American Banker articles from May 2004

American Banker archives from May 2004

A Leaner Mercantile: Legal compliance big part of consolidation.(Mercantile Bankshares Corp.)
May 3, 2004... Even while gobbling up Middle-Atlantic banks and operating them under their own names and charters, Mercantile Bankshares Corp. for years had enviable performance ratios. But because of persistently low interest rates and heavier...

State St.: New Markets Key To Growth.(State Street Corp.)
May 3, 2004... After deals that sharpened its focus on institutional rather than individual investors last year, State Street Corp.'s chief executive says he plans to expand by developing in new markets worldwide and cross-selling to customers acquired from...

Nova Ramps Up in Europe With 3 Deals in a Week.(Nova Information Systems Inc.)
May 3, 2004... Nova Information Systems Inc. says its recent streak of acquisitions underscores a shift in European banks' attitudes toward outsourcing -- and its chief executive says it plans to pounce on that development. In one week the Atlanta...

On Receivers, Conservators, And GSE Fixes.(government-sponsored enterprises)
May 3, 2004... A bill to revamp the regulation of the housing government-sponsored enterprises has stalled, but the Bush administration has not stopped banging the reform drum. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said last week that it...

Eye of 'Tiger' on Riggs Sale?(Riggs National Corp. more likely to sell itself after Anthony P. Terracciano came on the board)
May 3, 2004... Now that Anthony P. Terracciano has swooped in on Riggs National Corp., is it more likely to sell itself? Analysts speculated on the possibility Friday as investors drove shares of Riggs up 12.7%. The Washington company disclosed late...

Nat Commerce of Tenn. Builds Up Consulting Line.(National Commerce Financial Corp.)
May 3, 2004... National Commerce Financial Corp. in Memphis has added marketing advice to its slate of consulting services for banks. NCBS Strategic Marketing Solutions was introduced quietly in February through National Commerce Bank Services Inc., a...

WASHINGTON PEOPLE.(meshed briefs)
May 3, 2004... Dorgan Rips OFAC Accusing the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control of assigning six times as many agents tracking Americans who travel to Cuba as it has following money funneled to terrorist groups like Al Qaeda, a Senate...

Carver Says Net Rose 1.6%.(Carver Bancorp)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Carver Bancorp of New York reported net earnings of $1.04 million for the quarter that ended March 31, 1.6% more than a year earlier. The quarter closed a fiscal year in which Carver's profits rose 28%, to $4.6 million. In a press release...

In Brief: Two Independent Directors for MBNA.(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... MBNA Corp. announced Friday that it had named Mary M. Boies and Laura S. Unger to its board of directors. The second-largest U.S. credit card issuer announced the appointments Friday. The two will fill the seats to be vacated by Norma...

In Brief: Wincor Nixdorf Plans Mid-May IPO.(initial public offering)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Wincor Nixdorf, the German manufacturer of automated teller machines and point of sale terminals, plans to have an initial public offering in mid-May. A U.S. spokesman for Wincor Nixdorf, the third-largest ATM company in the world and the...

In Brief: Hard Rock Cafe To Use MoneyPass.(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Genpass Inc., which operates the surcharge-free MoneyPass automated teller machine network, announced last week that it has signed Hard Rock Cafe International Inc. Hard Rock is an Orlando subsidiary of the London conglomerate Rank Group...

In Brief: Sky Renames Pa. Agency.(Sky Financial Group Inc. renames its Meyer & Eckenrode Insurance Group into Sky Insurance)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Sky Financial Group Inc. of Bowling Green, Ohio, said Friday that starting today its Meyer & Eckenrode Insurance Group is using the same name as the rest of its insurance operations, Sky Insurance. Sky Financial bought the 100-employee...

In Brief: N.Y. Life Names Supervisor.(New York Life Insurance Co)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... New York Life Insurance Co. announced Friday that it had named Mark Pfaff northeastern agencies senior vice president. Mr. Pfaff will oversee the recruiting, training, and developing of managing partners and partners. He is also responsible...

