American Banker articles from March 2003

American Banker archives from March 2003

Today's News.
March 3, 2003... WASHINGTON A GAO report says the Federal Housing Finance Board should give its chairman less power. The board disagrees. Page 3 COMMUNITY BANKING A group of credit unions in Southern California have joined forces in a media...

Threatened in One Banking Market, Sun Eyes Another.
March 3, 2003... As one of the early developers of advanced computing gear, Sun Microsystems Inc. has long held an enviable position as a go-to vendor for high-powered analytic systems for banking and investment operations. However, with its position in...

RBC Again Shows `Export' Model Working.(Royal Bank of Canada)
March 3, 2003... As executives at Canada's major banks press the government in Ottawa to clear the way for more domestic mergers, first-quarter financial reports show that for now several of them are finding their best growth opportunities in the United States....

On Focus: HUD Chief's Respa Fix Looks Less Sure as Critics Multiply.(Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act)
March 3, 2003... A federal proposal designed to eliminate confusion for mortgage buyers seems to be generating even more confusion among those monitoring its development. Bankers, mortgage brokers, real estate agents, and consumer advocates told a House...

An '03 Target That Already Has Doubters.(FleetBoston Financial Corp.)
March 3, 2003... FleetBoston Financial Corp. finds itself under a spotlight, again, but not for failing loans or troubles in Latin America. The risk of losses still weighs on the stock, but executives say actions taken in the fourth quarter -- a $500...

Washington People.(several news items)
March 3, 2003... What a Guy What started as a Senate Banking Committee hearing on deposit insurance reform last week quickly became political theater staged by allies of Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan. Sen. Charles Schumer used his...

FHFB Shuns Advice on Delegation.(Federal Housing Finance Board)
March 3, 2003... The final version of a General Accounting Office report on the management structure of the Federal Housing Finance Board, released Friday, recommended that the board increase the participation of all members in administrative decisions...

CUs Siccing Bigfoot.(credit unions get aggressive in Southern California)
March 3, 2003... More than 40 credit unions launched a six-month media blitz last week telling Southern Californians that just about anyone can join. The $1 million campaign kicked off with billboard ads and spots on eight radio stations in Los Angeles,...

In Brief: Va. Financial Wants Stake in Albemarle.(Virginia Financial Group Inc. plns to buy stake in Albemarle First Bank)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Virginia Financial Group Inc. has asked the Federal Reserve Board for permission to buy 9.9% of Albemarle First Bank in Charlottesville. Virginia Financial, with $1.1 billion of assets, is the fourth-largest banking company headquartered in...

In Brief: RBC Mortgage Has Marketing Alliance.(Royal Bank of Canada's RBC Mortgage Co. partners with First Unite Bank in Englewood, Colorado)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Royal Bank of Canada's RBC Mortgage Co. has launched a partnership with First United Bank in which the Englewood, Colo., company will refer home mortgage and home equity loan customers to RBC. The marketing alliance, announced Feb. 19, is...

In Brief: Ga.'s IronStone Plans Sacramento Branch.(IronStone Bank)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... IronStone Bank, which has been expanding into fast-growing areas in the West, will open a branch in Sacramento in the third quarter, it announced late Thursday. Sacramento would be the fifth market for $10 million-asset IronStone. It...

Steady Rise for TransUnion Loan Processing Unit.
March 3, 2003... Having quietly expanded into home equity loan processing -- from five financial institution customers to 4,500 in five years -- the credit bureau TransUnion LLC says the segment is now its fastest-growing business. Though Settlement...

In Brief: Air Canada/MBNA Card Set for Takeoff.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Air Canada's loyalty program, Aeroplan, has introduced a cobranded credit card with MBNA Corp.'s MBNA America Bank NA. The Air Canada Aeroplan Platinum Plus MasterCard credit card, announced Thursday, lets Aeroplan customers who live in the...

In Brief: Cardtronics Boosting Retailer ATM Profile.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Cardtronics, one of the largest independent providers of automated teller machines at U.S. stores, has been on a shopping spree. Last Wednesday the independent sales organization announced that it had acquired from XtraCash ATM Inc. the...

