American Banker articles from March 2005

American Banker archives from March 2005

Available Soon: Storage Space, About 1.5M Cu. Ft.
March 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Federal officials have been fighting over the fate of boxes of materials from failed thrifts, including World War II-era loan files, teller slips from the 1970s, and personal items employees left in desk drawers. The 1.3...

Turnaround Shifts North Country into Growth Mode.
March 1, 2005... Paul Tobias met James C. Bess last spring and says he was so impressed with what the executive had done to fix the troubled North Country Bank in Manistique, Mich., that he decided to buy it. Now Mr. Tobias has big plans to expand the $331...

Shifts in U.S. Make HSBC A Tough Read.
March 1, 2005... In reporting its 2004 earnings Monday, HSBC Holdings PLC also announced it had finished the integration of the former Household International Inc. a year ahead of schedule. But some analysts said that the British banking company's U.S....

Turning to Consumer Side.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Community banks are losing small-business share to big banks and credit unions, leading many to venture into consumer lending. Also: Compliance as a human resources challenge. Special Report section Copyright 2005 Thomson Media Inc. All...

In Brief: BB&T CFO Retiring; Deputy to Succeed.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... BB&T Corp. said its chief financial officer, Scott E. Reed, will retire July 1; his deputy, Christopher L. Henson, will succeed him. Though Mr. Reed is only 56, his decision to retire, announced Monday, was not a surprise. When the $100...

In Brief: Bank of N.Y. to Eliminate Poison Pill Plan.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Bank of New York Co. Inc. said Monday that its board had voted unanimously to end its shareholder rights plan March 25. The $94.5 billion-asset company has 780 million outstanding shares of common stock, with each share representing a...

Fed's Olson Sees No Bias in Credit Decisions.(Mark W. Olson )
March 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- On the day before lenders must submit millions of mortgage records to regulators, Federal Reserve Board Governor Mark W. Olson said he felt lenders did not base credit decisions on race, sex, or age. His comments Monday could...

In Brief: OTS Issues CRA Exam Rule for Large Thrifts.(Office of Thrift Supervision)(Community Reinvestment Act)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Office of Thrift Supervision on Monday finalized changes to community reinvestment exams for thrifts with assets of more than $1 billion. The rule, taking effect April 1, will give thrifts flexibility to choose how the lending,...

In Brief: Lengthy Bankruptcy Reform Debate Seen.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Senate began debate Monday on bankruptcy reform legislation, but most observers expect it will be days before the final vote. Industry representatives predicted that dozens of amendments will be introduced and said debate will probably...

In Brief: Chicago Title Fined for Respa Violations.
March 1, 2005... Three federal agencies announced Monday that Chicago Title Insurance Co., a unit of Fidelity National Financial Inc., had agreed to a cease-and-desist order and to pay a $5 million civil money penalty as a result of an investigation into its...

Hudson of N.J. Plans A Record Conversion.
March 1, 2005... Hudson City Bancorp of Paramus, N.J., expects to raise $3.5 billion to $4.7 billion in its second-step conversion to a 100% stock-traded company. It would be the largest conversion -- first- or second-step -- in banking history. The...

Federated Department Stores May Sell Portfolio.
March 1, 2005... When it completes its acquisition of May Department Stores Co., Federated Department Stores Inc. would have to consider whether to get out of the private-label credit card business. During a conference call to discuss the $11 billion deal,...

Settlement Talks Between Diebold And Servicers Fail.(Financial and Security Products Association)
March 1, 2005... After trying to settle its complaint out of court, a group of companies that service automated teller machines is pressing forward with its federal lawsuit against Diebold Inc. The Financial and Security Products Association, a trade group...

Community Banks* with Largest Portfolios of First Mortgage Loans: On Sept. 30, 2004. Dollars in thousands.(Illustration)
March 1, 2005... (part 1 of 2) 1 EFS Bank Elgin, Ill. 2 Woronoco Savings Bank Westfield, Mass. 3 First County Bank Stamford, Conn. 4 Dedham Institution For Savings Mass. 5 BAC Florida Bank Miami, Fla. 6 ...