In Brief: Hartford Life Promotes Exec.(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Hartford Life Inc. has promoted Michael Kalen to succeed Robert Kerzner as head of the individual life division. Mr. Kalen had been a senior vice president at Hartford Life, a Simsbury, Conn., subsidiary of Hartford Financial Services...

First Quarter Success: Provisions, Private Equity.
May 3, 2004... Despite compressing margins, decreased mortgage volume, and stagnant lending, first-quarter net income at the nation's largest banking companies rose 22%, largely because of a sharp drop in loan-loss provisions and a recovery in principal...

In Brief: MBA: Applications Are Up, Refis Down.(Mortgage Bankers Association)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... The Mortgage Bankers Association's market composite index of mortgage applications rose 0.5% in the week that ended April 23, to 748, as mortgage rates inched up. The trade group's index of purchase loans rose 6.8% from the previous week,...

In Brief: Saft to Lead D.C. Lender for Coops.(National Cooperative Bank; Stuart Saft)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... National Cooperative Bank said has appointed Stuart Saft as its chairman for the next year. The Washington cooperative, a government-chartered company now owned by its more than 1,700 customers, lends to other cooperative organizations....

Lofty Growth Goals for IndyMac, Countrywide.
May 3, 2004... Countrywide Financial Corp. and its spinoff, IndyMac Bancorp Inc., may bear little resemblance to each other in size or portfolio mix, but both companies are clearly enamored of setting ambitious goals. That is not surprising. IndyMac's...

Turnaround, New Challenges for S1 and Corillian.
May 3, 2004... S1 Corp. and Corillian Corp. both beat earnings expectations on the strength of several first-quarter contracts, but analysts say they could have a hard time selling big-ticket products. The Internet banking software vendors are projecting...

Split Decision on InterCept Board.(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... In what looks like a setback for a San Francisco hedge fund seeking control of InterCept Inc., a federal court has ruled that only two of the Atlanta processor's six board seats are open for election this year. But a consultant to the...

B of A Resumes Coverage With 'Buy' for PNC, M&I.(Banc of America Securities L.L.C.)(PNC Financial Services Group Inc.)(Marshall & Ilsley Corp.)
May 3, 2004... After a three-year absence, Banc of America Securities LLC has started covering banks stocks again. On Friday it initiated coverage for 16 companies. In March it hired two analysts John E. McDonald and Kenneth M. Usdin, from UBS Securities...

Clarification.
May 3, 2004... In the April 27 paper, a page 17 news brief gave a misleading impression of Online Resources' first quarter. If a year-earlier termination fee is excluded, per-share earnings and revenue both rose -- earnings to 2 cents from zero and revenues...

In Brief: Texas United to Acquire GNB for $46M.(GNB Bancshares Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Texas United Bancshares Inc. in La Grange is buying the $225 million-asset GNB Bancshares Inc. of Gainesville, Tex., for $46 million in cash and stock. The price is 2.44 times Dec. 31 book value. The deal was announced Thursday after the...

In Brief: Fed, Utah Clamp Down on Cache Valley.(Cache Valley Banking Co; Federal Reserve Board; Utah State Department of Financial Instituitions.)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... The Federal Reserve Board and the Utah State Department of Financial Institutions announced an agreement Friday with Cache Valley Banking Co. of Logan, Utah. Among other things, the $154 million-asset company agreed to strengthen board...

In Brief: 'Buy' Rating for Bank of N.Y., Northern Trust.(Bank of New York Co. Inc)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... An analyst at Fulcrum Global Partners LLC initiated coverage for five trust and processing banking companies Friday. Thomas McCrohan rated Bank of New York Co. Inc. and Northern Trust Corp. "buy" and Investors Financial Services Corp.,...

In Brief: HUD GSE Proposal Being Published Today.(Department of Housing and Urban Development; government sponsored enterprise)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... The Department of Housing and Urban Development is expected to publish a proposed rule on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's housing goals today in the Federal Register, a HUD spokesman said. The proposal, which has been sent to Congress, is...