In Brief: Kroger and First Data Extend Services Pact.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... First Data Corp. has renewed a contract to provide money transfer and money order services for the supermarket chain Kroger Co. The First Data divisions that handle the services are Western Union Financial Services and Integrated Payment...

In Brief: TSYS, Pitney Bowes In Seven-Year Hitch.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... The card processor TSYS has entered into a seven-year agreement to process Pitney Bowes' 1.5 million postage payment and credit accounts in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Conversion of these accounts to the TSYS platform...

In Brief: Mortgage Policies Down 26.5%.(in January 2003)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... The number of private mortgage insurance policies written in January dropped 26.5% from the previous month, to 187,832, the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America said Friday. The number of applications for mortgage insurance dropped...

Preferred Issues: Rebound Edge: Brokers Or Asset Management?
March 3, 2003... While Wall Street is still waiting for the bulls to return to equities, a debate rages over who will benefit the most once that day comes. A number of banking companies have built up their asset management businesses to capture the money...

In Brief: SunTrust Ultra-Rich Division Buys a Trust Office in Conn.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... SunTrust Banks Inc.'s asset management unit for the ultra-wealthy has announced plans to expand into the Northeast. Asset Management Advisors said Wednesday that it will open an office in Greenwich, Conn. This will be a result of the...

In Brief: AIG SunAmerica Fund Unit Hires a COO from Carret.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... AIG SunAmerica Asset Management Corp. has announced the hiring of Vincent Marra to be a senior vice president and the chief operating officer. Mr. Marra also is to become the president of AIG SunAmerica Fund Services Inc., where he will...

In Brief: National Independent Taps Northern Trust's Services.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Northern Trust said it has been hired to supply trust, accounting, and custody services for National Independent Trust Co. The Chicago banking company announced Tuesday that it will supply its Trust/Rite System to the Ruston, La., company....

Sun Life's IFMG Bucks 3d-Party Marketing Slump.(Independent Financial Marketing Group)
March 3, 2003... When Robert C. Salipante took office last week as president of Sun Life Financial U.S., he also took oversight of Independent Financial Marketing Group, a Sun Life unit that is the largest third-party marketer of annuities through banks but in...

BankAtlantic Adds Online Biz Imaging.(BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc. has added a check-image function to its online cash management service. Corporate customers can now view items from its in-house image archive through its outsourced cash management provider, said Anthony A....

In Brief: Bank One Names 2 Board Members.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Bank One Corp. has named Robert I. Lipp and Stephen B. Burke to its board of directors. They succeeded Heidi G. Miller and William T. McCormick Jr., who stepped down last year. Mr. Lipp's appointment continued the penchant of James...

In Brief: Power Trio Criticize SEC Settlement.(three senators criticize Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Three key senators slammed the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday for approving the so-called global settlement with Wall Street banks over their research practices. "We are very concerned... that these settlements are being...

In Brief: Spiegel Appoints Turnaround CEO.(Spiegel Group Inc. )(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Spiegel Group Inc. announced Friday that it had replaced its chief executive, Martin Zaepfel. The company, which is under regulatory scrutiny, said it had hired William Kosturos of the turnaround firm Alvarez & Marsal Inc. as the chief...

In Brief: Sovereign Expects 1Q Profit on Sales.(Sovereign Bancorp Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Sovereign Bancorp Inc. is comfortable with predicting first-quarter earnings of 33 cents a share, assuming three pending transactions close, executives told investors on a conference call Thursday. In a press release, Sovereign said it...

In Brief: Lehman Said Set For 2d Analyst Move.(Lehman Brothers may name new U.S. equity strategist)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Lehman Brothers is said to be planning to name Henry "Chip" Dickson as its U.S. equity strategist -- his second promotion in seven months. Mr. Dickson would take over the responsibilities of the former chief U.S. investment strategist,...

In Brief: SunTrust Chief Made $1.3M, No Bonus.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... L. Phillip Humann, the chairman, president, and chief executive of SunTrust Banks Inc., received cash compensation of $1.3 million last year, the company said in a securities filing Friday. His package included $950,000 of salary and a...