Community Banks* with Largest Portfolios of Home Equity Loans: On Sept. 30, 2004. Dollars in thousands.(Illustration)
March 1, 2005... (part 1 of 2) 1 Lexington State Bank N.C. 2 National Bank of Indianapolis 3 Yadkin Valley Bank and Trust Co. Elkin, N.C. 4 Woronoco Savings Bank Westfield, Mass. 5 Northwestern Savings Bank and...

In Brief: KNBT in Pa. to Buy A Benefits Manager.(Caruso Benefits Group Inc.)(KNBT Bancorp Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... KNBT Bancorp Inc., the holding company for Keystone Nazareth Bank and Trust Co., announced Monday a $28 million agreement to buy Caruso Benefits Group Inc., a benefits management company in Bethlehem, Pa. Caruso Benefits specializes in...

In Brief: Nationwide Appoints Disability Unit Head.(Nationwide Financial Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Nationwide Financial Inc. said Monday that it had promoted Bill Evans to president of its GatesMcDonald disability management subsidiary and expanded the role of Joe San Filippo as president of Nationwide Health Plans. Mr. Evans, formerly...

In Brief: Insurer Offers Policy For Tax Interruption.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Lexington Insurance Co., a member of American International Group Inc. in New York, started a tax-interruption insurance product Monday that alleviates municipal revenue losses when sales, property, or other taxes are disrupted by physical loss...

In Brief: Hartford, Kraft Begin529 Plan Promotion.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. in Simsbury, Conn., and Kraft Foods, two NCAA corporate partners, announced Monday a marketing promotion to build awareness of the SMART529 college savings plan. Through a "Taste the Madness"...

In Brief: Canada Agency Near Franklin Settlement.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The main Canadian securities regulator announced Monday that it had nearly reached a settlement with Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. over trading in some of its mutual funds. The Ontario Securities Commission said in December that it...

In Brief: Putnam Adds Global Core Equity Manager.(Putnam Investments Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Putnam Investments said Monday that it had hired Bradford S. Greenleaf to be a managing director and portfolio manager of its global core equity fund. Mr. Greenleaf was the director of international equities at Independence Investment LLC,...

StillPoint Growth Strategy: Hire Others' Wealth Teams.
March 1, 2005... StillPoint Advisors Inc., a midsize wealth advisory firm, is planning an aggressive campaign to hire wealth management teams from wire houses, banks, and other financial services companies. The Atlanta company, which added two teams of...

In Brief: New Single-Family Team at Freddie.(Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.)
March 1, 2005... Freddie Mac installed a new leadership team in its single-family lending division, which will be led by David H. Stevens, a senior vice president of single-family lending. The McLean, Va., government-sponsored enterprise said Monday that...

In Brief: Mozilo: Issues Hurt GSEs' Market Share.(government-sponsored enterprises)(Angelo Mozilo)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Countrywide Financial Corp.'s chief executive, Angelo Mozilo, said the political and regulatory woes at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are contributing to their plunging share of the mortgage securitization market. "Rates are rising, requiring...

In Brief: Discover Drops Jams As Arbitration Option.(American Arbitration Association)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Discover Financial Services Inc. informed cardholders last month that starting April 1 they will no longer be allowed to have their complaints heard by Jams, one of the nation's largest arbitration forums. The Morgan Stanley credit card...

In Brief: Rewards Now Plans Noncard Expansion.(RewardsNow Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... RewardsNow Inc., a Dover, N.H., company that manages credit and debit card reward programs, said it will start offering programs this year for other financial products and services, such as such as mortgages and online banking. The...

In Brief: ValuAmerica to Offer Web-Based Software.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... This week ValuAmerica Inc. plans to start offering a free Web-based version of its platform for ordering settlement services. The Web version, ValuNet XSP, is based on the Pittsburgh company's transaction platform for vendor management...