In Brief: Webster and Riggs End the Week Strong.(Riggs National Corp; Webster Financial Corp)(Brief Article)
May 3, 2004... Bank stocks were mixed Friday but ended up outperforming the broader market for the day and week. A modest rally in the morning did not last, however. "Nobody has any gusto for a long position," said Peter McCorry a senior trader at Keefe,...

At Least They're Not Suing.(Wells Fargo & Co.)
May 4, 2004... Perhaps executives at Wells Fargo & Co. could take a hint from the play "Inherit the Wind," in which the town shopkeeper advises, "Don't have any opinions. They're bad for business." For more than a decade the San Francisco company has...

On-the-Spot Issuance Gets An Audition.
May 4, 2004... The credit card business is one of instants -- instant approvals, instant access, instant gratification. Now comes J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and instant issuance. The company's credit card unit, which has a cobranding partnership with...

Rehabilitating Premier: Chairman: "Scoundrels" gone, profits ahead.(Premier Financial Bancorporation Inc.)
May 4, 2004... After two years of dealing with fraud, enforcement orders, and substantial losses at three of its Kentucky banking subsidiaries, Premier Financial Bancorp's chairman says the West Virginia company will "absolutely" be profitable by yearend. ...

Losing the Writeoff, Not The Lease?
May 4, 2004... A European Union attack on U.S. efforts to protect long-term leases that some large banks have with foreign airlines could leave financial services companies locked in underpriced deals. As the Senate on Monday began debating sweeping...

Bank One, JPM Chase Nominate 16 for Board.(J.P. Morgan Chase & Co)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2004... J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank One Corp. jointly announced nominees for the combined company's board Monday, including eight representatives from each. The independent nominees from JPMorgan Chase are Hans Becherer, the retired chairman...

Guidance Sought on Free Reports.(Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act)
May 4, 2004... House Financial Services Committee members are urging the Federal Trade Commission to give consumer reporting agencies "definitive" guidance as they gear up for providing consumers with free annual credit reports. The program, which was...

Using CD Service To Meet a Portion Of the CRA Test.(Community Reinvestment Act)
May 4, 2004... An initiative due out today promises to provide liquidity for community development banks while helping mainstream banks meet the Community Reinvestment Act's investment test. Mainstream banks will be able to make insured deposits of up to...

Minnesota Career Program Targets In-Between Teens.
May 4, 2004... While their friends are off working as lifeguards or at youth camps, some Minnesota teenagers will spend their summer being groomed as bank CEOs. The Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota and the Pohlad Family Foundation are...

In Brief: SBA Accepting 7(a) Applications via Web.(Small Business Administration)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2004... After two years of development and testing, the Small Business Administration started using a Web-based application Monday that lets lenders e-mail 7(a) loan applications. Until now lenders had to fax the lengthy application forms, which...

In Brief: F.N.B. Buys Ohio Offices from Thaxton.(Thaxton Group Inc)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2004... F.N.B. Corp. in Hermitage, Pa., said Friday after the markets closed that it had acquired eight consumer-finance offices in and around Columbus, Ohio, from the privately held Thaxton Group Inc. of Lancaster, S.C. The $4.6 billion-asset...

In Brief: Earnings Down 9% at Anchor of Wis.(Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin Inc)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2004... Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin Inc. in Madison reported Monday that earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended March 31, fell 9% from a year earlier, to $12.1 million. Earnings per share fell 4%, to 53 cents. For the full fiscal...

In Brief: NCR Narrows First-Quarter Loss.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2004... NCR Corp. reported a first-quarter net loss Friday of $5 million, or 5 cents per basic and diluted share, an 81.5% improvement over the same period last year. The Dayton, Ohio, automated teller machine maker's revenue rose 5%, to $1.29...

In Brief: MasterCard Reports 1Q Growth.(MasterCard International)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2004... MasterCard International reported Monday that first-quarter U.S. credit card spending grew 8% from a year earlier, to $126.7 billion, and signature debit grew 4.6%, to $30.8 billion. Gross domestic volume worldwide, which includes all...