In Brief: Treasury Hires House Finance Aide.(Treasury Department hires congressional aide Greg Zerzan)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... The Treasury Department has hired Greg Zerzan, a congressional aide, as its deputy assistant secretary for financial institutions policy. Mr. Zerzan, the senior legislative counsel for the House Financial Services Committee, is scheduled...

Correction.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
March 3, 2003... In Thursday's paper, a back-page news brief misstated the year for which Humboldt Bancorp restated earnings to $9 million from $9.6 million. It was 2000. An editing error was to blame. The brief was also mistaken in saying the company would...

Wachovia Unit's Goal: Centralize Payment Biz.
March 4, 2003... Recognizing the growing revenue potential of the business, Wachovia Corp. has created a division to oversee its payments operations. The division, set up early last month, is meant to provide a central structure for activities that have...

Cash-Strapped State Tries to Tap Bank Fund.
March 4, 2003... Indiana bankers are steamed about the state's attempt to use money from a fund for insuring public deposits to help balance its budget. Under a bill passed by the Indiana House of Representatives on Feb. 20, the state, which faces an $850...

Wall St. Joint Venture Plan May Be Nixed.
March 4, 2003... A provision in the $1.4 billion global settlement that would require investment banking firms to pool funds for independent research has become a sticking point and may not make the final version, sources close to the negotiations said. ...

Bank One's 2-Step Path To In-House Processing.
March 4, 2003... In a rare instance of a banking company moving to bring its credit card processing in-house, Bank One Corp. said Monday that it will yank its business from First Data Corp. and award it to TSYS for the two to three years it says it will take to...

CEO Offers Peek At Providian's Turnaround Effort.(Providian Financial Corp.)
March 4, 2003... In late 2001, when Joseph Saunders was recruited to fix Providian Financial Corp., losses from subprime card lending were so steep that management said it had two options: sell or transform the company. The rehabilitation is not over, but...

UBS Latest to Apply for Utah Loan Corp. Charter.
March 4, 2003... Joining several of its U.S. investment bank and asset management rivals, a unit of Switzerland's UBS AG has applied to the State of Utah for an industrial loan corporation license. Pending approval from Utah's Department of Financial...

People of Miss. Ups Reserves by $1.5M.(Peoples Financial Corp. )(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... Peoples Financial Corp. is increasing its 2002 loan-loss reserves 30%, or $1.5 million, to cover a problem credit that surfaced a few weeks ago. The added reserve, announced late Friday, would decrease the $500 million-asset company's...

Spare Change: Can Designer Covers Turn Passbooks Into Best-Sellers?(Roslyn Bancorp Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... More and more savings account customers are starting to use online statements, and most people look at passbooks as a quaint holdover. But Roslyn Bancorp Inc. of Jericho, N.Y., is treating them like a marketing opportunity. Last month...

Capital One Comeback Bid Rocked by CFO Resignation.(Capital One Financial Corp.)
March 4, 2003... The possibility of insider-trading charges against Capital One Financial Corp.'s chief financial officer added a new public-relations headache for a company still on the rebound from last summer's regulatory reprimand. On Monday morning...

For Backers of Bankruptcy Bill, It's Try, Try Again.
March 4, 2003... Proponents of bankruptcy reform legislation will take the first step today in what promises to be a long, hard march toward overhauling the system. The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to take testimony from supporters of bankruptcy...

7 Big 529 Plan Firms Form Trade Group, a 'Voice'.
March 4, 2003... Seven high-profile investment management companies have started a college savings association that aims to give plan administrators a voice on 529 college savings plan issues. Fidelity Investments, Franklin Templeton, Manulife Financial,...

In Brief: MassMutual Offers Free Life Coverage.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... MassMutual Financial Group said Monday that it has introduced a free term life insurance program for working parents in the Philadelphia area and the Delaware valley. Under the LifeBridge Free Life Insurance Program, qualifying working...

In Brief: Ratings Affirmed, Cut For State Farm Units.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... A.M. Best Co. has announced its affirmation of the financial strength ratings for the property/casualty and life affiliates of the State Farm Group in Bloomington, Ill. It also said Friday that it had cut the financial strength rating of...

