of assets, bought Market Street from Republic Bancorp Inc. of Ann...

In Brief: Home Loan Bank's Cost of Funds Index Falls.(industry statistics)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 3, 2001... The Federal Home Loan Bank here has reported that the weighted average cost of funds index for its member institutions was 4.745% in May, a decline from 4.946% in April. The cost of funds index reflects the interest that savings...

Electronic Commerce: B-to-B Payments Next Web Venture For Pitney Bowes.(service development)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... Pitney Bowes Inc., best known as the world's largest producer of postage meters, is jumping into online payments by developing what it calls a "PayPal look-alike" service. PitneyPay users will be able to send or receive real-time payments...

Fed Catches Up to Market on ACH Credit Finality.(automated clearing house credits)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... The Federal Reserve has changed its rule on automated clearing house credits, bringing it in line with market practices and potentially enhancing the attractiveness for banks of accepting the payment option from their corporate customers. ...

In Brief: SouthTrust Has Deal for Another Va. Bank.(Community Bankshares Inc)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... SouthTrust Corp. has continued its push into Virginia by announcing its second deal in the state in less than a month. The $46 billion-asset company said Friday that it signed a "nonbinding letter of intent" to buy $407 million-asset...

In Brief: Wells Closes $128M Deal for H.D. Vest.(Wells Fargo & Co acquisition information)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... Wells Fargo & Co. has completed its acquisition of H.D. Vest Inc., an Irving, Tex., tax and financial advisory firm. The San Francisco banking company said Tuesday that it had paid $21.03 in cash per share, or $127.5 million, the same price...

In Brief: White House to Eye Banking for Immigrants.(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... A White House task force studying a broad array of U.S.-Mexican border issues has been asked to examine the barriers blocking Mexican immigrants' access to banks and other financial institutions, an administration official said Monday. "We...

Glum 2nd Half Forecast For 5 Major Brokerages.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 3, 2001... Analysts' forecasts for the five leading U.S. brokerage firms are gloomy for the rest of the year after a profit warning from Merrill Lynch & Co. and mixed earnings results at the other four. Joan S. Solotar, an analyst at Credit Suisse...

Fed Gives Go-Ahead to Citi Deal for EAB.(Citigroup; European American Bank)(Brief Article)
July 3, 2001... The Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Monday approved Citigroup Inc.'s $1.6 billion deal to buy European American Bank. The acquisition, which still needs clearance from the New York State Banking...

TODAY'S NEWS.
July 5, 2001... Goldman and Merrill held their top spots among U.S. equity underwriters despite stiffer bank competition. Page 2 WASHINGTON Page 4 COMMUNITY BANKING New UCC rules on bank liens and collateral statements have gone into effect in...

Battle Fo Wachovia: For SunTrust, a Lot Riding on 2Q Report.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 5, 2001... SunTrust Banks Inc. is expected to be on its best behavior when it reports second-quarter profits early Friday, but that is not stopping the Atlanta banking company from launching flaming arrows at its rival. Friday's earnings report is a...

Exam Fee Gap: His Ally Gone, Hawke Fights On.(Comptroller of the Currency)(Interview)
July 5, 2001... Despite skeptical lawmakers and a cold shoulder from some fellow regulators, Comptroller of the Currency John D. Hawke Jr. has turned up the heat on his campaign to bring exam fees for national banks in line with the lower fees paid by their...

With OTS Pick, Bush Sparks A Conflict.(Office of Thrift Supervision)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... President Bush on Tuesday nominated former California banking superintendent James E. Gilleran to be director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, sparking a conflict at the agency and raising concerns among industry lobbyists. Ellen...

Freddie Gets Ready for 10-Year Run: GSE forges ahead on $2 trillion funding plan, despite critics.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Interview)
July 5, 2001... Freddie Mac, anticipating a decade-long housing expansion that it expects will bring in millions of new borrowers, is planning to raise $2 trillion in funding to accommodate the boom. To reach this goal the mortgage giant will flood the...

Goldman, Merrill Retain Top Underwriting Spots Despite Banks' Challenge.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 5, 2001... While the number of equity offerings hitting the market in the second quarter jumped 50% from the previous three months, to 225, competition for the deals' underwriting intensified between traditional investment banking companies and commercial...