In Brief: Dietz Named Retail Chief at Oak Street.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Oak Street Mortgage LLC has promoted Mike Dietz to director of retail loan operations. Mr. Dietz, whose promotion was announced Monday, had been the Carmel, Ind., lender's Southeast regional manager. In addition to retail loan...

In Brief: BMA Forms a Panel To Counsel Ginnie.(Bond Market Association)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Bond Market Association has formed a committee to provide advice to the Government National Mortgage Association. Rishi Chadda, the vice president of mortgage-backed securities trading at Goldman, Sachs & Co., has been named the...

In Brief: Three Promotions At Impac of Calif.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc. announced three promotions Monday. The Newport Beach, Calif., real estate investment trust said it has made Gretchen Verdugo an executive vice president and its chief accounting officer. Jim Dickinson was...

In Brief: Cognizant Starts Project with IndyMac.
March 1, 2005... IndyMac Bancorp Inc. has hired Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. of Teaneck, N.J., to provide a range of information technology services. Gulshan Garg, an executive vice president and the chief technology officer at the Pasadena, Calif.,...

In Brief: Md. Bank Switching to Fiserv System.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Fiserv Inc. announced that Baltimore County Savings Bank plans to convert its core account processing this year to the Brookfield, Wis., vendor's Vision system for outsourced transaction processing. The $765 million-asset Baltimore County...

In Brief: Wis. Credit Union Picks Open Solutions.(Complete Credit Union Solution)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Open Solutions Inc. announced Monday that Royal Credit Union of Eau Claire, Wis., had selected the vendor's Complete Credit Union Solution software for core account processing. The $650 million-asset credit union also bought several other...

Tardy Notification Criticized As Loudly as Actual Data Loss.
March 1, 2005... Bank of America Corp. is coming under fire for failing to notify people for two months that it had lost personal data on more than a million customers. The customers were federal employees who used the U.S. General Services Administration...

In Brief: Executive Bonuses Static at Wells Fargo.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Wells Fargo & Co. said it paid its chief executive, Richard Kovacevich, a $7.5 million bonus last year, the same amount he received in 2003. Bonuses for three of the four other highest-paid executives were also unchanged, Wells said in a...

In Brief: B of A Developing Fla. Community Plan.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Bank of America Corp. has told community advocates in Florida that it is working on a multiyear plan for providing loans and other services to the state's low- and moderate-income consumer, small-business, and ethnic markets. Douglas...

In Brief: Regulators: Insurers Cannot Get Camels.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Banks and thrifts may not release information on supervisory ratings, even if an insurer requests it, federal regulators said in an advisory Monday. Some insurers had asked for the Camels supervisory ratings as part of their underwriting...

In Brief: Wamu Names Heads for Retail Banking.
March 1, 2005... Washington Mutual Inc. said late Monday that it had named two veteran executives to run its retail banking unit and begun a search for someone to head its home loan unit. The Seattle thrift company named Michael Amato president of retail...

Despite Trial, Janney Bullish on Commerce.
March 1, 2005... Strong deposit and earnings growth trends should give Commerce Bancorp Inc. enough momentum to overcome any negatives from legal issues, a Janney Montgomery Scott LLC analyst says. Claire M. Percarpio raised her rating on the Cherry Hill,...

Editor's Note.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Washington Business Bank, as the name implies, is first and foremost a lender to small businesses. But competition in that market has become fiercer in recent years as large banks, thrifts, and even credit unions piled in. So the Olympia,...

Somebody Must Stop the Runaway Basel II Train: Reform of Basel I should be given higher priority than adopting these risky and inequitable rules. If not, Congress should intervene before irrevocable damage is done to the world's best banking system.
March 1, 2005... A recent article in American Banker told of two former Federal Reserve employees and their study of the competitive effects of Basel II. The report they wrote is a reminder of how complex Basel II is and how little is really known about its...

Cell Phones: Panoramic Risk?(Citizens Bank of Nevada County)
March 1, 2005... A California bank has banned cell phones, but not for the reason you might guess. In January, Citizens Bank of Nevada County put signs in the front windows of its five branches telling customers that they could not use cell phones inside....