In Brief: Sun Life Closes Sale Of Its U.K. Group Biz.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... Sun Life Financial Services of Canada Inc. said that it has closed the sale of its U.K. group insurance business to Unum Ltd., a British subsidiary of UnumProvident Corp. Sun Life Financial's U.K. group insurance business is based in...

In Brief: InsWeb Repurchases From Intuit, Softbank.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... InsWeb Corp. has announced the purchase of 2,241,440 shares of its own common stock -- 1,169,898 shares from Intuit Insurance Services Inc. and 1,071,542 shares from Softbank America Inc. The shares were bought for $3.8 million, or $1.70...

Calif.'s Title/Mortgage Insurance Wall May Fall.
March 4, 2003... A California Senate bill, inspired by Radian Group Inc.'s effort to offer a controversial title insurance alternative in that state, would go much further by imposing wholesale changes on the title and mortgage insurance industries. The...

Treasury Starts Financial Crimes Office.(Treasury Department Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... The Treasury Department has established a new office to lead the government's efforts to combat money laundering and other financial crimes, the agency announced Monday. The Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes "will focus on...

North Fork Now Concentrating on Organic Growth.(North Fork Bancorp Inc.)
March 4, 2003... North Fork Bancorp Inc. will continue to base its near-term expansion efforts on internal growth, its top executive said. Speaking at Thomson Media's Best Practices in Retail Financial Services Symposium in Bonita Springs, Fla., on Sunday,...

Editor's Note.(Small Business Administration has yet to reinstate its $2 million ceiling on loans)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... A story on page 15cb in today's Community Banking special report states that the Small Business Administration has yet to reinstate its $2 million ceiling on loans after temporarily lowering it to $500,000. The $2 million cap was put back in...

In Brief: Report: CRA Rules Need Tightening.(Community Reinvestment Act)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... Community activists plan to issue a report today that recommends several changes to community reinvestment rules and says that many of the largest banks are dodging current requirements. The report -- written by the National Training and...

In Brief: Action on Industry Bills This Week.(Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... Two House committees will focus on several financial services bills this week. The Financial Services Committee is scheduled to take testimony from Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Don Powell on a bill to overhaul the deposit...

In Brief: JPM Exec Takes B of A Mexico Job.( John S. Donnelly named Bank of America head of corporate and investment banking in Mexico)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... Bank of America Corp. said Monday that it had hired John S. Donnelly to be senior banking officer and head of corporate and investment banking in Mexico. Mr. Donnelly, who joined B of A Monday, jumped ship from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.,...

In Brief: Visa Issues Big Hacking Fines.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... Visa U.S.A. Inc. announced Friday night that it had imposed substantial fines in the merchant processor hacking four weeks ago that exposed millions of credit and debit card accounts to fraud. Visa declined to say who was fined, but under...

More Bankers Taking Their Shows on the Road.(Seacoast Banking Corp.)
March 4, 2003... At an Arlington, Va., investor conference this month William Hahl gave the standard "forward-looking statement" disclosure and then began to sing the praises of Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida in Stuart. Mr. Hahl, the chief financial...

Editor's Note.(Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act)(hundreds of community banks have ventured into the insurance)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... Since passage of the landmark Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act nearly four years ago, hundreds of community banks have ventured into the insurance business. Some sell insurance products directly, others collect fees for referring business to insurers,...

Chicago S&L Rides Immigrant Wave from the Start.(Second Federal Savings and Loan)
March 4, 2003... In January 2001, a meeting at the main office of a small, five-branch thrift on Chicago's South Side changed U.S. banking. The topic was how to reduce what undocumented Mexican immigrants paid to send money home. The immigrants would...

Check Imaging on a Fast Track at Small Banks.
March 4, 2003... Heightened security concerns and improved computer programs are leading more banks to make check imaging their standard way of returning checks for customers' records. The 9/11 terrorist attacks disrupted air and ground transportation of...