Bank One Trims Loan Portfolio.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 5, 2001... Bank One Corp. is making good on a first-quarter pledge to weed out its less profitable corporate borrowing clients. During the first three months of the year the Chicago banking company started going through its pool of large commercial...

In Brief: Calif. Seeks Hearing on Citi-Banamex Deal.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... California Attorney General Bill Lockyer is urging the Federal Reserve Board to hold hearings in Los Angeles on Citigroup Inc.'s proposed acquisition of Grupo Financiero Banamex-Accival, citing consumer concerns. Though distancing himself...

In Brief: OCC Warns Banks: Web Links Pose Risks.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Tuesday warned national banks about the risks associated with linking their Web sites to unrelated companies that offer goods and services via the Internet. "Web-linking practices are...

New UCC Collateral Rules Take Effect.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 5, 2001... After two years of preparation, new rules governing how banks perfect liens and how borrowers file collateral statements took effect July 1 in 46 states and the District of Columbia under a revised Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. ...

Excutive Changes.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... NEW ENGLAND Medford Savings Bank in Massachusetts has hired Laura W. Dorfman as the vice president of residential lending. She succeeded Debbie Sousa, who has left the bank. Ms. Dorfman reports to Eric Loth, senior vice president. ...

State, U.S. Credit Unions in Insurance Fund Fight.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 5, 2001... Talk about failing to see eye to eye. State and federal credit unions are at odds over how deeply the National Credit Union Administration should dip into the credit union insurance fund to cover its own administrative costs. NCUA officials...

Invest Web Dollars in Areas that Will Help Reduce Costs.(Statistical Data Included)
July 5, 2001... Banking has entered a new era, with cyberspace as its frontier. At first the Internet was perceived as an end-of-the-century gold rush that heralded the irrelevance of the Old Economy rules. However, the shutdown of a large number of...

Putting Sales Goals Back on the Menu.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... A few years ago I was a guest at Chewton Glen, a magnificent hotel in the English countryside with top-notch service and facilities, and a celebrated restaurant. While eating dinner, I asked whether I could compliment the chef in person....

Stopping ID Fraud Before It Can Start.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... In the end, the best response to the mushrooming identity-theft problem plaguing the nation's banks can be found where personal banking begins: the new-accounts desk. That humble post, often falling to a junior customer-service employee,...

Sales Strategy, Part Two: Essentials of Implementation.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... In a previous column we advocated a six- to eight-week strategic tuneup for small-business and middle-market banking units that must generate more sales with smaller staffs in a declining market. Business strategy development involves selecting...

Visa Global Group Eyes Corporate Card Fight.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... Visa International, in a bid to challenge American Express for the business of multinational corporations, has formed a joint venture with a global group of card issuers. The issuers in the GCPS LLC (for Global Commercial Payment Solution)...

In Brief: Northern Trust Picks Investment Officer.(Margaret M. Towle)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... Northern Trust Global Advisors Inc. on Monday named Margaret M. Towle chief investment officer. Ms. Towle, 51, succeeds Michael J. Gallimore, who has been chief executive officer and chief investment officer since his promotion in August...

In Brief: OppenheimerFunds Has a New CEO.(John V. Murphy)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... Longtime chief executive officer Bridget A. Macaskill has left OppenheimerFunds Inc. Ms. Macaskill joined the mutual fund company in 1983 and had been CEO since 1995. She was succeeded by John V. Murphy, who joined last year as president...

In Brief: Pershing to Offer AssetMark Services.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... Pershing, the global securities clearing company owned by Credit Suisse First Boston, has agreed to offer the investment research of AssetMark Investment Services Inc., to its broker and adviser clients. AssetMark, of Pleasant Hill, Calif.,...

North Fork Hires a Marketer, Sets $20M Goal for Brokerage.(North Fork Bancorp., Essex Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 5, 2001... North Fork Bancorp. has turned to third-party marketer Essex Corp. to help it reach its goal of more than doubling investment revenue, to $20 million, by 2004. North Fork's full-service brokerage unit, Compass Investment Services, already...