Another Kind of Market Research.
March 1, 2005... Robert B. Atwell thinks an economic report his Wisconsin bank publishes on the Web three times a year has helped attract business - but he is not really sure. Mr. Atwell, the president and chief executive of the $380 million-asset Nicolet...

Business Banks Diversify into Consumer Lending.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Washington Business Bank in Olympia, Wash., did not intend to do much consumer lending when it opened for business back in 2002, but things changed after it discovered it had such fierce competition for small-business loans. Though it is...

Online Ad Services Offer Do-It-Yourself Options.
March 1, 2005... ABC Bancorp in Moultrie, Ga., likes to feature local employees in its ads. Simple enough - but the $1.1 billion-asset company owns 12 banks in three states. It wants their ads to be similar, but it also wants them easily customized with...

To Get Ready for Prime Time, Prefab TV Commercials Too.
March 1, 2005... Orange Savings Bank of Orange, Tex., created a television spot last year that showed its president, Darby Byrd, watching the Super Bowl in the lobby of a branch with a few customers. The spot was meant to show that Orange Savings is "The...

Bank for Rent; Your Name Here.(Enhanced Technology Financial Services Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Enhanced Technology Financial Services Inc. in Olympia, Wash., originates and services consumer loans on behalf of commercial banks. Its outsourcing agreements typically work like this: A bank executive tells the company's staff what kind...

New Regulatory Problem: Filling Compliance Jobs.(First National Bank of Pueblo)
March 1, 2005... When the Comptroller of the Currency hit First National Bank of Pueblo with an enforcement order in late 2003 for Bank Secrecy Act violations, executives decided to a hire full-time compliance officer. Finding one wasn't easy, said Ray...

Beyond Brokerage - to Financial Planning.
March 1, 2005... For the seven retail investment representatives at Salem Five Cents Savings Bank in Massachusetts, it is not enough to be licensed to sell products like stocks, mutual funds, and annuities. Each rep is also a licensed financial planner or...

Thrift Rethinks Narrow Niche: Buyer gives Assurance capital, retail mandate.
March 2, 2005... Because its previous strategy of lending to insurance agencies around the country produced nothing but losses, a small Indiana thrift is taking a different tack. The $37.7 million-asset Assurance Partners Bank has agreed to sell a...

Dealmaking BB&T Unit Eyes Growth From Within.
March 2, 2005... BB&T Insurance Services Inc. in Raleigh has seen its revenue grow rapidly as it became a prodigious dealmaker in recent years, and along the way the company has experimented with ways to present products to customers and with business lines to...

Ohio's Huntington Reaches Deals with Fed and OCC.
March 2, 2005... Huntington Bancshares Inc. took a significant step Tuesday toward resolving its regulatory problems by consenting to written agreements that require improvements in its accounting policies and internal controls. The Columbus, Ohio, banking...

Why Spinoff Makes Sense To JPM Chase.
March 2, 2005... Five years after it first publicly mulled spinning off its private equity operations, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Tuesday it would do just that. In granting the $13 billion-asset JPMorgan Partners its independence, JPMorgan Chase would...

Tough Sell for Foe of Bankruptcy Bill.
March 2, 2005... ING Direct CEO Kuhlmann, top left, stumped in D.C. with senators who share his view that the legislation is flawed: (clockwise) Russ Feingold, Charles Schumer, and Edward Kennedy. Story on page 4 Copyright 2005 Thomson Media Inc. All...

Executive Changes.(M. R. Beal and Co. hires Wayne Seaton)
March 2, 2005... NEW ENGLAND GE Commercial Finance of Stamford, Conn., has hired Paul W. Patrick as a senior vice president of Texas origination in its corporate lending division. Mr. Patrick will be based in Dallas. He was a vice president at...

In Brief: Reinvestment Group Wants Gilleran Out.( president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition calls for resignation of James Gilleran, director of the Office of Thrift Supervision)
March 2, 2005... Angered by a new rule that simplifies reinvestment exams for large federal thrifts, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition has called for the resignation of these thrifts' chief regulator. John Taylor, the coalition's president, said...