Short-term Lending: Promise, Peril, and Politics.(Marshall & Ilsley Bank)
March 4, 2003... Marshall & Ilsley Bank in Milwaukee is thinking small to develop lifelong relationships. In January the $33 billion-asset bank began offering short-term loans of $1,000 to $5,000 to first-time banking customers. It is also offering...

What Works and Doesn't in MIS Development.(management information systems)
March 4, 2003... Over the years poor planning, systems and staffing problems, and other factors have doomed many community banks' attempts to develop management information systems. Here are things to keep in mind in building management accounting and...

Watch Out For Potholes on Road to Insurance Success.(banks that see buying insurance agency as way to provide steady income for agency may not have chance to cross-sell)
March 4, 2003... A bank in the Midwest jumped at the chance of buying an insurance agency that wrote auto policies. Management figured that the bank's nearly 60,000 car loans a year would provide a steady stream of extra leads for the agency. It did not...

Green Banking: The Next Affordable Housing?(environmental loans by ShoreBank Pacific to clean up contaminated sites; discusses trend)
March 4, 2003... Financing land development is beyond the comfort zone for many banks, and projects involving contaminated soil and groundwater are pretty much out of the question. But when a developer proposed to build homes and businesses on 16 acres in...

Recent SBA Policy Decisions Frustrate Bankers.(to expand 7(a) lending program to include credit unions)
March 4, 2003... When the Small Business Administration announced on Valentine's Day that it was expanding its 7(a) lending program to include credit unions, bankers were predictably outraged. How, they asked, could a taxpayer-funded agency make its programs...

Top Lenders of Small Business Administration Approved 7(a) Loans In the 12 months through September 2002.(listed by bank)(Illustration)
March 4, 2003... (Part 1 of 2) 1 CIT Small Business Lending Corp. Livingston, N.J. 2 Business Loan Center Inc. Richmond 3 Comerica Bank Detroit 4 Wells Fargo Bank San Francisco 5 U.S. Bank Minneapolis 6 Money Store Invest Corp....

Baltimore Arena-Title Bout Pits Bank vs. Bank.(First Mariner Bank owns naming rights to former Baltimore Arena; ATMs inside arena are owned by another bank)
March 4, 2003... The former Baltimore Arena sometimes stages professional wrestling. Maybe one of that sport's notorious steel-cage matches would have been a good way to settle a dispute between two local banks over the venue's name. Baltimore's First...

Conn. Banker Draws Up Plan to Promote Arts.(New Haven Savings Bank president/CEO)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2003... Peyton R. Patterson is mixing her passion with her profession as New Haven Savings Bank's president and chief executive officer. An amateur pianist and a collector of art and antiques, Ms. Patterson joined the $2.4 billion-asset...

A Big Bank Sells Off Branches And Not Just Banks are Bidding.(Wachovia Corp. to sell off branches)
March 4, 2003... The former Wachovia Corp. branches awaiting new tenants are drawing attention from banks of all sizes - as well as a number of fast-food chains, coffee shops, and convenience stores. The Pennsylvania real estate investment trust that now...

How Valuable Is The Chance to Go To Conventions?(banks may use a large investment firm vs small regional securities dealers to get invitations to meetings at nice resorts )
March 4, 2003... The head of a small regional securities dealer that specializes in serving banks recently told me that he sent a top analyst to help a bank get its portfolio in order. The bank's chief executive officer and the analyst agreed on the...

Top Global Insurance Deals.(listed by buyer, target, date announced, region and price)(Illustration)
March 4, 2003... Announced in 2002. Dollars in thousands. (part 1 of 3) Buyer 1 Manulife Financial Corp. 2 Anthem Inc. 3 DnB Holding ASA 4 Societa Assicuratrice Industriale SpA 5 Prudential...

Tech Scene: A CRM User Making the Revenue Case.(Bank of New York Co. stores keeps databases for better customer relationship management )
March 5, 2003... Amid doubts within the industry that customer relationship management projects are worth the large investments they typically require, at least one banking company has stepped forward to say that its year-old implementation is paying off. ...

FDIC Report: Indicators Point to a Healthy '03.
March 5, 2003... Buoyed by low interest rates and strong consumer demand, banks and thrifts made $25.6 billion in the last three months of 2002 to post their third-best quarterly performance ever, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday. Indeed,...