Insurers Told to Service, Not Sell, Through Web.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 5, 2001... Insurance carriers are taking the wrong tack on the Internet -- instead of selling insurance on the Web, they can get a bigger return for their investment by servicing their existing customers there, according to a report by TowerGroup. ...

In Brief: Pa., Wash. Borrowers Filed Usury Suits.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... In several class actions filed in the second quarter in Pennsylvania and Washington State, borrowers accuse subprime lenders of violating usury and licensing laws in making certain high loan-to-value loans, the law firm of Kirkpatrick &...

In Brief: Conseco Makes an Early Debt Payment.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 5, 2001... In his 12th shareholder memo since becoming Conseco Inc.'s chairman and chief executive last year, Gary Wendt announced that it made its last scheduled principal payment on Friday on its bank loan until December 2003 -- six months ahead of...

In Brief: Bankrupt Amresco Plans to Sell Assets.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 5, 2001... Amresco Inc. announced Monday that it had voluntarily filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal Bankruptcy Code. In conjunction with the filing, the company said it had entered an asset purchase agreement with NCS...

In Brief: Digital Signature to Offer Kits to Notaries.(Digital Signature Trust Co. and Arcanvs Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... Digital Signature Trust Co. and Arcanvs Inc. announced Monday that they have signed a distribution agreement in which Arcanvs will offer its CryptoNotary Starter Kits to Digital's clients. The kits let notaries digitally notarize any...

In Brief: West Coast Bank Hires Mortgage VPs.(Steven W Cole and Kenneth D McBride)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... West Coast Bank announced Monday that it had hired Steven W. Cole and Kenneth D. McBride as vice presidents in its mortgage banking division. Mr. Cole and Mr. McBride will develop commercial and construction real estate loans, primarily...

Electronic Commerce: Data Freshening Key in B of A's Peoplestreet Deal.(Bank of America Corp. marketing strategy to feature online business cards)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... Bank of America Corp. employees will be able to keep current contact information in their customers' computerized address books and push marketing messages to them, using software developed by Peoplestreet Inc. The result will be "a...

Big Backers Helping Atriax Get Started in Forex.(online foreign exchange trading)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... Strong liquidity and the biggest names in foreign exchange trading are helping Atriax, the much-anticipated online foreign exchange portal that began operations Friday, attract customers. The foreign exchange venture was formed in October...

Big Regionals' 2Q Reports Expected to Be Mixed Bag.(regional banking companies, second-quarter earnings)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 5, 2001... As the largest regional banking companies prepare to report second-quarter earnings in the next couple of weeks, feelings are mixed on whether some will be able to meet consensus estimates. Jennifer A. Thompson, an analyst at Putnam Lovell...

In Brief: Card Chargeoffs Rose Again in May.(credit card companies)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 5, 2001... Credit card companies continued to take hits in May as the number of charged-off accounts edged higher for the fourth straight month, according to Moody's Investors Service. Moody's credit card index, which tracks $335 billion of...

In Brief: UBS Warburg Exec Joins N.Y. Law Firm.(H Bruce Newman joins Wilmer Cutler and Pickering)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... The law firm Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering said it had hired Bruce H. Newman, director of compliance for capital markets at UBS Warburg LLC, as resident counsel in its New York office. Mr. Newman had held the capital markets compliance post at...

In Brief: 1st Financial Buys 10th Bank in Texas.(First Financial Bankshares buys City National Bank)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 5, 2001... First Financial Bankshares Inc. has completed the purchase of City National Bank in Mineral Wells, Tex. Terms of the stock purchase agreement reached in April were not disclosed when the announcement of the deal's closing was made Tuesday....

In Brief: FDIC Seeks Comment on Strategic Plan.(Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2001... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is accepting comments this month on its strategic plan. The draft plan, which covers the years 2001-2006, addresses the areas of insurance, supervision, and receivership management. It can be found at...

Bank and Thrift Merger Announcements.(second quarter)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
July 5, 2001... For second quarter; dollars in thousands (part 1 of 3) Buyer City 1 *SunTrust Banks Inc. Atlanta 2 *First Union Corp. Charlotte, N.C. 3 Washington Mutual,...