In Brief: Fed Issues Rule On Trust-Preferreds.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2005... The Federal Reserve Board issued a long-awaited rule Tuesday on capital treatment of trust-preferred securities, and the authors included several tweaks expected to make the rule more amenable to banks. The rule limits trust-preferred...

Sununu, Others See Reg Relief, Deposit Bills Moving Ahead.
March 2, 2005... WASHINGTON -- House and Senate lawmakers say the push for regulatory relief and deposit insurance reform legislation will be renewed soon. Speaking Tuesday at a Credit Union National Association conference, Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., said...

ING U.S. Exec: Bankruptcy Bill Needs More Safeguards.
March 2, 2005... WASHINGTON -- A banking industry executive called on his peers to oppose the bankruptcy reform bill now on the Senate floor unless more consumer protection provisions are added. Arkadi Kuhlmann, the president and chief executive of ING Bank...

Mo.'s Exchange to Acquire Bank 10.(Exchange National Bancshares)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2005... Exchange National Bancshares Inc. of Jefferson City, Mo., is buying the $171 million-asset Bank 10 in Belton for $32 million. The deal, announced Monday, is expected to close around May 1 and would expand Exchange's operations in the Kansas...

More School Ties: Your Ideas For Connecting with Students.
March 2, 2005... My Jan. 5 column on how banks can work with schools and colleges drew some useful suggestions from bankers. "Connecting with local colleges is an excellent opportunity that too many banks overlook," wrote Tom Williams, the regulatory...

Does Wamu Plan To Imitate Chase In Home Lending?
March 2, 2005... Washington Mutual Inc.'s continued hiring of JPMorgan Chase & Co. veterans to fill the senior ranks of its home loan operations has raised the question of what changes they will make. On Monday, Wamu announced that it had hired three...

E-Loan Tweaks Its Media To Get Its Message Across.
March 2, 2005... For the past few years E-Loan Inc. has been engaged in some high-profile consumer advocacy campaigns on the issue of privacy. But the company says those efforts have not resonated well enough with consumers, so it is putting together a...

2 NFL Teams Accepting MC's PayPass.
March 2, 2005... Two National Football League teams have agreed to accept MasterCard International's PayPass card at their stadiums starting this year. MBNA Corp. will provide PayPass-enabled cards to interested holders of its credit cards cobranded with...

Experian, Gallup Unveil Consumer Credit Index.
March 2, 2005... Experian Inc. and the Gallup Organization have started a monthly survey to measure consumers' likelihood of borrowing money. The telephone surveys will produce a Personal Credit Index, akin to the Consumer Confidence Index, reflecting...

In Brief: Discover Raising Some Minimums.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2005... Discover Financial Services Inc. will change its minimum monthly payment for some customers next month, according to a recent letter from the issuer. The Riverwoods, Ill., unit of Morgan Stanley noted that the current minimum payment for...

In Brief: All Wells Fargo ATMs Are Web-Enabled.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2005... Wells Fargo & Co. said Tuesday that all of its more than 6,200 automated teller machines are now Web-enabled. The San Francisco company began making the network Web-enabled in 2000. Wells Fargo said the Windows-based ATMs and...

In Brief: Providian Restating On New Estimates.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2005... Providian Financial Corp. will restate its results for the past four years to reflect a lower-than-expected accounting charge. The San Francisco company said Monday that it expects a $29 million adjustment to net income for 1999 through...

In Brief: 1st Data-Exxon Mobil Extend Contract.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2005... First Data Corp. has signed a three-year extension of its contract to process Exxon Mobil Corp.'s Speedpass Network transactions. Monday's announcement did not include the price of the agreement. The Denver payment processor has been...

Weighing Costs, Potential of 2-TierSecurity Devices.
March 2, 2005... By planning to offer devices that generate new account access codes every 60 seconds, E-Trade Financial Corp. is gambling that the increased security will outweigh the expense and hassle of keychain fobs. Though the technology, known as...