Automated Appraisal Industry Rakes Fitch Discount Move.
May 4, 2004... How reliable are the data underlying automated appraisals? That question is at the center of a debate that has providers and at least one lender on one side and a skeptical Fitch Inc. on the other. Fitch drew the ire of automated...

MassMutual Starts Boomer Retirement Unit.(Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co)
May 4, 2004... Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has formed a new unit to help baby boomers manage their retirement assets after they stop working. Nearly 76 million people will begin their retirement in the next five years, according to the...

In Brief: Merrill Exec to RunAIG Strategies Group.(Merrill Lynch & Co; American International Group Inc)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2004... American International Group Inc. named a Merrill Lynch & Co. executive, Jacob A. Frenkel, as its executive vice chairman Monday. Mr. Frenkel, who joined Merrill in January 2000, will also chair AIG's global economic strategies group. He...

In Brief: Putnam Reducing Fees on 529 Plan.(Putnam Investments)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2004... Putnam Investments said Monday that it will lower fees for its 529 college savings plan. On May 24 the Boston fund company will reduce the annual maintenance fee on its Putnam CollegeAdvantage 529 from $25 to $15. It will also enhance the...

In Brief: Assets, Earnings Up At Canada's Seamark.(Seamark Asset Management Ltd)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2004... Seamark Asset Management Ltd., a Canadian investment manager, announced Monday that its assets under management increased 4.8% during the first quarter, to $10.9 billion. Assets under management increased 23.8% from the end of the first...

In Brief: ING Fund Features A 5-Year Guarantee.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2004... ING Group NV's U.S. retail fund unit unveiled a fund Monday with a five-year guarantee period. ING Funds Distributor LLC launched the ING Principal Protection Fund X. It will be sold through Aug. 9 and is open to investors only during this...

Irwin Tops Expectations On Better Credit Quality.(Irwin Financial Corp)
May 4, 2004... Irwin Financial Corp. on Monday reported first-quarter earnings that handily beat Wall Street expectations on improved credit quality and a successful hedging strategy. Like many other lenders, the $5.1 billion-asset Columbus, Ind.,...

In Brief: Franklin Shareholders OK Fifth Third Deal.(Franklin Financial Corp; Fifth Third Bancorp)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2004... Franklin Financial Corp.'s shareholders on Monday approved the Tennessee company's deal to sell itself to Fifth Third Bancorp of Cincinnati. Almost all shareholders voted in favor the $310 million deal, Franklin said in a press release....

In Brief: HUD Investigating Deals by Fannie, Freddie.(Department of Housing and Urban Development; Fannie Mae; Freddie Mac)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2004... The Department of Housing and Urban Development is examining whether three multifamily transactions Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac entered at the end of last year should count toward housing goals, Federal Housing Commissioner John C. Weicher said...

In Brief: Five New Offices for SunTrust Leasing Unit.(SunTrust Banks Inc)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2004... SunTrust Banks Inc.'s leasing unit said Monday that it has opened commercial leasing offices in five major cities in an effort to expand. The Baltimore unit, SunTrust Leasing Corp., recently opened offices in Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis,...

In Brief: Economists Want Housing GSEs Privatized.(government sponsored enterprices)
May 4, 2004... Add the Shadow Open Market Committee to the list of supporters for the idea of privatizing of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. At a press conference Monday, the group of economists cited "excessive lobbying, accounting scandals, and excessive...

In Brief: Bank Stocks Rise as Deal Rumors Fly.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2004... Bank stocks rose Monday, as did the broader market. Good economic news lifted Wall Street's spirits, and even bank stocks took a break from their recent drop. A busy market turned to old rumors. Charter One Financial Corp. rose 6.9%....

Unsettled on Settlement.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2004... There's no disputing that Check 21 will hasten the move toward electronic settlement of checks. But community bankers say they are getting mixed signals about what they need to do and when. Also inside: Why a proposal to change the way...

Redefining the Signature for New Accounts.
May 5, 2004... Banks have eagerly adopted the Internet as a tool to get customers to pay bills, move money between accounts, trade stocks, and even apply for loans. Until recently only consumers who already had a relationship with a particular bank could...