FBI Drawn Into FHFB Investigation.(Federal Housing Finance Board)
March 5, 2003... The investigation of alleged fund-raising improprieties at the Federal Housing Finance Board has broadened, with Federal Bureau of Investigation agents questioning executives regulated by the agency and others. Experts said that the...

First Read on Rule to Pull Entities Back On the Sheet: Bank One, PNC could take hits, mainly on commercial paper.
March 5, 2003... A new Financial Accounting Standards Board rule cracking down on limited-purpose entities is not expected to force banks to bring many assets back onto their balance sheets. Commercial paper conduits are an exception, however, and bankers...

TODAY'S NEWS.
March 5, 2003... Sovereign's CEO said coaching employees to use "emotional intelligence" helped a difficult integration succeed. Page 4 WASHINGTON Democrats are still considering filing an ethics complaint against Rep. Oxley. Page 6 COMMUNITY...

Cash, Trips Spur Sales In Branches.(Banks spend on internal sales campaigns )
March 5, 2003... When bankers talk about building sales at their retail branches, they like to talk in terms of firing up a passion for excellence in their organizations, or driving growth through leveraging the customer experience. But when it comes down...

Strong Signs on Reform Bill's Progress.(Deposit insurance reform bill)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2003... Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., said Tuesday that he was hopeful the House Financial Services Committee would vote before April on his deposit insurance reform bill. Rep. Bachus' remark came after a committee hearing. At the same hearing,...

Executive Changes.(Citizens Financial Group and others make personnel moves)
March 5, 2003... NEW ENGLAND Citizens Financial Group of Providence, R.I., has promoted Maria Tedesco, who runs its more than 150 in-store New England branches, from senior to executive vice president. Ms. Tedesco joined the company in 1995 and was...

McGuinn Answers To the Troops.(Mellon Financial Corp CEO discusses company's strategy in Q&A session)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2003... Here are excerpts from a question-and-answer session with chief executive Martin G. McGuinn, held at a recent management meeting, that will be posted on Mellon Financial Corp.'s internal Web site Thursday. What are your thoughts on...

Mellon CEO's Tour Has Mixed Message for Execs.(Mellon Financial Corp CEO tells managers to "act like an owner")
March 5, 2003... When Martin G. McGuinn, the chief executive of Mellon Financial Corp., arrives home in Pittsburgh from Miami tonight, he will have logged more than 16,000 miles and met with some 5,000 of the company's top managers, all in the past 35 days. ...

Invoking Socrates to Evaluate Employees.(Sovereign Bancorp Inc. wants employees to have emotional intelligence)
March 5, 2003... When Sovereign Bancorp Inc. of Philadelphia purchased several New England bank branches in 2000, its top executive set about to evaluate branch employees. Some of the branches came from BankBoston Corp., some from Fleet Financial Group...

In Brief: Hoyer: Still Mulling Complaint vs. Oxley.(Democrats may file ethics complaint against House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael G. Oxley)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2003... House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer on Tuesday said that Democrats are still considering filing an ethics complaint against House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael G. Oxley. The Washington Post reported last month that Rep. Oxley's...

In Brief: Calif. Senate Oks Data Privacy Bill.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2003... The California Senate has passed another financial privacy bill. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, was adopted on a 23-to-6 vote Monday. It would require financial institutions to get explicit permission from...

In Brief: Bank of Nova Scotia Makes Inverlat Bid.(Bid for 36% of Grupo Financiero Scotiabank Inverlat )(Brief Article)
March 5, 2003... Bank of Nova Scotia has submitted a sealed bid for the 36% of Grupo Financiero Scotiabank Inverlat still owned by the government's Institute for the Protection of Bank Savings. On Monday, Bank of Nova Scotia, Inverlat's majority owner,...

Survey: More Bankers Worry About Outside Competition.
March 5, 2003... Companies like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are really beginning to scare community banks, according to a nationwide survey whose results are being released today. Of the more than 500 bankers who responded to a questionnaire sent out late last...