First National of Kan. to Use Imaging to Replace Courier.
March 2, 2005... Some banks plan to use imaging to clear and settle checks faster, but for a small Kansas bank, imaging will also mean the end of daily nine-hour drives to Kansas City, Mo. First National Bank, a $45 million-asset unit of Kansas Bank Corp.,...

Citi Program Aims to Check Reg Issues.
March 2, 2005... To prevent a recurrence of regulatory problems that have dinged its reputation in recent months, Citigroup Inc. has begun a reeducation program for all of its more than 250,000 employees. On Tuesday the company showed all employees a video...

Correction.(HSBC USA gain)(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
March 2, 2005... In Tuesday's paper, the front-page story "Shifts in U.S. Make HSBC a Tough Read" misrepresented the effects of HSBC USA's loan purchase from HSBC Finance last year. HSBC Finance posted a $423 million gain, not a loss, from the transaction. ...

In Brief: Wachovia Closing 174 Branches in June.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2005... Wachovia Corp. will close 174 branches in five southeastern states in June as it absorbs the 700 it inherited when it bought SouthTrust Corp. of Birmingham, Ala., on Nov. 1. The Charlotte company said Tuesday that it had begun mailing...

In Brief: Charge Forces Ohio's First Merit to Restate.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2005... First Merit Corp. of Akron said Tuesday that it had revised its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings to reflect a $3.8 million impairment charge on $25 million of preferred stock in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The $10.1 billion-asset...

In Brief: Pacific Capital of Calif. to Purchase First.(First Bancshares in San luis Obispo)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2005... Pacific Capital Bancorp in Santa Barbara, Calif., is buying First Bancshares Inc. in San Luis Obispo for $60.8 million in cash. The $6 billion-asset Pacific Capital said Monday that buying the $280 million-asset parent of First Bank of San...

In Brief: Nominee for Finance Board Gets Hearing.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2005... A hearing Tuesday on Ronald Rosenfeld's nomination to a full term as the Federal Housing Finance Board's chairman indirectly touched on the controversial issue of letting the Federal Home Loan banks securitize mortgages. Sen. Wayne Allard,...

In Brief: Senators Want Hearing on Data Security.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2005... Responding to the loss of records at Bank of America Corp. and the theft of data from ChoicePoint Inc., four Democratic senators called for hearings on information safeguarding at financial institutions. On Tuesday, Sens. Jon Corzine,...

In Brief: TD Acquires Stake, Renames Banknorth.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2005... Toronto-Dominion Bank said Tuesday that it has acquired a 51% stake in Banknorth Group Inc. and renamed the Portland, Maine, company TD Banknorth Inc. The remaining 49% of Banknorth's outstanding shares will continue to trade on the New...

KBW Raises Its Outlook For Two Investment Banks.
March 2, 2005... Two investment banking boutiques won favorable notice from analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. on Tuesday for improving their business outlook. Jefferson Harralson added a nickel to his second-quarter and full-year earnings estimates...

Hot Source For Startup Funds -- IRAs.(Individual Retirement Account)
March 3, 2005... A custodian for individual retirement accounts has been making the rounds of investor meetings of would-be banks, and persuading many attendees to invest in the start-ups through their IRAs. As a result, banks-in-organization such as...

Banknorth Insurance Eyes Deals.(Banknorth Insurance Group)
March 3, 2005... Banknorth Insurance Group plans to step up its agency acquisition pace and branch out into several new states, mirroring its parent's intention to expand outside of New England. Joseph Fico, the new president of the TD Banknorth Inc....

OFAC Chief: Anti-Launder Policies Will Get Clearer.(Office of Foreign Assets Control)
March 3, 2005... Hollywood, fla. -- Robert Werner, the director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, said it would take a more active role in helping the financial services industry navigate the maze of anti-laundering rules. "In...

More Firms Taking the 'Green' Pledge.
March 3, 2005... Money is not the only thing at U.S. banks that is green these days. Big banking companies here are increasingly embracing environmental policies as conservation activists increasingly pressure them to stop financing projects and businesses...