Option Play: A Battle for Control of a Philly Bank.(PSB Bancorporation Inc.)
May 5, 2004... Already facing a high level of shareholder discontent, a Phila-delphia community bank is fighting to regain its balance after a judge told it to issue nearly 900,000 stock options to a group of disaffected investors. At stake could be...

Why Mortgage Profit Story Still Has Legs.
May 5, 2004... What securities gains and lower provisioning did for first-quarter earnings, mortgage fees and generally better consumer and commercial lending conditions could do for the current quarter's results. Bankers and analysts say it stands to be...

AmSouth's Next 3 Years: Better balance, bigger in Fla., without deals.
May 5, 2004... AmSouth Bancorp. executives say its latest three-year strategic plan should allow it to grow by generating a better profit balance from its businesses, including its Florida operations and its wealth management unit, without pursuing...

Opinions Split on Fannie Mae Accounting Move.
May 5, 2004... If you lock four accountants in a room with a question, how many answers will you get? While the answer to the old joke -- eight, depending on your interpretation -- may be amusing, it could prove to be anything but funny in the case of...

CORPORATE COMMUNITY: Wachovia Uses Golf Event to Champion Public Education.
May 5, 2004... When Wachovia Corp. landed a professional golf tournament for its hometown of Charlotte, it had a problem banks across the country face almost daily: finding the right nonprofit to receive the proceeds. "We wanted an organization that had...

Trustmark Opts for State Charter.
May 5, 2004... In swapping its national charter for a state license, Mississippi's second-largest bank said it values the specialized knowledge of local regulators over the federal preemption offered by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. ...

Don't Sell Those Stock Listings Short.
May 5, 2004... Younger bankers may not recognize the full significance of this newspaper's publishing of bank share price moves and its indexes of bank and thrift equity prices broken down by region. When I became a financial reporter in 1955, fresh out...

GE Insurance Unit Signs Pact.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2004... America's Community Bankers and GE Mortgage Insurance said Monday that they have entered a joint marketing agreement. The trade group will market the General Electric Co. unit's products to its members, and GE will tout the trade group to...

HUD Taking Closer Look at GSE Report Accuracy.(Department of Housing and Urban Development)
May 5, 2004... The Department of Housing and Urban Development is seeking to clarify, codify, and enhance its ability to ensure the accuracy of reporting that enables it to determine if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are meeting housing goals. The...

In Brief: 4Q Fund Assets Grew By 9% Worldwide.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2004... Mutual fund assets worldwide rose to $13.96 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter, an increase of about 9% from the previous quarter, according to annual data Tuesday from the Investment Company Institute. Asset growth was boosted by...

In Brief: Wells' Acordia Buys An Agency in Ohio.(Baldwin & Whitney)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2004... Acordia Inc., the Chicago insurance agency subsidiary of $388 billion-asset Wells Fargo & Co., said Tuesday that it has bought Baldwin & Whitney, doubling the size of its operation in Dayton, Ohio. The price was not disclosed. The deal,...

In Brief: RBC Insurance Buys Provident in Canada.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2004... RBC Insurance, the Mississauga, Ontario-based insurance operation of Royal Bank of Canada, said Tuesday that it has closed its acquisition of the Canadian operations of Provident Life and Accident Insurance Co., a subsidiary of UnumProvident...

In Brief: Wachovia Wealth Unit in TV Ad Push.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2004... Wachovia Corp.'s wealth management division announced Tuesday that it will begin a television advertising campaign to highlight the offerings of its local, team-based, and integrated approach to helping clients manage their wealth. The...

In Brief: Curian Hits $500M Of Assets in 1st Year.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2004... Curian Capital LLC, a Denver managed account company, announced Tuesday that it has accumulated $500 million of assets under management in its first full year of operation. The company, which was opened March 31 last year, said nearly 75%...

In Brief: Altamira Launches Monthly Income Fund.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2004... Altamira Investment Services Inc. in Toronto said it has started a portfolio, the Altamira Monthly Income Fund, designed to yield a high level of monthly income while preserving capital. The fund is to invest in income trust units,...

In Brief: Reserve Funds Top $30B for First Time.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2004... Reserve Funds, the financial services company that started the first money market fund and manages a family of money market and equity mutual fund portfolios, has announced that its total assets topped $30 billion for the first time. This...

In Brief: PartnerRe Head for Finite Reinsurance.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2004... PartnerRe Ltd. in Pembroke, Bermuda, said Tuesday that it has hired Thomas Renggli to be head of finite reinsurance, global. Mr. Renggli, who will be based in Zurich, is to be responsible for producing and managing PartnerRe's finite...

U.S. Individual Life-Accident-Health Insurers by Net Admitted Assets: Market leaders as of Dec. 31, 2003. Dollars in thousands.(Illustration)
May 5, 2004... (part 1 of 2) 1 Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. Tampa 2 Prudential Insurance Co. of America Newark, N.J. 3 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America New York 4 Northwestern Mutual Life...

Payroll Card Firms Tout No-Fee ATM Deals.
May 5, 2004... Payroll cards, which have circulated for several years but without flourishing, may get a big lift from partnerships with surcharge-free automated teller machine networks, say the companies that have struck such deals. Fresh from signing...

In Brief: MBNA Shareholders Favor Resolution.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2004... Fifty-six percent of MBNA Corp. shareholders have voted for a resolution that would require that two-thirds of the lender's board be independent. TIAA-CREF, the author of the proposal and the owner of about 1.4% of the Wilmington, Del.,...

In Brief: Justice Department Investigating TSYS.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2004... Total System Services Inc. is under investigation by the Department of Justice over work it performed for Providian Financial Corp. The payment processor said in its annual report, filed in March, that the investigation concerns the "Move...

In Brief: Nacha Reports Record Use of E-Payments.
May 5, 2004... A record number of consumers are using direct deposit and electronic payments this year, according to Nacha, the electronic payments association. This year 60% of consumers are using direct deposit, and more than 50% are using...

In Brief: Sovereign to Expand Use of Web Phones.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2004... Sovereign Bancorp Inc. plans to more than double its use of Internet telephones as it expands through acquisitions. Todd Dierksheide, a senior network engineer at the $41.5 billion-asset Philadelphia company, said last month that about...

Brokerage Stocks Drop Amid Rate-Hike Rumors.
May 5, 2004... Recent market chatter about a possible interest rate hike this summer has stung all financial stocks, but especially those of brokerage companies. The Federal Reserve met Tuesday and voted to leave rates unchanged. But the Fed is widely...

In Brief: Senate to Mull Data Outsourcing Measure.
May 5, 2004... The Senate may consider an amendment as early as today that would require banks and other companies to get customer permission before outsourcing their data to foreign processors. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., has filed an amendment...

In Brief: OCC Order Against Va.'s Millennium Lifted.(Office of the Comptroller of the Currency )(Brief Article)
May 5, 2004... Millennium Bank in Reston, Va., said Tuesday that it has met the requirements of a memorandum of understanding with Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and is free to expand its volume. The $317 million-asset subsidiary of Millennium...

In Brief: CompuCredit Profits Climbed 40% in 1Q.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2004... The subprime credit card issuer CompuCredit Corp. said Tuesday that first-quarter earnings rose 40% from a year earlier, to $17.7 million, or 36 cents per diluted share. The Atlanta company's net interest margin rose 2 percentage points,...

In Brief: CEO Resigns at Heritage of San Jose.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2004... Heritage Commerce Corp. of San Jose, Calif., said Tuesday that Brad L. Smith, its chief executive officer since June 2000, had resigned in an effort to settle a dispute with a group of prominent shareholders backing an alternative slate of...

Editor's Note.(Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act)
May 5, 2004... The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, signed into law by President Bush in October, has been called the most significant change in banking since the advent of magnetic ink character recognition in 1956. It also might be the most...

Debunking the Myths About OCC Preemption.
May 5, 2004... I testified recently before the Senate Banking Committee in support of the rules issued by the Comptroller of the Currency to clarify when the operations of national banks are subject - and not subject - to the jurisdiction of the states. There...